sound of music in salzblurg

I haven’t been yet. Fly in 12 days. I booked the Fraulein Maria Bicycle tour. It is a half day. Of the recommended bus tours most are half day. The only full day tour I looked at was basically the half day Sound of Music tour and then a half day Halstadt tour.

In our experience, a half day tour was more than enough. The Fraulein Maria bicycle tour was great!

We did a tour with Bob’s Special Tours and I loved it. We traveled on a minibus, jut the driver/guide, me and my husband, and 4 other people. I wasn’t interested in a big bus tour. We went out to the countryside and to Mondsee, where the wedding church is. If you won’t be in the area with a car it will give you a taste of Austria. I highly recommend them.

As others have noted, the Fraulein Maria bicycle tour is wonderful. We went in mid-April, on a splendid spring morning, and enjoyed breathtaking views of the city and Alps. Rupert is an excellent guide. I highly recommend this tour.

Even Rick had to admit that he took a SOM tour for "research purposes" and ended up enjoying it.

Just remember, if this movie means everything in life to you, much of it was shot on a 20th Century Fox soundstage in Los Angeles so, for example, the gazebo isn't real.

Our group of 13 adults also took the all day Bob’s Special Tours, combined with a few hours in Hallstatt, and enjoyed it. We certainly saw SoM filming sites but it was far more educational than singing entertainment. Might depend on the guide for the day.

I agree Travelmom. We saw places where the film was shot and were told about what was fact and what was fiction in the movie. We also learned about other things and saw the beautiful Austrian countryside. I enjoyed the tour so much.

I was just mentioning, to some it matters, to others not. Hopefully you can like the movie but accept that it's not a documentary. For instance, the final hiking scene makes no geographic sense but it's very dramatic.

phred, it’s true that sometimes you have to overlook things for the sake of drama. I won’t be a spoiler, but I’ll say that the way they actually escaped is nothing like the movie depicts and it has nothing to do with the unrealistic geography. If anyone really wants to know they can PM me for the real scoop.

In 1986 my husband, parents and I took a Sound of Music tour. It was one of the best days of our 14-day trip. We knew the actual story of the von Trapp family and about how and where the film was shot. It did not diminish out enjoyment of the tour one iota. All I can tell you is that all four of us we so happy we had taken the tour. The scenery was stunning. The music on the bus remarkable. The church where the wedding scene was filmed, so beautiful. A stop for cake and coffee along the way was a real treat in a spectacular setting. My Mother and I still talk about what a great day we experienced. She is 88 now and I am so happy she has that memory as her mobility becomes increasing diminished.

The actual story behind SOM has been told many times, in books and articles and behind the scenes videos. Easy to find on the internets, if you need or want to know.

Every time the discussion goes to "tourist traps", I immediately think of Sound of Music tours.

Ops, sorry. I saved this post, then went to look something up and never came back.

1. I know that the SOM movie bears little truthful resemblance to the actual story of the Von Trapps. That is not a problem for me. I enjoy the fantasy of the movie.
2. I am a huge fan of the movie. I have several recordings of it, the last one a DVD with a running commentary by Robt. Wise, the director, explaining a lot about the making of the movie, where the shooting took place, etc. Knowing the details of the making of the movie makes me despise the tour.
3. Over half of the movie (the interior of the abbey, the interior of the Von Trapp home, the cemetery, and the song and dance routines in the gazebo) was actually shot in sets in Hollywood. (Or did you really think that it just happened to start to rain at the end of "You are sixteen ..."?)
4. A lot of the movie venues in Salzburg (Mirabell Palace, Nonnberg Abbey (the outside) can actually be seen for free just by walking around Salzburg. I saw those venues on a trip to Salzburg in 2002, along with the square where she catches the bus at the beginning ("I have confidence") and the Residenz square where they hung the big Nazi flag after the Anschluß, and I didn't need a tour to see them.
5. A lot of what the tours take you to are not from the movie or had minor parts in it. Leopoldskron was never in the movie because it was being used as an international school at the time, and they didn't want the interruption. They made a copy of the lakeside patio and used it for scenes "at" the Von Trapp home. It was a temporary set and no longer exists. The tours take you to see the small gazebo, which was on the temporary set, was too small for the song and dance scenes, is only seen in distant shots, and is now at Hellbrun Palace, which was not part of the movie. The song and dance scenes "in" the gazebo were actually shot in a sound stage in Hollywood.

But Lee, the only reason a lot of people go to Salzburg is for SOM. Look at almost any website for the city and it will be mentioned. For better or worse, it put them on the travel map. Just as many Indian tourists go to the Jungfrau not because they're especially interested but because it's in a lot of Bollywood films. It's only a trap to those who aren't interested, to some it's the highlight of the trip. Like going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, or visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Only do it if you want to go.

I think it will be fun to see the sights with others who enjoy the movie. Yeah I could go to all the sights on my own but this will be fun. You only have to see all the rave reviews from others in this sight to see it is worth for many. It might not be you’re cup of tea, Lee, but that doesn’t mean others are wasting their money.

One of my fondest memories was staying at the Von Trap family home. I think it is pricey, but the experience is just one of the many I enjoy thinking about.

Hello. Traveling June '23. Is it too soon to book our Maria's bicycle ride ? The website says "not available". TIA

Cathy, it’s definitely too soon to book. I emailed a couple of places—Bob’s and the panorama tours—and I was told to book about a week ahead of time. You can email the bike tour and ask them. They’ll be able to let you know how soon to book. Here’s their email address:

[email protected]

https://www.mariasbicycletours.com/

One of my fondest memories was staying at the Von Trap family home. I
think it is pricey, but the experience is just one of the many I enjoy
thinking about.

Did you stay at the real Villa Von Trapp? As I understand it, the actual home where the real Von Trapp family lived is available for people to stay. From what I saw, it wasn't really that pricey. Or were you talking about staying at Schloss Leopoldskron.

As I understand, Leopoldskron is today a very pricey hotel, but Leopoldskron is not the house where the Von Trapps lived. It was just an elegant house on a lake that the producers of SOM wanted to use, but was at the time an international school, and the school didn't want the interruptions of filming at their school. As a result, the producers of SOM built a temporary, exact copy of Leopoldskron's lakeside patio on an adjacent property and used that for the lakeside scenes. Scenes of the supposed home of the Von Trapps was shot at another building, Fronburg, somewhere else, but not on a lake, and the scenes for the two venues were combined to make it look like one place.

I asked our guide a question, I don’t remember what I asked, and he ranted that it was dumb to visit because of the SOM movie. I had no idea there were tours nor was I even thinking about the movie. He finished his rant with “if they escaped the way they did in the movie, they would have walked right into the Germans!” Apparently he hated anything connected with the movie because it was inaccurate.

It shouldn't be surprising that Austrians don't like to be reminded of their past Nazi history.

He finished his rant with “if they escaped the way they did in the movie, they would have walked right into the Germans!”

It always makes me chuckle thinking of how anti-climatic the end to the movie would be if they followed what really happened. I think the family just took a train in broad daylight. Now, did they validate their ticket? That could've amped up the drama to the ending a bit... I jest

I believe they were performing in Italy and just never returned. Not exactly a dramatic ending.

if it really matters to you, elsewhere on this site Rick runs down the truth or not of the things you'll see and hear on a typical tour

I loved Salzburg; most beautiful city I've been to so far.