Salzburg to the Alps

One exciting thing to do when in Salzburg is take the Grossglockner tour. It is fantastic. You can google "Grossglockner" and see if it appeals. Bob's Tours in Salzburg does the trip weather permittig.
In my opinion you can't go wrong with this.

Hi Laura,
... this is a minor point:- We all refer to those mountains as "the alps", but an "alp" is actually a small meadow in those mountains and not the mount itself. But who would know (care)?

Gute Reise in them, thar hills! ... P

Funny way to mention the mountains surrounding Salzburg - you are IN the Alps when you visit that city.

Take the Untersberg Bahn just outside of town to view The Alps, or go on a day trip to Berchtesgaden via Bad Reichenhall to run up the mountain with the Jenner gondola.

The Großglockner tour will take you right into the center massif of the Austrians' highest mountain range, but be aware that weather conditions will have to be near-perfect to see the tops (we were fortunate to get just such a day last week). Rent a car for better flexibility of scheduling.

I go to the town of Zell am See. It is not far from Salzburg. You can go up the ski lift and the site is wonderful. Last year we were there on an Austrian holiday. Parasailers were there from all over Europe. It was a wonderful site. It was the most exciting day of our trip.

We just recently returned from Salzburg and spent about two hours on the Untersberg. We took bus #25 from Mozartsteg (you can also get the bus at the train station and Hanuschplatz) and got off about 15 minutes later right at the Untersberg Bahn in St. Leonhard. The views were amazing!!. If you plan to stay and walk around a bit, make sure you at least wear gym shoes not sandals. Also, bring a jacket. It was quite cool and windy up there.

I'd like to add my voice about Untersberg. Beautiful and a quickie trip from Salzburg. We used our Salzburg card which covered the bus and cable up.

In October we drove as far as the toll booth on the Grossglockner Hwy (it's a fee to go over the mountain). That day it was cloudy & couldn't see the summits. On a whim, we rode the Schmittenhohe ski lift (gondola) out of Zell am See then walked an easy 30 minutes to a wonderful mountain chalet to view the snow covered peaks. What a great way to get "up and close" to the Alps. I'm sure they are many of these opportunities.

The Großglockner frequently is covered by fog or clouds, but it was clear as a bell a couple of weeks ago when we went up the road and down the other side to Heiligenblut on the way to South Tirol. Even if weather looks unpromising, the ride up the serpentine highway is worth the price of admission (toll). BTW, that toll also allows you to visit another Austrian national park, that of the Krimml waterfall a little to the west.