We're planning on spending Christmas in Salzburg...anyone know if they receive much snow? I have my heart set on snow! Any other suggestions for a quaint old town with snow?
Posted by
Pearland, TX, USA
852 posts
Cindy, no place can guarantee snow, of course. You might Google the possibility of snow at places such as Zell am See, Austria which has ski facilities and is not very far from Salzburg.
Hope your Christmas is Merry (and white). P.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
I lived in Salzburg as a student. As the above traveler states, no place can guarantee snow. The winter that I was there, there was actually very little snow in Salzburg. Salzburg sits on a plateau surrounded by the Alps (which you probably won't see in the winter as it will be continually overcast) and is protected from a lot of the extreme weather. We did get rain almost every day, though.
Posted by
OP
Hood River, OR, USA
2 posts
We're not going to ski....just want a picturesque village with snow, hopefully! Any suggestions for other towns?
Posted by
Pearland, TX, USA
852 posts
Cindy, one of Austria's quaintest villages is Hallstatt. There are ice caves nearby, which is an indication of snows that never completely melt. But does it regularly snow during Christmas-time ? ... I don't know. All the best, P.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Yes, Hallstadt is great, and it's a daytrip from Salzburg. There is also a salt mine that you can tour there.
Posted by
Lodi, California, USA
149 posts
Hi Cindy, We spent a few days mid-December in Salzburg many years ago, and it snowed a great deal. We were camping in a VW camper and it was cold, but very beautiful (looked like a postcard). The Blau Gans (Blue Goose) is a nice hotel right in the middle of the pedestrian area of Salzburg. Good luck, Charlie Robinson, Lodi, California
Posted by
Niceville, FL, USA
154 posts
Hello, I was in Salzburg in Dec 04 and there was a nice general covering of snow on the town. It had a nice Christmas feel to it. There was also lots of ice. I'm sure the weather person can't predict snow 100% but it was there when I visited.
Posted by
Seattle, wa, usa
2 posts
Cindy, my mother was born a raised in a small town call Abtenau. It is on the back way to Hallstadt and always has snow. Check it out on the Web. A secret Gem with a 500 year old gothic church and a wonderfull Christmas celebration in the town square on Christmas Eve where trupeters blow Silent Night from high in the church Steepl. It is magic!
Posted by
White Bear Lake, MN, USA
479 posts
The wife and I did Germany in December 2006. The Christmas markets were fantastic! We did Nuremberg, Rothenburg, Strasbourg, Wurtzburg, and towns on the Romantic Road. Here are some things to note:
1) The only snow we saw was on top of Mount Kandel just outside of Freiburg. It's a ski hill in the Black Forest. We saw snow at the very top. That was around December 15th. So, it all depends on the December. I wouldn't count on much snow anywhere.
2) Many of the Christmas markets in the smaller towns are only open for one day! We found this out the hard way. Luckily we hit Nordlingen and Dinkelsbuhl on their Chrismtas market days! But we missed the one in Staufen im Breisgau and a bunch of others along the Romantic Road. Do your research ahead of time or you'll be sorry.
3) Each town has its own Gluhwein mug with the town name stamped on it. They're tacky. Many of them look the same other than the name. I recommend buying them all, as they only charge a minimal deposit!