We took our 8-year-old to Salzburg last summer and found it to be a perfect city for young travelers. Here are some highlights from our experience: Mirabell Gardens is a magical. Our child loved the gardens and fountain, and the views of the city were spectacular – lots of great photo opps. The trick fountains at Hellbrunn Palace were a lot of fun. Having a good tour guide probably makes a difference – our guide was entertaining and enjoyed surprising the crowd by splashing people unexpectedly with the fountains. The Museum of Natural History and Technology was a great break from visiting historical sites. There is a lot to see and the lower level hosts fun, hands-on science stations sponsored by Austrian companies. We easily spent half a day there. If you want to do a Sound of Music tour, I highly recommend Fraulein Maria's Bike Tour. Our guide, Sylvia, was terrific and entertained my chatty child. Hohensalzburg Fortress is a must see with kids. The medieval surroundings and displays of weapons are fascinating. Don't miss the marionette museum in the fortress - it's a bit creepy, but my child loved it. We stayed at the Arte Vida, which is a boutique inn just around the corner from Mozart's Residence. I found it on Trip Advisor (it's not in Rick's book). It was a great place – centrally located with spacious rooms, community kitchen and lounge to hang out in, plus an outdoor garden to unwind from a day of site seeing. The host was very helpful with our travel questions (we were headed to Hallstad). We mostly ate at the restaurants Rick recommended and were really pleased. Gasthaus zum Wilden Mann and St. Paul's Stub'n Beer Garden were favorites.
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