Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SommerSzene
CULTURAL FESTIVAL
Jul)
Boundary-crossing performing arts are the focus of this event.
Salzburg Festival
months ahead for this venerable summer festival, running since 1920. See
Click here
.
MUSIC FESTIVAL
Jazz & the City
JAZZ FESTIVAL
mid-Oct)
Salzburg gets its groove on at some 100 free concerts in the
Altstadt.
Christkindlmarkt
(
www.christkindlmarkt.co.at
;
Dec)
Salzburg is at its storybook best during Advent, when
Christmas markets bring festive sparkle to Domplatz and Residenzplatz.
CHRISTMAS MARKET
FESTIVAL TIME
In 1920, dream trio Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Max Reinhardt and Richard Strauss combined creative forces and
the
Salzburg Festival
(Salzburger Festspiele;
www.salzburgerfestspiele.at
;
late Jul - Aug) was born. Now,
as then, one of the highlights is the staging of Hofmannsthal's morality play
Jedermann
(Everyman) on Dom-
platz. A trilogy of opera, drama and classical concerts of the highest calibre have since propelled the five-week
summer festival to international renown, attracting some of the world's best conductors, directors, orchestras and
singers.
Come festival time, Salzburg crackles with excitement, as a quarter of a million visitors descend on the city
for some 200 productions. Theatre premieres, avant-garde works and the summer-resident Vienna Philharmonic
performing Mozart works are all in the mix. The Festival District on Hofstallgasse has a spectacular backdrop,
framed by Mönchsberg's cliffs. Most performances are held in the cavernous
Grosses Festpielhaus
, which ac-
commodates 2179 theatregoers, the
Haus für Mozart
in the former royal stables, and the baroque
Felsenreit-
schule
.
If you're planning to visit during the festival, don't leave
anything
to chance - book your flights, hotel and
tickets months in advance. Sometimes last-minute tickets are available at the
ticket office
(
80 45-500;
info@salzburgfestival.at
; Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz 11;
9.30am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Sat), but they're like
gold dust. Ticket prices range from €5 to €370.
Sleeping
Salzburg's accommodation is pricey by Austrian standards, but you can get a good deal if
you're willing to go the extra mile or two. Ask the tourist office for a list of private
rooms and
Pensionen
; some of the best are along Moosstrasse, just south of the centre.
