Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
At any TI, you can pick up a free city-center map (the €0.70 map has a broader coverage
and more information on sights, and is particularly worthwhile if biking out of town), the
SalzburgCardbrochure(listingsightswithcurrenthoursandprices),andabimonthlyevents
guide. The TIs also book rooms (€2.20 fee and 10 percent deposit). Inside the Mozartplatz
TI is the privately run Salzburg Ticket Service counter, where you can book concert tickets
Salzburg Card:
The TIs sell the Salzburg Card, which covers all your public transport-
ation (including the Mönchsberg elevator and funicular to the fortress) and admission to
all the city sights (including Hellbrunn Castle and a river cruise). The card is pricey, but if
you'd like to pop into all the sights, it can save money and enhance your experience (€25/
24hours,€34/48hours,€40/72hours).Toanalyze yourpotential savings, here are the major
sightsandwhatyou'dpaywithoutthecard:HohensalzburgFortressandfunicular-€11;Moz-
art's Birthplace and Residence-€17; Hellbrunn Castle-€9.50; Salzburg Panorama 1829-€3;
Salzach River cruise-€14; 24-hour transit pass-€4.20. Busy sightseers can save plenty. Get
this card, feel the financial pain once, and the city will be all yours.
By Train:
The Salzburg station is a gleaming commercial center with all the services you
need: train information, tourist information, luggage lockers, and a handy SPAR supermar-
ket (daily 6:00-23:00)—plus a popular shopping mall that's open on weekends. The transit
info desk down the stairs from bus platform C has information on local buses.
Getting downtown from the station is a snap. Simply step outside, find
bus platform C
(labeled
Zentrum-Altstadt
), and hop on the next bus. Buses #1, #3, #5, #6, and #25 all do the
same route into the city center before diverging at the far end of town. For most sights and
city-center hotels, get off just after the bridge, at the fifth stop. For my recommended new
town hotels, get off at Makartplatz (the fourth stop), just before the bridge.
Taxis
don'tmakemuchsensetogetfromthetrainstationintotown,asthey'reexpensive
for short rides (€2.50 drop charge, about €8 for most rides in town).
To
walk
downtown (15 minutes), turn left as you leave the station, and walk straight
down Rainerstrasse, which leads under the tracks past Mirabellplatz, turning into Dre-
ifaltigkeitsgasse. From here, you can turn left onto Linzergasse for many of my recommen-
ded hotels, or cross the river to the old town. For a slightly longer but more dramatic ap-
proach, leave the station the same way but follow the tracks to the river, turn left, and walk
the riverside path toward the fortress.
By Car:
Mozart never drove in the old town, and neither should you. The best place to
park is the
Salzburg Süd park-and-ride
lot. Coming on A-1 from Vienna or Munich, take
A-10 toward Hallein, and then take the next exit (Salzburg Süd) in the direction of Anif.
First, you'll pass Hellbrunn Castle (and zoo), then the Salzburg Süd TI, before arriving at
