Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
café, with wooden picnic tables and a one-with-nature allure. Next to the Stadtalm is a sur-
viving section of Salzburg's medieval wall; pass under the wall and walk left along it to a
tableau showing how the wall once looked.
The modern-art museum, which features temporary exhibits, is right at the top of the
Mönchsberg elevator.
Cost and Hours:
€8, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon.
The following sights are across the river from the old town. I've connected them with walk-
ing instructions.
• Begin at the Makartsteg pedestrian bridge, where you can survey the...
Salzburg's river is called “salt river” not because it's salty, but because of the precious cargo
it once carried—the salt mines of Hallein are just nine miles upstream. Salt could be trans-
ported from here all the way to the Danube, and on to the Mediterranean via the Black Sea.
The riverbanks and roads were built when the river was regulated in the 1850s. Before that,
the Salzach was much wider and slower moving. Houses opposite the old town fronted the
river with docksand“garages” forboats. The grandbuildings just past the bridge (with their
elegant promenades and cafés) were built on reclaimed land in the late 19th century in the
historicist style of Vienna's Ringstrasse.
Scan the cityscape. Notice all the churches. Salzburg, nicknamed the “Rome of the
North,” has 38 Catholic churches (plus two Protestant churches and a synagogue). Find the
fivestreamsgushingintotheriver.Thesedatefromthe13thcentury,whentheriverwassplit
into five canals running through the town to power its mills. The Stein Hotel (upstream, just
left of next bridge) has a popular roof-terrace café (see
here
). Downstream, notice the Mu-
seum of Modern Art atop the Mönchsberg, with a view restaurant and a faux castle (actually
a water reservoir). The Romanesque bell tower with the green copper dome in the distance
is the Augustine church, site of the best beer hall in town (the Augustiner Bräustübl).
• Cross the bridge, pass the recommended Café Bazar (a fine place for a drink), walk two
blocks inland, and take a left past the heroic statues into...
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Mirabell Gardens and Palace (Schloss)
The bubbly gardens laid out in 1730 for the prince archbishop have been open to the public
since 1850 (thanks to Emperor Franz Josef, who was rattled by the popular revolutions of
