Places/Austria

Salzburg

Salzburg

A baroque city in a narrow valley, with a fortress above it and the Alps at the end of the street.

Salzburg is small, theatrical, and beautifully set. The old town can be walked in a morning and disliked by the afternoon if you only follow the sound of a tour guide. Cross the river. Look up at the fortress. Then decide whether you need to be inside it.

The Sound of Music is a local industry. You may ignore it completely and still have the best of the city.

See

• The fortress, or the walk below it

  Hohensalzburg explains the skyline. The funicular is reasonable. The view back down is the point, more than every room.

• The old town lanes

  Getreidegasse once, early. Then the cemeteries and courtyards, which are quieter and more like the place.

• Across the Salzach

  The right bank is where you eat and remember that people work here. The Mirabell gardens are a formal half-hour, not a pilgrimage.

• A mountain only if the day is free

  The Untersberg or a lake are nearby and they are a choice. They are not a side dish to a morning in the fortress and an afternoon at a palace.