Made by Mario Calzón
SALZBURG ATTRACTIONS
Although it sounds as something hard to do, avoiding over tourism in the city is something possible, in this next blog entry I’ll talk about some places in Salzburg that are worth a visit and are not filled with people, and also free or really affordable.
Kapuzinerberg
To start off I will talk about Kapuzinerberg, it is a small hill around 636 meters tall that rises next to the Salzach river. Located in the historic center of the city, Kapuzinerberg is a great place to see the views of the city from a high point. Halfway through what we could consider a really short “hike”, there’s a viewpoint from where we can see the sun setting in the afternoon and as said before, the views of the river and the city.
Kapuzinerberg offers different hiking trails that lead to different viewpoints of the surroundings of the city, it is considered to be the Green Lung of Salzburg. It’s also the location of a Capucines Cloister built in the 17th century, on the way to it we can find different oratories and also a memorial place for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the famous composer and it has been part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site ever since 1996.
Obviously, going to Kapuzinerberg it’s completely free since it’s an open space, and it’s really easy to access since it’s located in the center of the city and it’s a really short hike, around 5-10 minutes depending how high up you want to go.
Also, next to the Kapuzinerberg there’s a lot of coffee places where you can get a coffee or a drink to go so you can enjoy it on top of the hill.
Schloss Hellbrunn and Schlosspark Hellbrunn
Next place I’d like to talk about is Schlosspark Hellbrunn and Schloss Hellbrunn.
This park/garden is located in the southern part of the city, next to Elsbethen and Anif.
In this park we can find beautiful gardens and a lot of nature. Also a really important attraction is the water fountains with some mythological greek statues and the waterparks.
The main attraction of the park is the palace “Schloss Hellbrunn” it’s a Baroque style villa built originally with the objective of being a day residence in summer. It was built in the beginning of the 17th century just like the Capucines Cloister.
Inside the castle there’s a ballroom painted with allegorical representations on the wall, and also an octagon with music and society scenes.
In my opinion this garden/park it’s an amazing and beautiful place to walk around with friends, family or even alone to relax.
In winter, during the Christmas season the park is turned into a Christmas Market, and there’s decorations around the whole place. We can find a lot of small shops that offer typical Christmas Austrian food, drinks like Glühwein and Christmas items. In the back of the park we also have a small display of animals that you can see such as small pigs, donkeys, rabbits etc.
Close to the Schlosspark Hellbrunn we also can visit the Salzburg Zoo, prices for Adults is €12, €8 for people aged between 15-19.
Fortress Hohensalzburg
Last but not least, although it can be crowded sometimes, it’s impossible not to mention the Salzburg Fortress. The building of the fortress started in the eleventh century and it was used and attacked in wars during the next centuries, but it was refurbished in the late 19th century, it became a really big tourist attraction with it and the building of the funicular railway.
In the interior of it there’s a lot of wings and a courtyard, a huge organ called the Salzburg Bull, that plays 3 times a day. The Golden Hall, The Golden Chamber and Chapel of Archbishop Leonard.
You can either go walking up the hill or go on the funicular railway. Once you reach the top of the hill you have to pay a ticket, the price of which could vary depending on the services you want to get. It will be more expensive if you chose the funicular railway but prices go around €10-16 for Adults.
When you reach the top you get a tour around the different rooms that I mentioned before, and you can also check some galleries that show miniature recreations of the Fortress and the surroundings. At the end, when you reach the top of the stairs you get to a little balcony with a 360º view of the city of Salzburg.
Although this is not the best example of avoiding over tourism since some days it can be a little bit crowded, It’s one of the biggest if not the biggest attraction and you really cannot miss it, beautiful views surrounded by nature and one of the biggest pieces of Salzburg’s history.
