Salzburg has always been in my destinations to visit list, and getting to actually experience this picturesque small town immersed in such a wonderful backdrop was a great experience. Sharing this with my husband made it even better.
We reached Salzburg by train from Vienna. We took a Westbahn train from Vienna Westbahnhof departing at 7.40 in the morning and came back with a Westbahn train departing from Salzburg hauptbahnhof at 6.50 in the evening. It takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes each way. The train, as you can see below is very comfortable and clean. There are many restrooms across the train and you get sections with a table, great if you want to have a snack or do some work. The train is pretty smooth but you get some ears popping when it goes under tunnels, usually during the first hour from Vienna to Salzburg and the last hour on the way back. I suggest you buy some gums to help with the ear pressure. The cost of a ticket per person for one way is around EUR24, so the cost for 2 people for both ways was just under EUR100.
As soon as we arrived in Salzburg we got a little bit confused about how to reach the centre. I suggest you go inside the buses information centre and ask for direction. Or else you can look at the map in the bus station in front of the hauptbahnhof and take any bus which goes to the centre. Buy a day ticket for each person at EUR3.40 and you will be able to go to the centre and come back later that day to catch your train back to Vienna or any other city you are coming from. We took bus 6, stopped close to the Mirabelle gardens and walked forward until we saw the Salzach river. I am sure you can agree the views are pretty amazing. So stopping for a few pictures is a must.
We walked across the bridge over the Salzach and reached the old town. I was really amazed at how you can reach different streets through small passages in between buildings. Most of these passages have local shops selling jewellery, sweets, souvenirs, fancy clothes and much more.
We were starving and needed to use the restroom so we went around the old town looking for a nice cafe. I didn't want to miss the Salzburg strudel and after going inside Cafe Tomaselli, which didn't look very appealing on the inside, we came across the beutiful Cafe Altstadt and that's where we had our cappuccinos, strudel and sacher torte. If you want to know where to have the best sacher torte in Vienna read this post. The strudel was divine and for being in Salzburg the price was very reasonable too.
After a small break we headed towards the Salzburg fortress through the funicular. You can buy your ticket for the fortress including a two way funicular ride for under EUR12. The fortress is definitely a must if you are in Salzburg. From its top you can admire the most amazing views and take great pictures. You can easily see the fortress in around 90 minutes. I would also suggest you stop for lunch in one of the restaurants/cafes surrounding the fortress since the views are so spectacular.
After getting off the funicular we just wondered across the town, looking for a nice spot to eat and also doing some window shopping. We walked by the Cathedral, the University, the open market, and Mozart house. We bought some chocolates from the Braun shop and also some Mozartkugeln from the train station.
But before leaving to catch the train we had a delicious early dinner at Gasthof Goldgasse. Both my husband and I ordered veal schnitzel which came with parsley potatoes, cranberries sauce and a cucumber salad. It wasn't cheap, but considering we had meat and we were in Salzburg it was definitely worth it.
And just before catching the train I did some last minute shopping inside H&M. We made it just in time to catch the train and we got in Vienna at around 9.20 pm. We spent a really nice day in Salzburg and I would definitely consider going for an entire weekend.
Have you been to Salzburg? If yes what did you like most about this picturesque town?
STAY FAB
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