Salzburg

Music festivals and magnificent mountains
at the center of Austria

Salzburg, surrounded by magnificent Alpine scenery, boasts one of the world’s most striking cityscapes—a medieval fortress perched above a perfectly preserved baroque inner city filled with architectural wonders. With only 150,000 inhabitants, Salzburg is also one of Europe’s leading cultural centers, especially for classical music. Mozart was born here, and Salzburg boasts one of the grandest music festivals in the world.

The best time to visit—unless you’re planning a winter ski trip to Land Salzburg, one of Austria’s greatest winter playgrounds—is from May to September, though the sight of Salzburg covered in a delicate layer of snow is equally breathtaking. The distinctly Sound of Music atmosphere and intense beauty makes it one of the most popular destinations in Central Europe.

For passengers doing a rail tour of the Continent, Salzburg stands at the crossroads of Europe. It makes a grand stopover on the lines running between Munich and Italy and also lies on the main rail route linking Switzerland in the west with Budapest in the east.

© 2009, Wiley Publishing, Inc.