Salzburg?
 

I just got accepted into a study abroad program which will take place this summer is Salzburg. Now, I know very little about Salzburg, so if someone who has been there could answer the following questions, itd be great!



-What is there that is fun/interesting to do in Salzburg proper?
-What is the public transportation system like there
- How easily accessible is the rest of Europe by public transportation?


Or anything else thats interesting would be good

Well, I only visited once, but maybe can shed some light:

The public transport is as good as any European town, with bus and regional trains that will take you almost anywhere. There is a somewhat small (by European standards) airport.

It is about 1 1/2 hours from Munich, DE by train.

This is Mozart's hometown, and it is in close proximity to mountains, skiing, mountain biking if you are into that sort of thing.

The city is in a valley with beautiful views.

Mozart is from there. There's a nice castle there.

Public transport: trolley buses and buses -- as good as it is everywhere in Austria.

Trains are frequent. 2 hrs to Munich, 3 hrs to Vienna. Overnight train to Milano.

Lots of good restaurants.

Lucky you. Salzburg is a wonderful city. It just oozes class. Public transport is top notch and you are easily connected to the rest of Europe via train.

As for things to do................you're next door to the Alps, just a few hours by train to Munich and Vienna. I'm sure you can find something interesting to do.

Like stopping by the Augustiner Brewery for a beer and pretzel :) Have quite a few Salzburg photos linked there.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the really touristy thing to do - see all the "Sound of Music" filming locations. I thought it great fun.

Romelle

I would say our member szg should be able to answer all your questions as he is on of the "indigenous people" of Salzburg.

Well, I did not grow up in Salzburg but about 90km north of it.

Salzburg has way too many things to do in the summer months. Public transportation is pretty good and train connections to the rest of Europe are not bad either.

I strongly recommend to get

In terms of sightseeing, I can recommend three places:

thanks !

I know 5 other FTs, who are based in SZG, who can also give detailed answers about SZG.

I think, the questions are answered already.

I just want to add, the Salzburg is located perfect within Europe, so that you can easy reach a lot of cities and neighbour countries with public transportation.

If you have additional question, just send me a message.

SZG is one of my favorite cities in the world. With a summer of studying, you'll barely have enough time to see the city and surrounding sites. I'm jealous!

A very short distance from Salzburg (in Germany) is the Eagle's Nest. This house was built at enormous cost as a gift to Hitler. You can take a bus from Salzburg then make your own way up to the mountain top, but I recommend a tour. I used these guys.

The old town of Salzburg is a typical European place with narrow pedestrian-only streets, cafes etc. The Goldener Hirsch is a fancy hotel with at least two restaurants (and maybe more). I went to one that was very reasonably priced and had really nice meal of various sausages. The Hotel Sacher is another high-end place where you can get a Salzburger Nockerl for dessert. The calories will almost kill you, but it's an (expensive) experience and worth doing once in your life. It takes about half an hour to cook this dessert and it feeds at minimum 3 people.

As others have noted, Mozart was born here and lived a fair portion of his life so much of the town is devoted to Mozart and to classical music in general. Depending on when you go, the Salzburg Festival might have something or other going on. If you're into the performing arts, it's well worth checking out but most of the plays etc are in German.

The Sound of Music tour seems a little cheesy on the surface, but it's surprisingly interesting and a good way to see the area surrounding Salzburg. And I have to admit, it really was neat seeing all those places for real instead of just watching the movie.

I didn't go here myself, but I've heard that the Salt Mines are quite interesting and the area quite picturesque in general.

If you have time, take the train up to Vienna for a weekend.

Have fun!

We visited the Salt Mines during the SZG-DO last year. ^

The Festspiele runs from July 25th until August 30th. The operatic program includes:

http://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/oper/

To me, the highlights are the Rossini epic conducted by the great Riccardo Muti, and a revival of Claus Guth's didactic 2006 production of 'Le Nozze di Figaro' (excellent cast).

Tickets are not cheap, but there may be accomodations for students, and if that fails, one can usually pick up a lesser-priced ticket outside the Grosses Festspielhaus shortly before the performance starts.