The Salzburg Card

Why its a must if visiting

One of the best deals I have found so far. The card allowed free access to 40 plus sites and reduced prices to many others. In addition to access to the city’s tourist attractions, it allowed free travel on public transportation and some regional buses. I decided to get the three day pass since I was going to be in town for 4 full days. The cost was $45 during high season (May 1-October 31) - cheap for what it includes - a whopping 31 benefits, this really is a must.

Hohensalzburg Fortress sits atop the mountain overlooking Salzburg, a formidable building indeed. The building started in 1077. Over the course of the next several centuries, the fort was added to with work finally being completed in the 17th century. To this day, the fort has only been under siege once during the German Peasants War in 1525.

The funicular was added in 1892 which makes getting to the fortress much easier. Between the fortress entry fee and the funicular cost the pass was already worth it. Buying these tickets separately would have been about $18 in USD.

If for no other reason, you must go to the fortress just to enjoy the view! Absolutely spectacular. Below you can see the old town of Salzburg including the many spires you’ll find throughout the city.

Since the stroll down is much easier than up I walked down the meandering path. It takes you past the Nonnberg Abbey, with no sign saying you couldn’t enter, I went ahead in. I was the only one in the church and able to get a good look at all the details it offered. The Abby, founded in 712 was worth a visit as it is the oldest continuously nunnery in the German-speaking world. Fun Fact- it was the location for many of the scenes from the Sound of Music.

The next stop, luckily involved beer. Just a few hundred feet down the path from the nunnery landed me at one of the entrances to one of Stielgl’s three locations in the Salzburg area- Stieg-Keller complete restaurant that can seat 1200 people! Let’s party. The food was great and the beer selection delicious.

Continuing to seek out the stunning views of Salzburg and the river valley, I decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art Salzburg Mönchsberg including the lift from the bottom of the mountain.

The view from the museum was great, add the restaurant with a beer and it was even better! It was a pretty chilly day so the patio wasn’t open. The summertime would be a fabulous place to enjoy after the museum with a coffee or beer and snack.

Deciding to venture outside the city one day, I took the local bus and ventured over to Grödig. About a 20-25 minute bus ride away from the central area. Here you can take the lift up the mountain and get a beautiful view from the top of Salzburg Mountain via the Untersberg Cable Car. Pictured here is a view from the top of the mountain looking over at Germany.

The last stop I’ll share with you promoting the card is to the Stieglitz-Brauwelt. The tour was fine, the beer was good, over all not a must do but I did get to see some nice public art, drool over a beer tasting room housing over 8,000 beers and and enjoy the long history of this famous brewery.

One surprise finding at the brewery experience was this fine license plate, reminding me home is never far away.

I managed to hit all of these which were included with the pass, the cost listed would be if bought individually:

Hohensalzburg Fortress (18.00-all inclusive museums and funicular)

Funicular to the Fortress (included above)

Fortress Museum (included above)

St Peter’s Monastery free

St Peter’s cemetery and catacombs (2.00)

public transport/ bus system (varies, but typically 2-3.00/ride)

Stieglitz-Brauwelt- an interactive world of beer (12.00 plus $6.00 for beer tasting)

Museum of Modern Art-Monchsberg (12.00)

Monchsberg Lift (3.00)

Salzburg Christmas Museum

Cable Car Untersberg (28.00)

Nuts and bolts:

Cost of pass $45

Cost if bought individually $75 (plus bus tickets)

I didn’t hit half the sites I could have and still feel like this was well worth it. It also made me do something I likely wouldn’t have done - gone up the Untersberg Cable Car.