Salzburg Private Tour – Baroque Splendour, Mozart and Alpine City Culture

Location and History: The City of Mozart

Salzburg lies at the northern foot of the Alps, on the Salzach River, directly on the Bavarian-Austrian border. For centuries it was the residence of the Archbishop-Princes of Salzburg, who combined spiritual and secular power and made Salzburg one of the richest and most magnificent cities of the Holy Roman Empire. The cityscape they left behind is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site: one of the most complete Baroque cities north of the Alps.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756 at Getreidegasse 9 – in a house now open as a museum receiving over 400,000 visitors a year. Mozart himself had little love for Salzburg; he left the city for good in 1781 and never returned. Salzburg initially returned the feeling; it was only after Mozart's death in Vienna in 1791 that the city began to claim its famous son. Today Mozart is everywhere in Salzburg – as a chocolate ball, a brand, a concert and a souvenir.

Hohensalzburg Fortress: The Middle Ages Above the Mozart City

Hohensalzburg Fortress, founded in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard von Helffenstein and expanded over centuries, is one of the best-preserved castle complexes in Europe. From the 506-metre fortress hill it presides over the city and the Salzach Valley – from up here the city's geography immediately becomes legible: how the river and the hill shaped the city's development, how the Baroque church towers structure the skyline, why the Neustadt on the far bank has a different logic.

The Old Town: Baroque Splendour in Detail

Salzburg's old town is a single architectural narrative of the Archbishop-Princes: the Cathedral (1628, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach), the Residence, the Kollegienkirche, the Franziskanerkirche, St. Peter's Abbey – the oldest monastery in the German-speaking world (founded 696 AD). The Getreidegasse with its wrought-iron guild signs is the most iconic image, but the Kapitelgasse, the Kapitelplatz and the quiet courtyards behind them show the more authentic Salzburg.

Schloss Mirabell and the Mirabell Gardens – built in 1606 by Archbishop Wolf Dietrich for his mistress Salome Alt – are world-famous through the scene in The Sound of Music (1965): Julie Andrews dances on the garden's staircase terraces. The palace is today the mayor's office; the gardens are publicly accessible.

Salzburg Festival: August in Salzburg

The Salzburg Festival, founded in 1920 by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Max Reinhardt and Richard Strauss, is one of the most significant music and theatre festivals in the world. Each July and August, orchestras, conductors and soloists of world renown perform in the Felsenreitschule, the Grosses Festspielhaus and the Haus für Mozart. Tickets for the most sought-after performances are often booked over a year in advance. We know the programme and secure you access to the productions that match your interests.

Salzkammergut Excursions

Salzburg is also the ideal base for the Salzkammergut: the Wolfgangsee, Mondsee, Hallstatt (UNESCO) and the Dachstein lie an hour away. Hallstatt, Austria's most picturesque village, became famous after the discovery of over 1,000 Iron Age graves – the Hallstatt culture (800–450 BC) is named after it. We combine Salzburg with the surrounding region according to your interests.