SALZBURG- The City of Mozart... (Salzburg)

Member Name: Ju Lynne

Product:	Salzburg
Date:	09/07/00 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scenic, tourist attractions close to each other

Disadvantages: a bit of a crush of tourists in Summer!

I went on a 36-day tour of Europe last Summer, in July & August1999 with 7 good friends of mine. Salzburg was one of the destinations that was on our list. One thing for sure, everywhere you turn, you will see for yourself, the influence of Mozart, from tourist attractions to restaurants -and you'd even find ice-creams, chocolate bars and liqueurs named after this famous musician! If you intend to visit Salzburg, a must-see, in my opinion, is the Gebursthaus as well as the Wohnhaus. The former, is Mozart's birthplace, where he spent the first few years of his life..and is situated along a little street bustling with lots (& I mean LOTS!) of tourists, at Getreidegasse 9. I doubt if you'll ever miss this striking building, which is painted yellow...prob. the original colour when Mozart was living there during his childhood years (just my guess!). Wohnhaus, situated across the River SAlzach which runs across Salzburg, on the other hand, is Mozart's former residence, in his youth, which is at Makartplatz 8. This is perhaps, the better of the 2 attractions. The downside of these places, is the entrance fees (oh well.. don't think you can avoid that anywhere at all, but it is fair enough that they may need the funds for maintenance work, and for installing security systems). Entry is AS70 for Gebursthaus, and AS65 for Wohnhaus, but you can get a combined ticket for AS 110. OR if you are a person who has a lot of inclination to enter all the museums and tourist attractions in Salzburg, I would recommend the "Salzburg Card", which you can purchase at AS 200/270/360 for 24/48/72 hours validity, for free entry into museums, and public transport round the city.
Not very far away from Gebursthaus (by my standards, that is), is the Residenz, at Residenzplatz 1, and the vast DOM, on Domplatz. The Residenz has a gallery of 16th Century and 17th century Dutch and Flemish artists, in addition to baroque state rooms The entry fee (it's a guide
d tour)costs AS 80. The DOM, is a cathedral with 3 bronze doors, which symbolises faith, hope and charity. Nearby the DOM, you will find St Peter's Abbey, whose graveyard contains catacombs.
On the same side of the river as Wohnhaus, is the Schloss Mirabell, a palace, whose attractive gardens were featured in "The Sound of Music" ; here you can find lots of beautiful flower beds- if flowers appeal to you...
If you are into tacky tours(ok, I DON't have a right to have an opinion on this, as I didn't go on it, but a couple of my friends did), you might want to try the Sound of Music Tour for AS350, which lasts 3-4 hours...

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