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Lovely Salzburg is Austria's premier tourist city - it's as popular with Austrians as it is with visitors from the rest of the world. The Altstadt (old town), is characterised by plazas with statues and fountains and populated by baroque churches, well-known cafes, stores selling designer fashions, museums and souvenir shops.
Art and Culture:
There is no shortage of music in this most musical of cities. The Salzburg Palace Concerts, the Fortress Concerts, and the Mozart Serenades take place year-round. In addition, there are the Easter Festival, the Pentecost Concerts, Mozart Week (January 24-February 2), and the Salzburg Cultural Days (October). Mozart Week is always special; in recent seasons, Nicholas Harnoncourt, Carlo Maria Giulini, and John Eliot Gardiner have conducted the Vienna Philharmonic.
Shopping:
For a small city, Salzburg has a wide range of stores. The specialties are traditional clothing, like lederhosen and loden coats, jewelry, glassware, handicrafts, confectionery, dolls in native costume, Christmas decorations, sports equipment, and silk flowers. A Gewürzsträussl is a bundle of whole spices bunched and arranged to look like a bouquet of flowers (try the markets on the Universitätsplatz). The most fashionable specialty stores and gift shops are to be found along Getreidegasse and Judengasse and around Residenzplatz. Linzergasse, across the river, is less crowded and good for more practical items. There are also interesting antiques shops and jewelry workshops in the medieval buildings along Steingasse and in the Goldgasse.
Attractions:
The Altstadt, or Old Town - a compact area between the jutting outcrop of the Mönchsberg and the Salzach River - is where most of the major sights are concentrated. The cathedral and interconnecting squares surrounding it form what used to be the religious centre, around which the major churches and the old archbishops' residence are arranged. The rest of the Old Town belonged to the wealthy burghers: the Getreidegasse, the Alter Markt (old market), the town hall, and the burghers' houses. The Mönchsberg cliffs emerge unexpectedly behind the Old Town, crowned to the east by the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Across the river, between the cliffs of the Kapuzinerberg and the riverbank, is Steingasse, a narrow medieval street. Northwest of the Kapuzinerberg lie Mirabell Palace and its gardens.
Gastronomy:
Salzburg has some of the best restaurants in Austria. Many restaurants favor the neue Küche - a lighter version of the traditional, somewhat heavy specialties of Austrian cooking, but with more substance than nouvelle cuisine. Salzburgers have a wonderful way with fish - often a fresh catch from the nearby lakes of the Salzkammergut.
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