A day in Salzburg is a day filled with great views!

We kicked it off by going up a funicular first thing in the morning to Hohensalzburg Castle. On top, you can get a panoramic view of the city. We went in further and took a guided tour of the castle. During the tour, we learned about the history of Salzburg and how the archbishops expanded the fortress across centuries.

When the tour ended, we treated ourselves to a refreshing beverage on top of the fortress/castle with yet another great view.

After coming down from the castle, we wandered around the narrow streets of old town. The alley ways were quaint, but some were very touristy. Sometimes it felt like we bumped into a Mozart chocolate store at every corner.

Eventually, we ended up at Carpe Diem, a modern Austrian restaurant, for lunch. We sat on the patio to snack on our food (and sip on our beer) while people watching. I can’t remember what we ate exactly, but it was delicious. Eating with the tiny spoons were particularly fun.

To make more room in our stomachs, we strolled along the river. We could not resist taking a pause to sit on a bench in Mirabell Palace and enjoy the beautiful sunny day. We were lucky to stumble upon a high school band holding a concert there and enjoyed the music while relaxing in the garden.

Just by wandering around the city, we felt how much it celebrates itself as being the home to Mozart. Thus, we couldn’t leave  without listening to a concert. We meandered through the palace grounds to a small concert hall to enjoy some Mozart pieces played by music students.

After the concert, we crossed the river to grub on the original Sacher Torte at Hotel Sacher. This is a must try — it even has a dedicated Wikipedia article.

As if we didn’t have enough to eat so far, we couldn’t resist a pre-dinner drink at the Steinterasse roof top bar to watch the sunset.

To top off the great day, we enjoyed a savory dinner at Restaurant Goldener Hirsch, conveniently in our hotel.

Curious why we SEEMINGLY randomly stopped in Salzburg for 1 day?

This was part of our 5 day southern Germany road trip where we made a detour into Austria to enjoy some great music, food, and views. You can check out the full itinerary here.