Free Walking Tour Salzburg: Mirabell to Mozart's Birthplace

Your Salzburg Walking Tour, from Palace Gardens to Mozart's Front Door

1. 1

   Mirabell Palace & Gardens

   

   Begin in the gardens and turn back towards the palace. The calm Neoclassical front you see dates from around 1818, when the building was restored after a fire; underneath lies a lavish Baroque rebuild by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt from between 1721 and 1727. Palace and gardens are a listed monument and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Salzburg's historic centre, and the gardens are free to wander.

   The beginnings were far less official. Around 1606 Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, plagued by gout and weakened by a stroke the year before, wanted to get away from the narrow streets of the walled town. On the bank of the Salzach, north of the medieval walls, he had a pleasure palace built for himself and his mistress Salome Alt, reportedly in six months and after Italian and French models. He called it Schloss Altenau.

   The idyll ended in 1612. Wolf Dietrich was deposed and arrested at Hohensalzburg Fortress, the castle you will see up on its hill later on this walk. His successor Mark Sittich von Hohenems expelled Salome Alt and her family and renamed the house after the Italian mirabile and bella: amazing, beautiful.

   The palace kept collecting stories. On 1 June 1815 the later King Otto of Greece was born here, while his father, the Bavarian crown prince Ludwig I, governed Salzburg as stadtholder. Remember Ludwig; he turns up again at Mozartplatz. The city bought the palace in 1866, and since the Second World War it has housed the mayor's office. Its Marble Hall is the stage of the Salzburg Palace Concerts and a popular place to get married.

   From the gardens it is 400 m, about 5 minutes, to Makartplatz and the Mozart Residence.

   Hours

   Mirabell Gardens: daily from about 06:00 until dusk (Orangery 09:00–16:00; some sections closed in winter)

   Price

   Free

   Website

   salzburg.info ↗

   Location

   Mirabell Palace & Gardens on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Mozart Residence

   

   At Makartplatz 8 stands the house the Mozarts moved into in 1773, when their flat on Getreidegasse had become too small for the family and for the gatherings Leopold liked to host. Salzburg calls it the Tanzmeisterhaus, the Dancing Master's House. The square was then Hannibalplatz, and from 1711 the court dancing master Johann Lorenz Spöckner taught young nobles here how to move at court.

   The link to the Mozarts was personal. Spöckner's son Franz Gottlieb, who took over as dancing master, was best man at Leopold Mozart's wedding to Anna Maria Pertl in 1747. Six years after his death, the family rented a spacious eight-room apartment, including his large dance hall. They used it for lessons, for house concerts, for storing the keyboard instruments Leopold sold, and for Bölzlschiessen: family and guests firing air guns at comically painted paper targets.

   Wolfgang lived here between the ages of 17 and 25, until he moved to Vienna in 1781. His mother died in 1778, his sister Nannerl married in 1784, and Leopold stayed on with his servants, from 1785 with his baby grandson Leopold Alois, whom Nannerl had entrusted to him, until his death in 1787. In 1944 aerial bombs destroyed two thirds of the long, simple building; today it is a museum.

   Admission is charged. Go in if you are curious about Mozart's grown-up years in Salzburg and the family's daily life; his childhood violin and the clavichord of The Magic Flute wait at the birthplace at the end of the walk, and a combined ticket covers both houses.

   Now comes the longest leg of the route: 670 m, about 9 minutes, into the Old Town to Mozartplatz.

   Local name

   Mozart-Wohnhaus

   Hours

   Daily: 09:00–17:30

   Price

   Adults 18 EUR, reduced 15 EUR (groups of 10+, students, seniors); combined ticket with Mozart's Birthplace 25 EUR, reduced 22 EUR

   Website

   mozarteum.at ↗

   Location

   Mozart Residence on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Mozartplatz

   

   In the middle of the square stands the Mozart Monument by Ludwig Schwanthaler. It was meant to be unveiled in 1841, on the 50th anniversary of Mozart's death, but workers digging for the foundation found a Roman mosaic. Only after it had been excavated was the statue unveiled, on 4 September 1842. The marble pedestal was a gift from King Ludwig I of Bavaria, the same Ludwig who once governed the city from Mirabell.

   Look down at the foot of the statue: a copy of the Roman mosaic is set there, with its inscription 'hic habitat felicitas, nihil intret mali', roughly: here lives happiness, let nothing evil enter. Before Mozart, the square was called Michaelsplatz, and its centrepiece was a Baroque fountain with a statue of St. Michael, removed in 1841 to make room.

   The square itself is Wolf Dietrich's work again: in the early 17th century he had a row of houses demolished to create it. Turn around slowly. On the north side, the low Imhofstöckl holds the tourist information office, with a piece of the old city wall from the time of Paris Lodron behind it. To the south rises the Neue Residenz, home of the Salzburg Museum. Of the three uniform 17th-century houses on the east side, number 8 was the home of Constanze Mozart-Nissen, Mozart's widow. On the west side are the Salzburg Christmas Museum and Café Glockenspiel. The Wackersdorf Memorial, put up in 2000 by an anti-nuclear platform, also stands on the square.

   Salzburg Cathedral is only 120 m away, about 2 minutes on foot.

   Hours

   Always open

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Mozartplatz on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Salzburg Cathedral

   

   The great Baroque church in front of you is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Salzburg, dedicated to Saint Rupert and Saint Vergilius. It is free to enter, and even a short visit is worth it.

   The site is far older than the building. Vergilius founded a church here in 774 on the remains of a Roman town; after a fire it was rebuilt in 1181. The present appearance goes back to the 17th century, when the cathedral was completely rebuilt in the Baroque style, a project started under Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, the archbishop whose name follows you through the whole Old Town.

   Inside, look for the baptismal font. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptised in it, so in a few minutes you can stand where his life in Salzburg began, before seeing the house where he was born at the end of the walk.

   Residenzplatz opens right beside the cathedral, 20 m and a minute away.

   Local name

   Salzburger Dom

   Hours

   Mon–Sat 09:00–11:40 and 12:30–18:00, Sun 13:00–18:00

   Price

   Free

   Website

   salzburg-dom.at ↗

   Location

   Salzburg Cathedral on Google Maps ↗

5. 5

   Residenzplatz

   

   Step out onto the big square and head for the fountain in its centre. The Residenzbrunnen was designed by Tommaso di Garona and built between 1656 and 1661 from Untersberg limestone; a Triton on the upper basin sprays the water upwards. It is considered the largest Baroque fountain in Central Europe.

   Read the square from its edges. The cathedral closes it to the south and the Alte Residenz, the palace of the prince-archbishops after which the square is named, to the west. To the east stands the Neue Residenz, a Renaissance building begun in 1588, with its prominent bell tower. The town houses on the north side include number 2, where the Baroque painter Johann Michael Rottmayr stayed around 1690 while painting the ceiling frescoes in the Alte Residenz.

   Before 1587 a monastery cemetery lay here. Wolf Dietrich had it abandoned and many private houses demolished to lay out a main square, the Hauptplatz, at the same time as the cathedral was rebuilt to plans by the Italian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi. Remains of the medieval cemetery have recently been found beneath the paving. The square also carries a darker memory: on 30 April 1938 the Nazis held a book burning here, and the planned refurbishment includes a monument to it. In summer the square turns into an open-air cinema.

   Kapitelplatz is 220 m away, about 3 minutes, and on the way you pass the DomQuartier.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Residenzplatz on Google Maps ↗

6. 6

   Kapitelplatz

   

   This wide square lies on the south side of the cathedral and is the best place on the walk to get your first proper look at the fortress above you. Towards the east you see the Dompropstei and the Archbishop's Palace; to the south, the Kapitelschwemme and the fortress on its hill.

   The buildings behind continue the church quarter: the Kardinal-Schwarzenberg-Haus, the cathedral chapter and the Mühlenhof of St. Peter's, while the novices' wing of the abbey closes the square to the west. The name comes from the cathedral chapter, the body of canons whose seat was in Kapitelgasse 4 and the neighbouring houses.

   From here the route climbs for 480 m, about 10 minutes, towards Hohensalzburg Fortress.

   Hours

   Always open

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Kapitelplatz on Google Maps ↗

7. 7

   Hohensalzburg Fortress

   

   Hohensalzburg sits on the Festungsberg at 506 m, and at 250 m long and 150 m wide it is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. A Roman fort once stood on the highest point. The fortress itself began in 1077 under Archbishop Gebhard von Helfenstein as a simple bailey with a wooden wall; his feud with Emperor Henry IV in the Investiture Controversy, in which he sided with Pope Gregory VII, was a reason to build it stronger.

   Later archbishops kept adding. The ring walls and towers came in 1462 under Burkhard II von Weißpriach, Leonhard von Keutschach expanded the castle further during his reign from 1495, and the outer bastions were built in the 16th and 17th centuries out of fear of a Turkish invasion. Only once was the fortress actually besieged: in the Peasants' War of 1525, miners, farmers and townspeople tried to drive out Archbishop Matthäus Lang and failed. Less than a century later, Wolf Dietrich, the builder of Mirabell, was held prisoner here.

   Watch for the Reisszug, the freight lift that hauled goods to the upper courtyard. Matthäus Lang described it in 1515; in updated form it still runs and is probably the oldest operational railway in the world.

   Going inside costs admission, and it is worth it if you have two hours and want the views and the story. Without a ticket you only reach the mid-way station of the funicular and miss the views from the top. You can walk up instead of riding the FestungsBahn: the walking ticket is cheaper, has the same content and includes the ride down, and the path from Festungsgasse, about 20 minutes, is often quicker than the funicular queue in July and August. Choose All-Inclusive over Basic: Basic leaves out the Prince's Chambers and the Magic Theatre, and the difference is small.

   Back down, St. Peter's Abbey is 440 m away, about 7 minutes.

   Local name

   Festung Hohensalzburg

   Hours

   Jan–Apr and Oct–Dec: daily 09:30–17:00; May–Sep: daily 08:30–20:00 (museums 09:00–19:00)

   Price

   All-Inclusive ticket incl. FestungsBahn funicular 19.20 EUR (children 6–14 7.30 EUR); Basic ticket incl. funicular 15.50 EUR (children 6–14 6.30 EUR)

   Website

   festung-hohensalzburg.at ↗

   Location

   Hohensalzburg Fortress on Google Maps ↗

8. 8

   St. Peter's Abbey

   

   At the northern foot of the Mönchsberg lies a Benedictine monastery that is considered the oldest in the German-speaking area with a continuous history. Saint Rupert founded it in 696 on the site of a late antique church, to push the mission into the Eastern Alps. Until 987 one man was both abbot here and Archbishop of Salzburg. Entry is free.

   The Romanesque abbey church was built from around 1130 on the site of a Carolingian church and dedicated to Saint Peter in 1147. Inside, the abbey once had an organ built by Daniel Hayl the younger between 1618 and 1620.

   The monks shaped the town's learning. In the Middle Ages St. Peter's was known for its exceptional school, in 1074 monks from here went off to found Admont Abbey in Styria, and in 1623 Archbishop Paris Lodron founded the Benedictine University of Salzburg, closely tied to the abbey until it was dissolved in 1810. A Benedictine college founded here in 1926 helped bring the modern university back to life, and in 1927 St. Peter's became an archabbey.

   After the Anschluss in 1938 the Nazis seized the buildings and expelled most of the monks, but the monastery was never dissolved, and the monks returned after the war. Take a few quiet minutes in the church and the courtyards; this is one of the stops on the route where you can sit down without paying anything.

   Getreidegasse is 510 m away, about 7 minutes on foot.

   Local name

   Stift Sankt Peter

   Price

   Free

   Website

   erzabtei.at ↗

   Location

   St. Peter's Abbey on Google Maps ↗

9. 9

   Getreidegasse

   

   Getreidegasse, Grain Lane, is a narrow street of tall town houses standing shoulder to shoulder, and the thing to look up at is the wrought-iron guild signs hanging over the shop doors. Duck into the passageways where they open: many houses hide courtyards behind the street front. It runs one block back from the Salzach and is part of the Old Town's pedestrian zone.

   Around 1150 it was called Trabegasse, from traben, to trot, because it led from the old trade centre to the suburb of Mülln. In the 14th century the prince-archbishops granted the citizens staple rights, large trading houses began displaying their goods along the street, and it became a favoured address of patricians and officials.

   The street has its own small history of faces. August Bebel, later a politician, was an apprentice in a woodturner's workshop at number 3 in 1859 and 1860. For more than three decades, until 2019, the puppet woman with her brown basket sold marionettes here every day. Many of the old houses are shops now, and the city has repeatedly tried to keep the street's character intact.

   Mozart's Birthplace is at number 9, just 40 m and a minute away.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Getreidegasse on Google Maps ↗

10. 10

    Mozart's Birthplace

    

    Number 9 Getreidegasse is where the walk ends and where Mozart's life began, on 27 January 1756. The family rented the third floor from 1747, right after Leopold married Anna Maria Pertl: a kitchen, a small cabinet, a living room, a bedroom and an office. Seven children were born here; only two survived, Nannerl and Wolfgang.

    Before you go in, look at the doorway. The coiled serpent in a lion's mouth, symbol of Asclepius, goes back to the court apothecary Chunrad Fröschmoser, who bought the house in 1585. The house itself dates from the 12th century and stands on land that once belonged to the garden of the monks of St. Peter's. From 1703 it belonged to the Hagenauer family, and Johann Laurenz Hagenauer was Mozart's landlord; Leopold wrote to him constantly during the family's grand tour between 1763 and 1766.

    Since 1880 the house has been a museum of the Mozart Foundation, and it charges admission. On the third floor you see Mozart's childhood violin, portraits, documents and early editions of his music; the second floor is about his passion for opera and holds the clavichord on which he composed The Magic Flute. Go in if those objects matter to you; if you have already seen the Mozart Residence, the combined ticket makes the second house easy.

    In 1773 the family left for the Dancing Master's House on Makartplatz, where you started the Mozart part of the day. If you want to close the loop, the GPS navigation leads you back to Mirabell Palace & Gardens.

    Local name

    Mozarts Geburtshaus

    Hours

    Daily: 09:00–17:30

    Price

    Adults 18 EUR, reduced 15 EUR; combined ticket with Mozart Residence 25 EUR, reduced 22 EUR

    Website

    mozarteum.at ↗

    Location

    Mozart's Birthplace on Google Maps ↗

Shorter and Longer Ways to Walk Salzburg

The full route works for most people, but you can trim it or build it around Mozart.

Free walk, all ten stops from outside

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

For anyone on a tight budget or a short visit: walk the whole 2.9 km in 44 minutes of pure walking, go inside Salzburg Cathedral and St. Peter's Abbey, which are free, and see the fortress and both Mozart houses from outside. No tickets needed.

Old Town core with the fortress

Stops: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

For a first visit with limited time: start at Mozartplatz and skip the walk from Mirabell. The legs add up to about 1.8 km and 31 minutes of walking. Tickets for Hohensalzburg Fortress and, if you like, Mozart's Birthplace at the end.

Mozart day

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

For music lovers: the full route with time inside both the Mozart Residence and Mozart's Birthplace, so you follow the family from their larger home back to the house where Wolfgang was born. Same 44 minutes of walking; both museums charge admission, and the cathedral with Mozart's baptismal font is free.

How Long This Salzburg Tour Takes, With and Without Interiors

The walking is the small part: 44 minutes in total, and the longest legs are the 670 m from the Mozart Residence into the Old Town and the 10 minutes up from Kapitelplatz towards the fortress. Everything else is a few minutes apart, so the time goes into looking, not walking.

The free walk, with a look inside Salzburg Cathedral and St. Peter's Abbey, takes about two and a half hours. The fortress adds about two hours including the ride or the climb, and each Mozart museum about an hour. The Old Town core with the fortress and the birthplace comes to about four and a half hours; the full route with the fortress and one Mozart museum to about five and a half hours, with a lunch break more.

Before You Set Off from Mirabell

• Start and finish: The recommended start is Mirabell Palace & Gardens, but you can join at any stop. The walk ends at Mozart's Birthplace on Getreidegasse, and the GPS navigation can lead you back to the start if you want.
• Time of day: Set off in the morning. You reach St. Peter's while the bakery courtyard still smells of fresh bread, and you have the afternoon for the fortress.
• Tickets: Hohensalzburg Fortress, the Mozart Residence and Mozart's Birthplace charge admission; everything else on the route is free. Buy the fortress ticket in advance if you plan to go up.

Food and Breaks Between the Fortress and Getreidegasse

The route runs right past some of Salzburg's long-standing places to eat, most of them around St. Peter's and the foot of the fortress, which suits a lunch break in the middle of the walk.

Tourist Traps to Avoid in Salzburg's Old Town

• Tourist menus on Getreidegasse: Restaurants directly on Getreidegasse near Mozart's Birthplace and pavement cafes on Alter Markt are known for upselling tourist menus. Look for a handwritten daily chalkboard menu, not a rotating stand with a menu in twelve languages. (Getreidegasse and Alter Markt)
• Overpriced Mozartkugeln: Mozartkugeln from market stalls and souvenir shops in the centre are almost always overpriced. The dominant brand is Mirabell; the original is Fürst, in silver foil with a blue Mozart portrait. Buy them at a supermarket or at the airport instead.
• Clipboard petitions: Someone with a clipboard asks you to sign while an accomplice goes for your pocket, often at busy cafe terraces. Never leave valuables on an outdoor table, ignore the clipboard and say a firm 'nein danke'. (Getreidegasse, Residenzplatz and Mozartplatz)
• Fake Sound of Music ticket sellers: Unauthorised sellers approach tourists here. Buy Sound of Music tours only from the operator's own office or official website; the main licensed operators include Panorama Tours on Mirabellplatz and Bob's Special Tours on Rudolfskai. (Residenzplatz, outside the cathedral and on Getreidegasse)
• Pickpockets at the Christmas markets: Pickpocket teams work the dense crowds around the mulled wine stalls and the cathedral archway. Keep cash and cards in a front zip pocket or inner coat pocket, not in a back pocket or an open tote bag. (Domplatz and Residenzplatz in Advent)

Common Questions About Walking Salzburg