Things to Do

Self-Guided Salzburg Old Town Walk

A step-by-step self-guided walking route linking Mirabell, the river views, Getreidegasse, the cathedral, St. Peter's and the climb to the fortress — done at an easy half-day pace.

Updated Jun 2026By Lena Hofer·5 min read·7 sections

Photo: Andrew Bossi / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.5

The short version

✓A loop of roughly two to three hours at a sightseeing pace, easily stretched to a half-day with stops.
✓Starts at Mirabell on the right bank, crosses the Makartsteg, and climbs to the fortress at the end.
✓Almost entirely flat until the final fortress climb — which you can swap for the funicular.
✓Free to walk; only the museums, churches' deeper routes and the funicular cost anything.
✓Best done early morning or late afternoon to dodge the day-trip crowds.

Before you start: the shape of the walk

This route threads the essential Old Town in a single, sensible loop, so you see the highlights in a logical order without doubling back. It begins on the right bank at Mirabell, where parking and the station are close, crosses the river by the love-lock Makartsteg footbridge into the heart of the Altstadt, works through Getreidegasse, the squares and the churches, and finishes with the climb — or funicular ride — up to the fortress for the view that ties the whole city together.

Allow two to three hours at a walking-and-looking pace, or a relaxed half-day if you stop for coffee, go inside the cathedral and the museums, and ride up to the fortress. The terrain is flat and paved almost the whole way; only the final ascent to the Festung is steep, and you can replace that with the Festungsbahn. Wear shoes that cope with cobbles, and aim for early morning or late afternoon, when the lanes are quietest and the light is best.

Salzburg Old Town Guide

The background on every stop this walk passes.

Things to Do in Salzburg

How this walk fits into a wider Salzburg trip.

Step 1 — Mirabell Gardens and the fortress view

Begin in Mirabell Gardens on the right bank. Stand at the top of the terraced steps near the Pegasus Fountain and look south: the formal Baroque parterre lines up its central axis straight across the river at Hohensalzburg, giving you the city's signature view and a preview of where the walk ends. Sound of Music fans will recognise the steps and the fountain from 'Do-Re-Mi'. The garden is free and best at opening time, before the tour groups.

Walk down through the parterre, past the clipped hedges and mythological statues, toward the river. If the palace is open, glance into the courtyard for the Marble Hall, the former ballroom that now hosts evening concerts. Then head for the riverbank.

Mirabell Palace & Gardens

The full guide to the garden and the Marble Hall.

Step 2 — Cross the Makartsteg into the Altstadt

From Mirabell, walk a couple of minutes to the Makartsteg, the pedestrian bridge hung with thousands of love-locks. Pause mid-span: this is the classic river photograph, with the fortress, the cathedral dome and the Old Town rooftops all lined up downstream. The Salzach below is the river that floated the salt that built everything you are looking at.

Cross to the left bank and you are in the Altstadt proper. Bear left along the riverside lane and into the network of passageways behind Getreidegasse — or carry straight on toward Universitätsplatz, where the Saturday Grünmarkt and the curving Baroque Kollegienkirche set the tone.

Romantic Salzburg

The Makartsteg is one of the city's classic couple stops.

Step 3 — Getreidegasse and the courtyards

Make your way to Getreidegasse, the medieval shopping canyon roofed by a forest of wrought-iron guild signs. Walk its length once for the street itself, then double the pleasure by slipping through the Durchhäuser — the pass-through houses whose arched passages and hidden courtyards link the lane to the river and to Universitätsplatz. These quiet, café-lined courtyards are the part most visitors miss.

At No. 9, the bright yellow house, stop at Mozart's Birthplace, where the composer was born in 1756; the museum has run there since 1880. Whether or not you go inside, it anchors the street's story. From the eastern end of Getreidegasse you spill out toward the squares.

Mozart in Salzburg

More on the Birthplace and the city's music.

Step 4 — The three squares and the cathedral

You now reach the ceremonial heart: Residenzplatz first, with its huge Baroque fountain, the Residenz palace on one side and the New Residence's Glockenspiel carillon on the other. Step through to Domplatz, framed directly beneath the cathedral's marble west front and dome — the open-air stage for the Festival's Jedermann each summer — and on to the smaller Mozartplatz with the composer's 1842 statue.

Go inside Salzburg Cathedral, the early-Baroque Dom where Mozart was baptised and later played the organ; the nave is generally free to enter. If you want to go deeper, the DomQuartier circuit links the cathedral, the Residenz staterooms and St. Peter's under one ticket. Otherwise, carry on south toward the abbey.

Best Things to Do in Salzburg

The squares and cathedral on the first-trip shortlist.

Step 5 — St. Peter's churchyard and the rock

A minute's walk brings you to St. Peter's Abbey, the oldest monastery in the German-speaking world still in use. Wander into its churchyard — a hushed garden of wrought-iron grave markers backed by the sheer cliff of the Mönchsberg — and, if you have time, climb to the catacombs cut into the rock for a view back over the graves. The Romanesque-meets-Rococo church and the abbey's ancient bakery and restaurant make this the most contemplative corner of the walk.

This is also a natural lunch point: St. Peter Stiftskulinarium, set against the rock, claims to be one of the oldest restaurants in Central Europe, and the abbey's courtyard cafés are quieter than the squares. Rest here before the final climb.

Food & Drink in Salzburg

Where to break for lunch along the route.

Step 6 — Up to the fortress to finish

End where the city is best understood: at the top. From the cathedral district, follow Festungsgasse to the foot of the Festungsberg, where you choose your ascent. Walk the steep cobbled path for free, or ride the Festungsbahn funicular up in a minute or two — check whether your Salzburg Card covers it before buying. At the top, the Reckturm watchtower and the ramparts deliver the panorama over the domes, the river, the Mirabell gardens where you started, and the Untersberg massif beyond.

Take your time with the state rooms and the fortress museums, then descend the way you came. Back at river level you can close the loop across the Makartsteg, returning to Mirabell with the whole Old Town now mapped in your head — a half-day that has shown you the essential Salzburg on foot.

Hohensalzburg Fortress Guide

Tickets, the funicular and the best viewpoints up top.