Old Town & Getreidegasse

Salzburg's left-bank old town is a baroque total work of art, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Churches, palaces, squares, and fountains crowd together in a small space — all dominated by the fortress on the Mönchsberg. The alleys are narrow, the facades high, and at every corner awaits a new postcard motif.

★★★ Getreidegasse

Salzburg's most famous street — a medieval shopping street with wrought-iron guild signs that hang over the shops like works of art. Each sign is handcrafted and unique: H&M has as elaborate a wrought-iron logo here as the traditional jewelers next door. The house passages (the so-called Durchhäuser) lead to hidden courtyards with boutiques, galleries, and small cafes — definitely walk through!

The Getreidegasse is narrow and hopelessly crowded in summer. The trick: come before 9 AM or after 6 PM, when the day-trippers are gone and the light turns the facades golden.

★★★ Residenzplatz & Cathedral

The baroque heart of the city: the spacious Residenzplatz with the magnificent Residenz Fountain (1661, largest baroque fountain in Central Europe), flanked by the Old Residence (Archbishop's Palace, state rooms 13 €) and the Salzburg Cathedral. The cathedral (1614–1628) with its 71-meter-high dome is a masterpiece of early baroque — Mozart was baptized here in 1756. The baptismal font still stands in the same place.

Residenzplatz. Cathedral: free (donation of 3 € requested). Cathedral museum 13 €. Mon–Sat 8 AM–5 PM, Sun 1–5 PM.

★★ St. Peter's Abbey & Cemetery

The oldest continuously existing monastery in the German-speaking area (founded 696). The St. Peter's Cemetery with its wrought-iron grave crosses, flower-decorated graves, and the rock-hewn catacombs is one of the most atmospheric places in Salzburg. Here, the first Christians of the region are said to have hidden. In the adjacent Stiftskeller St. Peter — supposedly Europe's oldest restaurant (803!) — you can still dine today.

St.-Peter-Bezirk 1. Cemetery free, catacombs 2 €. Cemetery: daily 6:30 AM–7 PM (summer), 6:30 AM–6 PM (winter).

★★ Kapitelplatz & Modern Art

Behind the cathedral, the Kapitelplatz opens with Stephan Balkenhol's oversized sculpture "Sphaera" — a golden sphere with a man on top, wonderfully contrasting with the medieval fortress in the background. From here, the funicular (cable railway) takes you up to Hohensalzburg.

★ Alter Markt

The most intimate square of the old town: small bourgeois houses, the Fürst-Archbishop's Court Pharmacy (in operation since 1591!) and the Café Tomaselli — Salzburg's oldest coffee house (since 1705), where Mozart already drank his coffee. A piece of Mozart cake (not to be confused with the balls!) and a melange on the terrace: 11 €.