This Salzburg evening tour is organized a bit like an evening Italian passeggiata—a stroll in the late hours of the day designed to enable us to appreciate the city and allow us to rub shoulders with fellow citizens. In the company of a local insider, we’ll take our time taking in the city, discovering Salzburg at its most beautiful while getting a solid, broad introduction to life here. This is a great way to begin a trip to Salzburg and appreciate the city away from the busy time of day, along with answering a lot of the questions that come up on our first night in a foreign city.

We begin our stroll in one of the most famous locations in Salzburg, Mirabell Palace. Here we will kick things off with a discussion of the Archbishops in Salzburg, from love stories to exile. We’ll note the perfectly-tended gardens in the early evening as we discuss how this location was propelled to fame with the success of the film “The Sound of Music.” (For more on this try our Sound of Music Tour). We will amble on through the quiet city streets as we cross the Salzach River, the running artery of the city. From this perspective, we can talk about trade and salt mine routes, which resulted in the growth of this (comparatively) tiny, yet powerful place.

Moving on, we'll continue down Getreidegasse—one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city—enjoying the relative calm that sweeps over it in the evening. The street is most well-known for being home to the birthplace of Mozart, a character who we will discuss in detail. We’ll note the mix of traditional shops filled with dirndls and artisanal goods to higher end chains. Our docent will talk about this evolution of this street, which manages to retain much of the its charm and historic architectural components, such as its windows and ornate signages. We'll linger by a number of important places of worship, such as the baroque style Franciscan Church or the Salzburg Cathedral. We may explore the market place and the area dedicated to the Salzburg Festival as we talk about everyday life for the Austrian people living in Salzburg. Or, perhaps we'll head in the direction of the Judengasse, the Jewish area of Salzburg, which allows for a discussion of the treatment of the Jews and their historical roots in Salzburg.

Throughout our Salzburg Nightlife Tour, we will note various displays of public art, such as Balkenhol's "Sphaera" and "Frau im Fels," which offers time for us to discuss the perception of these public artworks by the locals. If time allows, we will end the walk in Mozart Square as we leave one another in a fine setting looking towards the Alps. Parting ways, our docent can point you in the direction of your next destination or dinner reservation.

This is an orientation level walk. We will spend a certain amount of time explaining the sites along the route, but will also try to situate you in the city, orient you to the major areas, and answer any of your questions. In short, it is an excellent walk to take at the beginning of your stay here.

We meet near Mirabell Palace and will end in the historic center of the city.

No, this is not something we cover on this tour. It is more of a city ambience tour, in the early evening.

Tours operate rain or shine. The majority of this walk is outside, so please be prepared with an umbrella.

Yes, we can adjust the content and time frame to make it more suitable for younger learners.

We do cover some ground on this seminar although it is predominately flat. We can adjust the route for wheelchair users, please let us know your requirements and we will be happy to answer any mobility questions and advise if this seminar will be appropriate for you or propose modifications where necessary.