Austria: Salzburg Sound of Music Bike Tour
The Sound of Music bike tour is something to experience if you find yourself visiting Salzburg for the first time or for those die-hard fans of the original 1965 movie. The Fräulein Maria's Bicycle Tours is the tour we took, and comes highly recommended by TripAdvisor. Tours begin at Mirabellplatz 4, just across the street from Andräkirche Salzburg and 50m left of the entrance to the Mirabell Palace & Gardens.
The tour begins and take the group over the Müllner Steg bridge, with an amazing view of the Salzach river and the Fortress Hohensalzburg, high above the main city of Salzburg.
At the start of the tour there were a few flat tires, which the tour operators quickly fixed, but as you can see from this picture my kick-stand is deployed and when the tour group got rolling, my kick-stand was down, resulting in a super loud grinding noise as I operated the GoPro with one hand and steered with the other. We got laughing so hard we could barely stay on the path! Good times!!
Fortress Hohensalzburg, view from outskirts of Salzburg
The bike tour weaves in and out of small thru-ways, passing by many of the city landmarks, including magnificent churches (St Markus, St Blasius, Franziskaner Kirche, and Kollegienkirche), Mozart's birthplace, and on towards Salzburg Cathedral.
St Markus, Pferdeschwemme (Horse Well) and Klausentor (Stadttor)
All along the way the tour guide pointed out famous landmarks from the movie and additional information not usually understood by most visitors.
The "backside" of the Festival Hall of the famous Von Trapp Family
Cycling past Salzburger Festspiele along Hofstallgasse, towards St Peter's Abbey
Mariazeller Kapelle of St Peter's Abbey
The Salzburg Cathedral, at DomQuartier Salzburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
DomQuartier Salzburg is a great spot to take a break and enjoy the many local favorites
Through the gates to Margarethen Kapelle
St Peter's Cemetery and Catacombs
The Festungs Bahn Funicular, leading up to Fortress Hohensalzburg
The funicular is accessible just outside the gate that leads to Margarethen Kapelle. Tickets are available for many different sites of the Fortress, include the grounds, museum, and special locations. The view from the top is amazing.
Chess anyone?
There is a bit of short climb towards Stift Nonnberg, the 8th century Benedictine monastery. But once up top the views are worth the effort.
St Erhard from above
The entrance to the Stift Nonnberg Abbey
Stift Nonnberg Abbey bell & clock tower
Mt Untersberg in the distance
Leopoldskron Palace, home to the Von Trapp Family
Frohnburg Palace
The traveling crew, "giving it the beans!"
Another shot of Mt. Untersberg and a classic find along the way!!
Hellbrunn Palace and the famous pavillon
Final view of Fortress Hohensalzburg, heading back to Salzburg
Last stop at the Mirabell Palace & Gardens
The Fräulein Maria's Bicycle Tour was a great way to see the sites of Salzburg and the notable locations where the Sound of Music was filmed or based on. And would definitely recommend this 3.5 hour tour.
Pommes Boutique just across the street from Mirabell Palace was a nice end to the day.
SALZBURG
TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS: For detailed 510Million.com recommendations, click HERE.
Hotels:
Hotel Pension Bloberger Hof, The Little Guesthouse Salzburg, Hotel Sacher Salzburg
Hotel Pension Bloberger Hof, just south of Salzburg
Restaurants:
Casino Restaurant Salzburg, The Glass Garden, Hotel Pension Bloberger Hof Restaurant
Must See Places:
Sound of Music Bike Tour, Salzburg Altstadt (Old City), Mirabell Palace & Gardens, Edelweiss Cooking School
Extended Day-Trips:
Berchtesgaden/Königssee, Halstatt, Hallein Salt Mine Tour
BERCHTESGADEN
TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS: For detailed 510Million.com recommendations, click HERE.