48 Hours in Salzburg
Is Salzburg for You?
If you’re looking for a short weekend getaway, or for a side trip from your visit to Vienna, then Salzburg is the perfect stop.
Getting to Salzburg by Train (from Stuttgart)
When went to Salzburg from Stuttgart, we found some really cheap tickets on Deutsche Bahn using the EC-train.
We were excited to have found bargain for a total price of only 54 Euros.
Yes, that’s 54 Euros round trip on the EuroCity (EC) for 2 people (with the BahnCard 25).
Then when it was our travel day, we quickly realized that the EC-trains are nowhere close to the comfort & offered amenities as the ICE-trains.
And you guessed it, there was no Wi-Fi on the EC-trains that we took.
But hey, for the price we paid, it got us from Stuttgart to Salzburg and back in a direct train.
No complaints there!
Getting Around Salzburg (by Bus)
Directly outside of the train station (Salzburg Hbf), you will find the many bus stops.
With this city’s geography, there are no subways nor is it needed.
At the stops where we got on at, there was a grey & red ticket machine next to the bus stop.
Don’t worry, these ticket machines are available in English and you can pay with card or contactless by phone.
There are 4 ticket options:
1-hour Student / Senior
1-hour Adult
24-hour Student / Senior
24-hour Adult
Once you get on the subway or tram, remember to insert your ticket to the machine to stamp your validity.
Where to Get the Biggest Schnitzel in Salzburg?
You have to try the schnitzel at the Meissl & Schadn Restaurant in Salzburg.
We’ve been there twice on two separate occassions, and it remains to be the largest schnitzel we’ve ordered.
Open up Google Maps and navigate to this place.
It’s hard to miss it because you’ll see their chefs tossing, flipping, and preparing hundreds of giant schnitzels from outside of the restaurant.
Interested? Check our the full menu of Meissl & Schadn here.
What Area & Hotel to Stay in Salzburg?
We recommend staying at the Old Town in Salzburg.
Specifically, we stayed at (& highly recommend) the Leonardo Boutique Hotel Salzburg Gablerbräu.
The location of the Leonardo Boutique is perfect for first-timers in Salzburg.
It’s a close enough to the Salzach river, walking distance to many cafes & restaurants, a 5-minute walk to Mozart’s Birthplace, yet tucked inside so that you can quietly sleep at night.
Best part: Leonardo’s pricing is affordable & reasonable - for the hotel & for the breakfast buffet.
P.S. If you’re a Deutsche Bahn BahnBonus status holder, make sure to book through your BahnBonus app and receive an early check-in & other benefits.
Which Mozart Museum is Better in Salzburg?
The 2 museums are Mozart’s Geburtshaus (Birthplace) and Mozart’s Wohnhaus (Residence).
For our recent trip, we only went to his Birthplace home and it was full of knowledge & history.
It’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you’ve listened to any of Mozart’s radio on Spotify.
At the Birthplace, you’ll learn about the rise of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s from his parents, siblings, children, his music tour around Europe, up to his early death at the age of 35 in Vienna.
Yes, you read that right...his legacy today is from the 35 short years that he lived.
The next time we visit Salzburg, we’ll definitely check out his Wohnhaus - so that we can compare.
Interested? Here’s how can you walk to Mozart’s Birthplace on Google Maps.
Otherwise, you can also walk to Mozart’s Wohnhaus to see the artifacts dedicated to the composer’s short, but successful, life.
But if you had to ask me, based on the reviews & research, Mozart’s Birthplace is a better place to visit & highly rated compared to his residence.
Is 48 Hours Enough in Salzburg?
For first-timers, I would say that two days is more than enough.
Salzburg is a relatively small city full of history that you can explore in 2 days.
It’s a beautiful city surrounded by views of the Alps divided by the Salzach River.
By bus, you can easy get to the city from the Salzburg train station or from the Salzburg airport.
They run as frequent as every 10 minutes, except on Sundays, so there are a lot of options.
In our opinion, 48 hours in Salzburg is great as a side trip, but you should consider spending a few days in Vienna or in Hallstatt - to make the most of your Austria trip.
