"A city with Mozart and the Sound of Music craze" Salzburg by annase

Salzburg is the second most visited city in Austria after Vienna and it is not hard to see why. It is situated on the banks of the Salzach river, just north of the Alps. It has an attractive old town centre (Altstadt) with lots of quirky little details, narrow streets, baroque towers and churches and the massive Hohensalzburg fortification. The whole old centre was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1997.

It is also the birthplace of the world famous composer W. A. Mozart. The chap is pretty big in the city and there are millions of chocolate shops selling special confectionery named after him, Mozartkugeln

The Hohensalzburg fortification

In the 60s, Salzburg functioned as a setting for parts of the musical and film "The Sound of Music", which is based on the true story of a Salzburg-based nun, Maria von Trapp, who took up with an aristocratic family and fled German occupation. Sound of Music draws tonnes of visitors who wish to visit the filming locations, on their own or on tours. Also the hostel where I was staying offered Sound of Music tours, but I didn’t go on one. They also showed the film daily in case someone hasn't seen it already!! ;-)

A street in the old town centre (Altstadt)

Although Austria is often thought to be mountaneous, there are not very many high peaks in Salzburg. The closest alpine peak is the 'Untersberg'. It is located only a few kilometres from the city center. The old town is surrounded by two smaller mountains, the Mönchsberg and Kapuzinerberg. The alpine peaks to South of Salzburg contrast with the rolling plains of the North.

• Pros:Pretty and picturesque old town centre