Sheltered
by mountains and straddling the basin-shaped valley of the Salzach
River, Salzburg stands in a picture-perfect setting. With its
seven hills as backdrop the city likes to think of itself as
the 'German Rome' and, with countless medieval spires, baroque
domes, belfries and turrets punctuating its skyline, it does
indeed have a certain Italianate flavour.
Visitors
are drawn here not just for the setting but for the music. It's
the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (well-heeled Mozart
lovers get their fill of all things Mozart: music festivals,
streets, plazas, houses, museums, chocolates and even liqueurs
are named after him) and the setting for that most enduring
of cinematic phenomenon's, The Sound of Music. With the power
of Mozart and the pull of Maria 'Do-re-Mi' Von Trapp, the city's
hills are indeed alive with the sound of music, especially during
the annual uber Salzburg Festival.
For those
with less cultural aspirations (and thinner wallets) there's
plenty to see and do for free, including good hikes and outdoor
activities close to the city. And once you've made yourself
comfortable in one of the city's many coffee houses, ordered
a kapuziner (coffee with very little milk) or a mozartkugeln,
(the chocolate named after you-know-who), hummed a few bars
of your favorite 'Sound of Music' tune, then you'll begin to
understand why it's Austria's second-most visited city.