One of my favorite cities in Europe is Salzburg. Whether you’re a fan of Mozart, a student of WW2 history or interested in seeing where The Sound of Music takes place, Salzburg has something for everyone. There is so much history in this city and best of all it can be experienced in a day. But if you have three days to spend, there is so much do to in this area that should not be missed.
Day 1: Salt Mines
Salzburg, as the name implies, was built on the fortunes of the vast salt mine that sits just down river from the city. The Salzwelten Hallein (salt mine) is a just short drive from Salzburg and is a great place to start when exploring the area. The mine itself is over 2,000 years old and still has some the original wooden pipes that extracted the briny mineral.
Visitors enter the mine on a mini-train that takes you underground through the labyrinth of layers that supplied much of Europe and beyond with the essential mineral for 2 millennia. During the tour you can learn how each layer of the mine is flooded with water to create a briny liquid that is eventually piped out of the mountain, dried into crystallized salt and shipped to the end user. During the tour you actually get in a boat in one of the mine’s layers that has been flooded to extract the salt from the rock. At this point you get an idea of how immense the underground mine really is.
In addition to the boat ride, the tour lets you slide down wooden rails to reach deeper into the mine and at one point you even cross over the Austrian-German border albeit underground!
The salt mine can be done in the morning and then you can head into Salzburg for the rest of day. In an afternoon we were able to explore the tunnel where American Troops entered Salzburg in WW2 to free the city from Nazis, tour the Festung Hohensalzburg for spectacular views of the city below and of course tour the cemetery made famous from the climatic finale of the Sound of Music.
Day 2: Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave
If you have a second day in this area a great way to spend it is in Werfen, Austria. There are two places that are must sees – the Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave and the Hohenwerfen Castle, but I’d recommend doing them on separate days so that each gets its own time.
The Eisriesenwelt is a spectacular cave with essentially a glacier that extends 26 miles inside a granite shell. Reaching the cave is a bit of a task because you’ll need to drive up hairpin turns to reach a gondola that only takes you part of the way up the mountain. You then have to hike to the entrance where you meet your guide. Once inside the cave your guide will give you an oil fired lantern and lead you up several steps that wind around huge ice sculptures that only nature can create. The ice forms from snow melt and rain that somehow work its way through the cracks in the rock.
Since the inside of the mountain is constantly below freezing the water freezes and over time has grown into the marathon length block of ice. Luckily you only see about the first mile of ice although our guide said that some adventurous souls have explored well beyond what our tourist fare covered. Exploring the ice cave is arduous, so we only recommend this adventure to those who are physically fit enough to hike at altitude and are not afraid of heights or darkened enclosed spaces. If you can manage those things then the ice caves are a wonderful memory and certainly worth the effort to get there!
Purchase your tickets ahead of time and plan to go early. You’ll need most of the day to hike to the cave, visit and return to your car… but it’s definitely worth it!
Day 3: Hohenwerfen Castle and a Falcon Show
Also in Werfen is the Hohenwerfen Castle, an extraordinary castle that is perched atop a mountain. Although massively cool by itself, the castle is not the main attraction here. Rather, it is the falconry show that is put on display for the visitors. Robinhood-like dressed entertainers put a show in the middle of the castle unlike anything that we have ever seen. Seemingly out of nowhere birds of prey of all kinds swoop in and dive between the spectators. Falcons, bald eagles, golden eagles, hawks and even vultures fly in from all directions to chase fake rats that their trainers have tied to strings. When the birds aerial displays are over they’re rewarded with the real thing.
In order to reach the castle, you can walk or take a funicular for an additional fee. Be sure to ask for the children’s book – it’s a great way for kids to learn about the castle through a fun game that can easily be completed while you tour the castle. There are also often games for kids and adults to participate in throughout the castle courtyard.
Whether it is the view from the arrow slit windows in the castle or the falconry show that you come for the Hohenwerfen is definitely worth the time to see.
Have you been to Salzburg? What were your favorite things?
