As surely as we know what the hills are alive with we know too what the streets of Austrias third-largest city are alive with tourists. Perhaps too beautiful for its own good, the town attracts armies of them. Nonetheless, Salzburg must be seen. The old town center is a glorious collection of palaces, churches, courtyards, and statuary, most of which were conceived and commissioned by a lecherous, ego-driven cleric, the Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, who fathered 15 children out of wedlock all with the same woman.

Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart and he is still a major presence.

Top Sights: 

• Hohensalzburg fortress
• The Dom (cathedral)
• Mirabell Gardens
• St. Peters Cemetery

Suggested Activities:

• Visit Wolf Dietrich's ostentatious tomb in the St. Sebastian cemetery (Mozart's wife and father are also buried in this cemetery)

Places to Stay:

• Altstadt Radisson SAS, Judengasse 15, A-5020, tel. +43/0662/848 5710, fax 848 57 16,
  email: radisson-altstadt@austria-trend.at, web: www.rtk.at/601/default.htm

• Hotel Jedermann, Rupertgasse 25, A-5020, tel. +43/0662/873 2410, fax 873 2419, email: office@hotel-jedermann.com, web: www.jedermann.com

• Schloss Haunsperg, Hammerstrasse 32, Oberalm Bei Hallein (outside of Salzburg), A-5411, tel. +43/06245/80 662, fax 85 680, email: info@schlosshaunsperg.com, web:www.schlosshaunsperg.com

Food Suggestions:

• Lunch at Peterskeller (St.-Peter-Bezirk 1-4, tel. 0662/841-2680), Austrias oldest restaurant

• Dinner at Gasthof Auerhahn, Bahnhofstrasse 15, tel. +43/0662/451052, fax 451052-3.