Salzburg

Salzburg is Mozart's birthplace, known for its World Heritage old town and the Hohensalzburg Fortress above the city and the mountains.

A funicular climbs to the fortress in minutes, and from its walls you look over the old town's roofs and domes and the River Salzach. Below are the Getreidegasse with its wrought-iron signs, the house where Mozart was born in 1756, and the flowers and fountains of the Mirabell Gardens.

Salzburg makes a good base for day trips to Lake Hallstatt (about 1 h 15) and Zell am See (about 1 h 15), and the Railjet links it with Vienna in about 2 h 30.