Indian Chief Travel Guides

Salzburg Orientation

The city of Salzburg unfolds along both banks of the Salzach River – the old town, or altstadt, on the left bank to the west; the new town, or neustadt, on the right bank to the east. (What’s confusing about all this, however, is that the center of town lies along an east-west running bend of the Salzach – so that the old town is actually on the southern bank of the river.) Better landmarks, perhaps, are the center’s two hills: the cliff-like Mönchsberg stretches to the west, running the length of old town and providing an elevated plot for the Höhensalzburg Fortress on its southern end; and, across the river to the east swells the Kapuzinerberg, a prominent hill topped off with the Kupuzinkloster monastery.

The old town’s action revolves around the cathedral and its surrounding squares, which lie 120 m below the cliff-top Festung Höhensalzburg. Picturesque, medieval alleys wind between the altstadt’s palaces and squares; the most famous of these, the Getreidegasse shopping street, runs roughly parallel to the river from Alter Markt to St. Blasius church. To the north, bridges across the Salzach River lead to the neustadt on the northern edge of the Kapuzinerberg hill. Schloss Mirabell and its expansive gardens spread out near the riverbank, and Rainerstrasse leads farther north to the main train station.