Destination: SALZBURG, AUSTRIA

FESTIVALS OF SALZBURG

THINGS TO SEE IN SALZBURG

• Schloss Hellbrunn. Once an archbishop's summer palace with lots of clever fountains and pretty gardens. When you take the tour stand next to the guide otherwise you'll get wet. Hellbrunn is surrounded by vast gardens, and is a perfect place for a picnic or a long walk through the green. In the Steintheater (Stone Theatre), the first opera in Middle Europe was conducted. If you're travelling with children this is the place to visit because children and adults alike are amused.

• Getreidegasse - a long yet narrow street running parallel to the river in the centre of town, with lots of shops, famous for the old (or old-style) signs of profession outside each store

• Hohensalzburg Fortress. Located on top of a mountain, the Festung offers breath taking views of Salzburg and the Alps. One area of the fortress offers visitors the chance to look down on a field below to find only one house - the executioner's residence. It was believed to live anywhere near the executioner was bad luck. Inside the fortress is a museum of medieval weapons, life on the fortess, and torture instruments.

• Mozarts Geburtshaus (Mozart's birth house). The Mozart family lived in this house in the heart of Salzburg from 1747 - 1773, where W.A. Mozart himself was born on 27 January 1756. The house is now a popular museum devoted to Mozart and his family, with interesting memorabilia and letters. Well worth a quick visit.

• Schloss Mirabell. Located right next to the Salzach river and the Mozarteum University of Music and Arts lies a beautiful castle with gardens, built by an archbishop for his beloved courtesan. Watch out for the "Garden of Dwarves" and the Garden of Roses. Inside, you find the marble stairs of Raffael Donner, and the world's most beautiful wedding hall, the Marble Hall. If you plan to marry there, reservations should be made at least a year in advance.

• Salzburg Zoo

• Toy Museum (Spielzeugmuseum)

• Museum of Natural History (Haus de Natur Salzburg)

• St. Sebastian Cemetery - holds not only the graves of Mozart's wife Constanze Weber-Nissen, but also the must-see Mausoleum of Archbishop Wolfdietrich

• The Dome

• St Peter Monastery and Church

• St Francis Church (Franziskanerkirche)

TRIPS OUT OF SALZBURG

• If you get tired of the city, you can visit the Ice caves south of Salzburg, or the salt mines close to the city.

• Silent Night, Holy Night, the famous christmas song, was composed and had its premier in Oberndorf, a small city next to Salzburg. You can see the Silent Night Chapel there.

• For people who prefer nature to sights, hiking on the Untersberg, a trip to Salzkammergut or the Konigssee, or a visit to Bad Ischl may be interesting.