Getreidegasse

Getreidegasse Review

For centuries, this has been the main shopping street in the Old City center. According to historians, the name means "trade street"—not "grain street," as many believe. Today you'll find elegant fashion houses, international shoe chains, and a McDonald's (note its wrought-iron sign—one of many on the street—with classy bronze lettering: like all the other shops, it has conformed with Salzburg's strict Old City conservation laws). Besides coming to shop, crowds flock to this street because at No. 9 is Mozart's birthplace, the Mozarts Geburtshaus. In summer the street is densely packed with people. You can always escape for a while through one of the many arcades—mostly flower-bedecked and opening into delightful little courtyards—that link the Getreidegasse to the river and the Universitätsplatz. At No. 37 you'll find one of the most glamorous hotels in the world, the Goldener Hirsch—just look for its filigree-iron sign showing a leaping stag with gilded antlers. The Goldener Hirsch's interiors are marvels of Salzburgian gemütlichkeit, so, if you're appropriately attired, you may wish to view the lobby and enjoy an aperitif in its gorgeous bar, the watering hole of chic Salzburg. The southern end of Getreidegasse becomes Judengasse, part of the former Jewish ghetto area, which is also festooned with more of Salzburg's famous wrought-iron signs.