1 day in Salzburg - am I crazy?
 

I am planning a day trip to Salzburg (from Vienna). Is it possible to do the following, if I arrive at 9am and catch a 7pm train back to Vienna (I can catch a 7:30 train if that 1/2 hr really matters):

Schloss Mirabell
Mozarts Geburtshaus
Hohensalzburg Fortress
Schloss Hellbrunn
(I believe that is the order for the best efficiency?)

I'd like to see those sights, but I'm afraid it might be one sight too many for a day trip. Any thoughts on that? I don't mind running myself ragged this one day to squeeze those sites in (though I know people are generally not a fan of that around here). If it is too many, which one place would you nix from the list? For the record, I love the Sound of Music and Mozart, and think fortresses are cool...hence my impossible task of knocking one off the list!

Also, I'm having trouble finding tram/bus stop directions for Salzburg (or maybe my travel guide stinks). Is the best thing to do to walk from the train station, through the old town, to Mirabell/Mozart/Fortress, and then bus it out to Hellbrunn? Or should I take a bus/tram from the train station to Mirabell, etc? I can't tell how far the train station is from the city center.

Thanks in advance!

ttt

I think its a good idea.

It's possible. Plenty of busses to Schloss Mirabell from the rain station, it's also walkable but rather far and not so attractive. I've taken a taxi from the train station to Mozart Geburthaus area costing 7-8 euro. You'll enjoy walking between Mirabell, oldtown & Hohensalzburg.

Hmmm. I might do it backwards. Start with Schloss Hellbrunn, then do the Fortress and Gebursthaus, then finish with the Mirabell Schloss/Gardens on the way back to the train station.

You can pick up a bus #25 to Schloss Hellbrunn right from the train station in the bus area in front of the main entrance to the train station. They run about every 10-14 minutes. Remember, you can only see the fountains at Hellbrunn by guided tour. I would give 2 hours to Schloss Hellbrunn, incl. tour and transportation time (actually, I would give it more than that, but you have set yourself quite an ambitious itinerary). On the bus back into town, get off in the Old Town, do the fortress, all told another two hours, then you MUST stop for coffee and a snack at least (there is a nice cafe at Hellbrunn, if you want to get a coffee there), then on to the Gebursthaus, the streets of the old town, and then finish up with the Mirabell area (which is halfway between the old town and the train station on the way back to the train station). That way you're finishing up closes to the train station so you won't have that nagging worry that you might not be able to get back there on time.

BTilke, excellent suggestion! You may just lose track of time when you're in oldtown, then if you run late, you can simply hop on the taxi to the train station in less than 10 minutes.

Thanks, Dax. If TVI gets the Salzburg Card (which makes sense for this itinerary), and the OP winds up the day at Schloss Mirabell, it would be easy to take any of a number of buses stopping there on the way to the train station. The bus ride to the train station would be 5 minutes max.

I would hate to finish the day at the point farthest from the train station...I know I'd be fretting that there'd be a problem with the bus or traffic, etc. Plus Hellbrunn's schloss closes around 5:30 pm, I think, in May, June and September; that's also the start time of the last tour. It's open later in July and August, but even so, if I had a train back at 7 pm and was taking a 5:30 pm tour, I'd be thinking more about bus schedules and timing than enjoying the fountains.

Thanks for the input and the reverse travelling tip! I thought about that, but figured I'd be least pained in losing Hellbrunn in case the day was too full, but seeing that people think I can squeeze it all in, I'll def start at the Hellbrunn. I didn't realize you needed a ticket for Hellbrunn, but that should be included w/ the Salzburg card, correct? http://tinyurl.com/mvpwv

For Mirabell, I can just walk around on my own?

So from the train station I'd take the 25 bus out to Hellbrunn. What stop would I take the 25 bus <i>back to</i>? I don't think it stops anywhere near Monchsberg, where I think the venuncular for the Fortress is - would I have to transfer somewhere (Justizgebaude?)?
http://tinyurl.com/e7a95

From the the Fortress, I could walk to Mozart and Mirabell (and eventually the train)...is that right?

Thanks all for your help!

PS - I have no idea why the url's are coming up twice so apologies for that.

Salzburg's pretty small - you can comfortably walk everywhere except Hellbrunn which isn't really in the town.

If you hustle, you can do it, but walking a long ways eats up time. Besides, you could take a wrong turn and cost yourself even more time.

Of the sites you name, I would put the building in the Mirabel gardens at the low end of the priority list. The gardens are ok, but to me they did not make my &quot;sensational list.&quot;

Also Mozart's Birth House is not something I was enraptured over either. (And I have quite few Mozart CD's in my collection.)

I would rate the Hohensalzburg Fortress and Schloss Hellbrunn at the top of the list. The trick fountains at Schloss Hellbrunn are interesting as hydraulic systems as well as fun. If you do the guided tour, just make sure you don't mind getting sprinkled with water. I went on a cool, rainy day, so it did not matter; I had on my rain suit.
We all got wet anyhow, or at least the rain protection equipment got wet.

As for the train departure times, there is a difference in the travel time. the later you leave, the longer it takes.

The departure at 19:04 takes 2:39
The departure at 19:10 takes 3:20
The departure at 19:34 takes 3:01

So by leaving later, you arrive even later. After the 19:04 departure, there are no more trains with a travel time under 3 hours until the following day.

The difference in times is caused by the number of stops the train makes. The 19:04 departure makes only
2 stops between Salzburg and Wien West.
The slowest connection of the group above makes 7 stops. The absolute slowest time I noticed was 3:44.

If you want to eat on the train, Austrian restaurant cars serve decent food, or at least they have in my somewhat limited experience.

Thanks everyone. bob, I'm planning to bus it to/from Hellbrunn, but walk everywhere else, which seems like the most efficient way to travel in Salzburg.

Now off to plan the rest of the Vienna trip - augh.