Hi,

My husband and I will be traveling to Salzburg at the end of the month. We will have approximately 2 1/2 days to spend there. Due to obvious time constraints, my question is this...if we had to choose between going to Gaisberg mountain or Untersberg mountain, which should we pick? Which has better views, is easier to get to from downtown Salzburg, etc? We are already planning to do Hohensalzburg for sure. Also, is there a specific time of day that we should go (morning, early afternoon)? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

topping for Beth

There is soooo much to see and do in Salzburg the two and a half days will be full so I wouldn't suggest goint to either mountain. It takes time to go up to the fortress and the views from there are lovely. Remember, the hours for shopping and sightseeing in much of Europe, ESPECIALLY Austria are quite limited, therefore, it is difficult to get in all of the major sights and do a little shopping as well as eating in the time allotted!

The Untersberg car from St. Leonhardt is a bit of a trip from Salzburg. Will you have a car? The other problem is weather....at the end of March, if the car is running and if the sky is clear...it will be freezing up there!!

Thanks for the replies. We will not have a car, so we will have to rely on public transportation. I see that there is a bus that takes you from Mirabell to Gaisberg. Does anyone know how long of a ride it is? Untersberg looks like it may be too far for the amount of time we have.
I am not dead set on going to Untersberg or Gaisberg, but I do want to get some good panoramic pictures of Salzburg. Is the view from Hohensalzburg spectacular enough that we don't need to consider the other two?

Yes, the view from Hohensalzburg will give you lovely views/pictures of Salzburg.
I took some and can email you one or two if you'd like.
Just spend your 2 1/2 days in Salzburg so you can get around and enjoy the city and its atmosphere. It's so beautiful. You can go on a lovely walk along the top of Hohensalzburg from the castle across the ridge to the area which has some lovely old villas and walk down that way. Takes longer but it's a nicer walk than just down the steep ramps from the castle.
Enjoy the gardens, sit in the platz and watch people play with the giant chess game (they take it very seriously), shop for lovely Christmas ornaments and straw flowers and Eidelweiss, enjoy a concert...Hmm, goulasch, wienerschnitzel, sauerbraten, wurst; you won't be able to decide what to eat.
Have a lovely time.