We will be staying in St. Gilgen for a few days in August, and want to go into Salzburg for at least one day. Since this is during the Music Festival, I expect that it will be very crowded. I'm trying to determine the best way to get into the city for our family of four. I've read that there are hourly buses that run between St. Gilgen and Salzburg, can anyone tell me how late into the evening they run? We would probably like to stay in town for dinner and a concert, if possible, and I'd hate to get stranded. <BR><BR>We will have a rental car, so driving to Salzburg might give us more flexibility, but I'm concerned about being able to park there. Are there parking lots or garages that are likely to have space? A lot on the outskirts of town with shuttle buses? Any help would be most appreciated.

Topping...can anyone help?

Where is St. Gilgen?"

You can find a complete bus schedule web site for Austria at this location:<BR>http://www.postbus.at/<BR>There is however one potential major problem with it: It is written in German.<BR>I will be more than happy to locate the information for you if you will give me the exact days and approximate times for which you need schedule information.<BR>My real address is above. I doubt if many others would be interested, so we perhaps could do it directly, or I can respond here. Doesn't matter to me.<BR>Of course, if you read German, then there is no need for me to help out.<BR>I struggle with the language, but I can read bus times and pick out the right connections.<BR>

The best I can tell is that the last bus leaves at 20:00 from Mirabellplatz.<BR>I think you will find that a car may be your best bet. There are parking places in Salzburg, but you may end up taking a local bus, or walking. I know traffic is thick in Salzburg, driving is not always the best because parking is difficult to find unless you pay for it in substantial amounts.<BR>I think we had a $12 parking bill for about 6 hours at a parking garage near the Marionetten Theater.<BR>

Bob, thanks so much for your help. I took a look at that web site, but, you're right, I couldn't figure out how to navigate it since I couldn't read it - I appreciate your taking the time to find out what I need to know. It does sound like 20:00 would be too early if we want to stay for dinner and a concert.<BR><BR>We don't mind paying to park, but would like some idea of where we would be likely to find a place to do that, if anyone has suggestions. My husband is already nervous about driving in a country where he doesn't know the language. Knowing where to go ahead of time would be a big help.<BR><BR>Daniel, St. Gilgen is an Austrian village on the Mondsee, a lovely Alpine lake not far from Salzburg. We chose to stay there rather than in Salzburg because of recommendations I read on this board.

Sara,<BR>There are at least three public parking lots on or near Petersbrunnstrasse on the south side of the Salzach river near the Karolinenbrucke. There's another on the north side of the river on Schallmooser Hauptstrasse accessible from the Stattsbrucke. And still another on the north side of the river near Mirabel Garten.<BR><BR>By the way, St. Gilgen is at the western end of the St.Wolfgangsee, not the Mondsee.

I just returned from a trip to the CZ and Austria. We found it very easy to drive around in Austria. Signs were clearly marked. We drove into and out of Salzburg (although we parked at our hotel) and had no problems. Just get directions via any mapping tool before you go. We were nervous, but it worked out fine for us!<BR><BR>melanie

Definitely drive into Salzburg. I've been there during the music festival times, and although it's crowded you will find car parks there. Look for the big "P" indicating parking areas. Wes Fowler's information on parking areas is accurate, as is his correction on where St. Gilgen is located (It's actually just the Wolfgangsee, without the "St." in the name). All of the Salzkammergut lakes are lovely, and you will enjoy being on one of them. Try to drive around all of them; my favorite is the Traunsee.

Thanks very much to everyone for their help. Of course, I did goof; St. Gilgen is on the Wolfgangsee. I've been doing so much research and staring at maps, I got them mixed up!