8 Best Hotels in The Altstadt, Salzburg

Celebrities from Picasso to Pavarotti have favored the Golden Stag for its legendary gemütlichkeit (friendliness) and away-from-it-all feel. The interiors were dramatically redesigned in 2019, so even the classic rooms are a good size, with large TVs, wooden desks (often hiding a vanity table), comfy rugs, and spacious bathrooms with smart toilets, while the suites add seating areas and space to stretch out. Each room is unique, but all blend modern touches and colorful trims with wooden beams, stucco ceiling decorations, and antique feature pieces. Downstairs, there are two restaurants: the regal dining room with its vaulted ceilings and menu of international dishes alongside Salzburg specialties (try the towering Salzburger Nockerl); and a smaller bistro serving Austrian classics, loved by locals for its cozy, timbered look and house specialty Nürnberger Bratwürstl (half a dozen roasted sausages with sauerkraut). After dinner, take a seat at the stylish bar to try the signature cocktail "Susanne." It's named for a little girl who used to visit with her parents every year; as she got older, more and more ingredients were added, so by the time she was an adult she had a delicious cocktail of orange juice, Campari, crème de cassis, vodka, and Prosecco.

With gorgeous gardens and hiking trails all around, it's little wonder the 19th-century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt called this gable-roofed, tower-studded mansion a "small piece of paradise." Catherine the Great of Russia and the Duchess of Liechtenstein are among the notables who have stayed in this historic property (dating back to 1350), where corridors are cut straight out of the mountain rock. Lovingly-refurbished rooms combine clever design and modern luxuries with heritage features and classical elegance. Take a summertime dip in the tempting infinity pool, warm up in the year-round outdoor Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna, and enjoy a host of spa treatments in the wellness area. You can dine in the Glass Garden restaurant, set within an impressive glass dome and with breathtaking views over the city, or in the atmospheric, antique-stuffed Gothic Saloon. Welcome drinks are served in the chic Apollo Bar. Getting to town means either a 10-minute woodland walk to the Mönchsberg elevator (there are free tickets at reception) or a short taxi ride. For drivers, there's free on-site parking available.

The sleek, contemporary style of the Blue Goose boutique art hotel counters the building's centuries-old pedigree and offers guests a stellar location at the top of the main shopping street—although the reception is at the other side of the building, just across from the Grosses Festspielhaus. More than 120 works by avant-garde artists adorn the walls of the winding corridors between low archways and ancient wood beams—look out for David Moises' "The Ultimate Machine aka Shannon's Hand"; the moment it is switched on, a hand emerges to switch itself back off again—while the plush furnishings in the lounge are works of art themselves. Upstairs, the guest rooms are beautifully understated, with whitewashed walls, heritage features, and sparkling modern bathrooms. Guests will also enjoy the well-stocked reading room, ancient wine cellar, and excellent restaurant. Artists, curators, and Salzburg Festival patrons flock to this hotel, so be sure to make reservations well in advance.

Tucked away on a tiny street near Residenzplatz, this small boutique hotel in a 14th-century building offers stylish, comfortable rooms, some with oak-beam ceilings. Its location on a quiet street in the heart of the Altstadt is hard to beat, while the prices are fairly low (by Salzburg standards)—especially out of season.

With its cozy rooms, fantastic central location, and excellent on-site restaurant and bar, Hotel Elefant is an old Salzburg favourite. And we mean old: this 750-year-old house began life as an inn run by Salzburg citizen Hans Goldeisen, who was entrusted with the care of Maximilian II's pet Indian elephant Soliman, a local sensation of the 1500s. Dive into the famous, fluffy Salzburger Nockerl at an outdoor table of the attached Wirtshaus Elefant restaurant.

A two-minute walk from the Old City, next to the historic tunnel that plows through the Mönchsberg, and directly in front of a stop on several bus lines, this basic hotel has location and transportation covered. The interior is colorful though very dated, and some of the larger rooms have balconies. Parking is available in the small on-site lot or in the underground garage across the street, and buses connecting to the city center and the main station stop right outside the front door.

The embodiment of Austrian gemütlichkeit (friendliness), just off Mozartplatz, the small, family-owned, in-the-center-of-everything Hotel Wolf (not to be confused with Hotel Wolf-Dietrich across the river) offers spotlessly clean and cozy rooms in a rustic building from the year 1429. Rooms are idiosyncratically arranged on several upper floors, connected by narrow, winding stairs, and are decorated with a pleasing Salzburg mix of rag rugs and rural furniture. It's popular, so be sure to book far in advance.

This venerable 1372 building, one of the city's oldest inns, is an impressive riverside landmark with its buff pink facade and iron lanterns. The interior has been renovated to within an inch of its life, but stone arches, beamed ceilings, and tasteful antiques remain. On one side, rooms overlook the river and the picturesque hilltop cloister; on the other, those on upper floors sneak a peek at the fortress. Rooms are spacious and light filled, and most are furnished with reproduction antiques and traditional accents. The Symphonie Restaurant is elegance personified, with royal-blue and gold hues ashimmer under Rococo chandeliers.