Are you wondering how you can take a day trip from Munich to Salzburg? If you do have some extra time in Munich, I think this is a day trip you should take!

Salzburg is a wonderful city that’s home of Mozart and the Sound of Music. You can definitely explore its highlights in a day. One thing I love about travelling in Europe is how easy it is to hop on a train in one country and get off in another – all in a matter of hours.

I left Munich at 9 am and arrived in Salzburg less than 2 hours later. Our train was bound back at 7 pm, so we had 8 hours to explore this city with the Eastern Alps looming over its town and buildings.

How to get around Salzburg

Salzburg itself isn’t tiny, but you can get around the city center on foot, which is what we did. I highly recommend walking as it allows you to wander into alleys, stop to take pictures (trust me, everywhere in Salzburg will give you a pretty background, even the middle of the roads) and get in your daily step count. In fact, we walked almost 20,000 steps that day, or around 15.4 km!

Or you could take the bus, which isn’t difficult to navigate.

First stop: Mirabell Palace and Garden

From Salzburg main train station, the Mirabell Palace and Garden is only a 15 minute walk. This iconic palace was built in the 17th century and its ballroom is still used to host regular classical concerts. The garden, meanwhile, is an expansive labyrinth of multi-colored flowers with a water fountain in the middle.

For fans of Sound of Music, this is also where they filmed the Do Re Mi movie scene! It’s always fun to stroll along the paths while humming the tune to the song, playing the cute singing scene in your head.

Getreidgasse Shopping street

By the time we finished in the garden, it was noon, so we decided to get lunch in our next stop: Getreidgasse. This shopping street is located in the heart of Salzburg’s Old Town and only 10 minutes’ walk from Mirabell Palace.

The architecture of the houses on this street is what makes it unique, comprising of quirky doorways and tiny windows. These houses are a mix of international fashion shops, traditional stores and plenty of restaurants to choose from.

We decided to stop by Nordsee, a fresh seafood restaurant just next door from the infamous Mozart’s Birthplace. The food itself wasn’t phenomenal and was a bit on the expensive end (the three of us spent €55), but considering the touristy spot that it was located in, we couldn’t really complain.

Next time, I wouldn’t fall into the same trap and would’ve walked a little further away to find smaller independent food shops for cheaper and more local meals.

Mozart’s Birthplace

The family ticket cost us €23 (yes, I’m not a child, but the ticket lady said it was fine!) for 2 adults and 1 child. We spent over an hour wandering around the house where music genius Mozart was born. We’re not even huge music fans, but getting to learn about his childhood, family and history was such a cool experience!

Salzburg Cathedral

Just a stone’s throw away from there is the stunning Salzburg Cathedral. I walked inside the historical construction and spent a couple of minutes just marvelling at its architecture, details and awe-inspiring interior.

There’s something about walking through old churches and cathedral buildings that always seem to leave me speechless – its grandiose, the imposing silence and heavy presence of holiness.

St Peter’s Cemetery

This is another fun spot where a different Sound of Music film scene was set. It was actually filmed in a Hollywood set, but the setting was based on St Peter’s Cemetery. It’s a beautiful cemetery to walk around, with intricately designed gravestones and bright flower arrangements.

Fortress Hohensalzburg

Now this last one is a bit of a hike upwards, but the view we got from Fortress Hohensalzburg was spectacular.

Thus concludes our day trip from Munich to Salzburg!

This is not a comprehensive “things to do” post and by no means the perfect guide for such a day trip. But I hope it can inspire your own itinerary.

Happy travelling! Don’t forget to share this on Pinterest if it was helpful.