Let's Go Europe 2019. Harvard Student Agencies

The monastery is a large complex with much to see, but the cemetery—famous for its beautiful gravesites—is certainly a highlight.

       i Catacombs €2, students €1.50; limited wheelchair accessibility

      LANDMARKS

       RESIDENZ PALACE

      Residenzplatz 1; 662 80422109; www.domquartier.at; open M 10am-5pm, W 10am-8pm, Th-Su 10am-5pm

      Touring through the Residenz Palace will give you an insight into the Salzburg line of prince-archbishops, who dominated oth poltical and religious life until the early nineteenth century. Because of the region’s hugely successful salt mining industry, the prince-archbishops had no shortage of funds and were constantly renovating and redecorating the residence, creating lavish series of rooms that are now open for visitors to explore. Come see ceiling frescoes featuring images of Alexander the Great (even supreme rulers need role models), intricately woven tapestries with interpretations of the months of the year—a trending topic at the time—, and works of stucco that will make you say stucc-no you didn’t!

       i Admission €12, students €10; wheelchair accessible

       HOHENSALZBURG FORTRESS

      Mönchsberg 34; 662 84243011; www.festung-salzburg.at; open daily May-Sept 9am-7pm, Oct-Apr 9am-5pm

      As the largest fully-preserved castle in Central Europe, this mountainside fortress is one of the most important sights in Salzburg. Today, it consists of expansive castle grounds, a restaurant, and walkways along the outer walls with incredible views of the city. The central building has been converted to a museum, where visitors can learn about the fortress’ military history, the use of torture on prisoners, and more generally what life was like in the Middle Ages. There is a funicular that shuttles visitors from the base of Festungsberg Hill to the entrance of the fortress, but expect the line for this option to be downright insanity. We recommend choosing to hike the hill, so long as you’re okay spending the rest of the day dripping with sweat.

       i Basic tickets €12, standard tickets €15.20, discount from €2 (without lift); guided tours available; last entry 30min. before close; limited wheelchair accessibility

       MIRABELL PALACE AND GARDENS

      Mirabellplatz; open daily 8am-6pm

      The Mirabell Palace and Gardens are, we think, the most significant sight in Salzburg east of the Salzach River. The palace itself does not factor significantly into this because, though the Marble Hall is open to the public, the rest of the building is used for office space. The gardens, on the other hand, are a sight to behold. Covered in roses, trees, fountains, and tourists, the gardens include the site upon which The Sound of Music’s iconic “Do-Re-Mi” scene was filmed and provide the perfect opportunity to run down a tunnel of vines with your arms outstretched skipping and weaving about wildly.

       i Free; wheelchair accessible

      MUSEUMS

       MOZART’S GEBURTSHAUS (MOZART’S BIRTHPLACE)

      Getreidegasse 9; 662 844313; www.mozarteum.at; open daily 9am-5:30pm

      The museum at Mozart’s Birthplace is more personal than many accounts you’ll find of the great musician’s life. Of course, plenty of attention is paid to his career and compositional genius, and exhibits of his child prodigy will make you wonder what the hell you’ve been doing with your life. But, we truly appreciated the displays dedicated to the people who formed the man. See where Mozart spent the first 17 years of his life, learn about his family’s involvement in his musical upbringing, and speculate on whether his ex-wife’s marriage to his biographer was awkward because they were both in love with the guy. If you’re into fetish history, you may also like the several locks of Mozart’s hair the museum has managed to preserve.

       i Admission €11, students €9; no wheelchair accessibility

       SALZBURG MUSEUM

      Mozartplatz 1; 662 620808700; www.salzburgmuseum.at; open Tu-Su 9am-5pm

      Voted Europe’s best museum in 2009—a title that we are still loving a decade ago—the Salzburg Museum houses exhibitions celebrating Salzburg itself. Many of the exhibitions focus on the artistic development of the city itself through a variety of media, including literature, science, craftsmanship, and archeology, among others. The museum is housed in the Neue Residenz, across from the Residenz Palace, which once belonged to the prince-archbishops of the city.

       i Admission €8.50, students €4; wheelchair accessible

       FOOD

       CAFÉ LATINI ($$)

      Judengasse 17; 662 842338; cafelatini.at; open summer M-Sa 9am-10pm, Su 10am-10pm; winter M-Sa 9am-7pm, Su 10am-6pm

      Drawn by the promise of a Latini Panini (they don’t call them this, but they should), we gravitated to this café after a tiring stint in the DomQuartier museums. The café name may have “Latin” in it, but Café Latini still offers Austrian foods at an affordable price, like goulash and a pastry (€5.70) or sausages with mustard and horseradish (€4.80). Often, the specials board includes an offering of paninis (€6.80), piled high with salami, bacon, tomato, and mozzarella.

       i Entrées from €4; vegetarian options available; limited wheelchair accessibility

HALLSTATT

      Describing Hallstatt as “a picturesque lakeside town” as we, admittedly, were about to do, would be a huge understatement. Compared to the reality of the scene, the adjective “lakeside” is about as lackluster as it gets. Standing on the shore of Hallstätter See, surrounded by stone cliffs and beautiful wooden structures that somehow, despite enduring centuries of harsh weather, are just as vibrant as they were when first constructed, is an experience that no image, no matter how enhanced, can truly capture. Hallstatt’s nested configuration is accented by the towers of the Lutheran Protestant and Catholic Parish Churches, which draw the eye upward along the steep slopes of the Alps to the sky above. The town is indeed closely linked to the mountains themselves, as its history was shaped by the salt mining industry. Check out the history of salt mining at the Hallstatt Museum or take a cable car up to see the salt mines themselves.

      Hallstatt sits on the southwestern bank of Hallstätter See, which itself is located in southwestern part of Austria. The small town hugs the lake pretty closely, with the city center and promenade—the most tourist-dense region—literally sitting on its shore. For this reason, the water is the simplest way to orient yourself in town. It is almost always visible between buildings, above buildings, or right in front of you. Hallstatt’s main street, Seestraße, intersects with major thoroughfare Hallstättersee Landesstraße (and by major we mean you’ll maybe pass a dozen other cars while following it) near Marktplatz, the town’s main square.

      GETTING THERE

      Getting to Hallstatt is easiest by train. Trains stop at many towns surrounding