Somewhere For The Weekend: Salzburg

There's a treat in store for music lovers in this pretty Alpine city. Rock me Amadeus, says Thomas Stephens

WHY GO NOW?

Those three special words: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 27 January is the birthday of Salzburg's favourite son/cash cow and from 24 January to 2 February the city celebrates Mozartwoche, a week of Mozart-dominated classical music concerts organised by the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum (00 43 662 87 31 54, www.mozarteum.at, tickets €15-€185 (£10-£122)). Some concerts sold out months ago, but for a truly wooden performance head for the Salzburger Marionettentheater (00 43 662 87 24 06, www.marionetten.at, €18-€35/£12-£23) for operas enchantingly performed by puppets.

DOWN PAYMENT

Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) is the only airline that flies direct from London to Salzburg. Two flights leave Stansted every morning (with an extra evening flight on Saturdays). Returns cost £29 with 14 days' advance purchase, but at short notice prices obviously increase and fluctuate subject to availability. Expect to pay around £155 return this weekend. A taxi from the airport to the centre of town takes 15 minutes and costs around €12 (£8).

INSTANT BRIEFING

Let's start at the very beginning. Salzburg is famous for two things: its Italian-inspired baroque architecture and Mozart. And both are everywhere.

Sandwiched between the Alps and the river Salzach, the old town really is a perennial jewel: meadow picnics, open-air concerts and cafés in the summer; Christmas markets, indoor concerts and cosy beer cellars in the winter. The Alpine scenery immortalised in The Sound of Music houses numerous attractions, which draw pilgrims from all over the world – from cathedrals and catacombs to chocolate and chintz, there's something for you however high your brow.

Salzburg sees itself as the "Stage of the World" and the number of concerts, operas and plays doesn't disappoint – even though locals must twitch every time they hear a Mozart overture.

The main tourist information is at Mozartplatz 5 in the old town (00 43 662 889 87 330; www.salzburginfo.at; 9am-6pm daily). Well worth buying is the Salzburg Card, which provides free/reduced entry to many sights and free public transport for 24/48/72 hours (€18/26/32/£12/17/21).

Salzburg is very compact, however, and one can easily cover the old part of town on foot. But if four legs are better, jump in a Fiaker, a traditional horse-drawn carriage, which you can find in Residenzplatz. A 25-minute tour costs €33 (£21).

REST ASSURED

Tell your taxi driver to drive to the best hotel in town and he'll take you to the Hotel Sacher (see Room Service, below), but hospitality runs deep in the Austrian psyche and warm welcomes are assured everywhere. Hotel Goldener Hirsch (Getreidegasse 37; 00 43 662 80 84 0; www.goldenerhirsch.com) is luxurious, very traditional and in an excellent central location. Doubles start at €274 (£180).

The family-run Hotel Wolf (Kaigasse 7; 00 43 662 84 34 53 0; www.hotelwolf.com) is small and basic, but cosy and great value, with doubles from €98 (£65). Hotel Stadtkrug (Linzer Gasse 20; 00 43 662 87 35 45 0; www.stadtkrug.at) is north of the river, has an excellent restaurant and wine cellar and double rooms from €140 (£92).

MUST SEE

The 360-degree view over Salzburg from Festung Hohensalzburg, the largest fortification in Europe, is something that every visitor should experience. The funicular railway is currently closed for renovation, but the 15-minute walk up the hill will burn off a few calories. (00 43 662 84 24 30 11; adults €3.60/£2.40, children €2/£1.30).

Mozart's Geburtshaus (birthplace) (Getreidegasse 9; 00 43 662 84 43 13) and Wohnhaus (residence) (Makartplatz 8; 00 43 662 42 27 40) are both shrines to the great man, containing valuable paintings, instruments and documents (€9/£6 for a combined ticket). If you can get into the camp spirit, the four-hour Original Sound of Music Tour (www.panoramatours.com; €33/£22), children (4-12) half-price, is great fun and an excellent way to see the city. Free edelweiss seeds too.

MUST BUY

The main shopping street is Getreidegasse, whose wrought-iron signed boutiques offer everything from Louis Vuitton to Tracht, the traditional Alpine dress: lederhosen for men, dirndl skirts for women. Why foreigners buy Tracht is a mystery, but look in Lanz (00 43 662 84 03 00) or Stassny (00 43 662 84 23 57 0) to surprise that nephew or niece who thought they had everything.

Also in Getreidegasse, H Wimmer (00 43 662 84 23 56) is a gift-friendly delicatessen and Sporer Spirituosen (www.sporer.at) has a mind-boggling range of schnaps.

For a miscellany of beautiful – if rather kitsch – handmade wooden artefacts, pop into Drechslerei Lackner (00 43 662 84 23 85) in Badergasse, one of the many quaint courtyards off Getreidegasse.

But one man's kitsch is another man's present, and in Mozart's Wohnhaus (see above) you can buy everything from Mozart isotonic sports drinks to Mozart aftershave. Extraordinary.

MUST EAT

Vegetarians and those on diets can always order vegetable soup, but meat, pastry and chocolate are integral to the country's cuisine – you'll get heartburn just looking at most menus.

Restaurant Goldener Hirsch offers award-winning gourmet food (main course €23-€28/£15-£18). K+K Restaurant am Waagplatz (Waagplatz 2; 00 43 662 84 21 56; main course €15-€20/£10-£13) serves up excellent Austrian and international food in an atmospheric vaulted cellar.

The Mozart Dinner Concert isn't as naff as you might think: enjoy a traditional three-course candlelit dinner in the baroque hall of Stiftskeller St Peter while musicians play Mozart's greatest hits (€45/£30 per adult; 00 43 662 82 86 95 0; www.salzburg-concerts.com).

The local speciality is Mozartkugeln – moreish little chocolate balls filled with marzipan and hazelnut. Those manufactured by Mirabell pop up everywhere, but serious chocoholics should follow their noses to Alter Markt, where Konditorei Fürst still makes them by hand (at €0.80, around 50p a hit) and where Josef Holzermayr's sweetshop will bring out the kid in everyone.

INTO THE NIGHT

There are countless traditional beer cellars, such as the Zipfer Bierhaus (Universitätsplatz 19; 00 43 662 84 07 45) or the Augustiner Bräustübl (Augustinerstrasse 4; 00 43 662 43 12 46), formerly a monastery, now an authentic non-touristy 1,000-seater beer hall. But if you've had enough Olde Austria during the day, there are several "modern" pubs and bars around Anton Neumayr Platz. The most lively is republic café (00 43 662 84 16 13; www.republic-cafe.at), which hosts an eclectic mix of live music. If you've had enough Pils, however, and need a Guinness to settle your stomach, The Shamrock (Judengasse 1; 00 43 662 84 16 10) is open until 4am. Prost!