Austria
About Salzburg
Salzburg looks staged because, in a sense, it is-baroque domes and squares wedged into a dramatic gap between two hills.
A mighty fortress watches over the river, the Sound of Music gardens bloom at Mirabell, and Mozart's face sells everything from chocolate to socks. Narrow Getreidegasse hangs its wrought-iron guild signs over the crowds, beautiful and busy in equal measure.
The Alps press in close, so a morning in the city can turn into an afternoon on a mountain.
Try the cloud-light Salzburger Nockerl and a beer brewed at Stiegl since the Middle Ages.
Get to Salzburg
Round trip from Prague, any dates in November 2026.
Buses from Salzburg
Day trips from Salzburg
- Half day
Königssee
~40 min
, ~1 h 
Germany's cleanest lake, an emerald ribbon between sheer rock walls just across the border. Silent electric boats glide to the red-domed pilgrimage chapel of St Bartholomä beneath the Watzmann's east face.
- Half day
Eisriesenwelt
~50 min, ~1 h 15 min 
The largest ice cave on Earth: a labyrinth of frozen waterfalls and glittering ice palaces inside the Hochkogel mountain, explored by carbide lamp on a guided tour. Bring warm clothes, even in August.
- Day trip
Gosausee
~1 h, ~2 h 45 min A still mountain lake mirroring the glaciated peaks of the Dachstein. The classic view opens right from the shore at the trailhead, and a flat path circles the lake for quieter angles.
→ in WayoniDay tripHallstatt
~1 h 15 min, ~2 h 30 min The lakeside village of a thousand photographs: pastel houses stacked between mountain and fjord-like lake, a bone chapel, and salt mines worked since the Bronze Age. Go early or stay overnight — midday belongs to the crowds.
About Austria
Lake villages under the Alps
Glacier skiing and warm lake swimming in the same country, with Vienna's coffee houses and gilded concert halls at the eastern edge of it.
Explore AustriaRegions, highlights and when to go