What to see in Salzburg ?

Salzbourg makes more sense when you forget about Mozart. Or rather, when you stop looking for him everywhere. The baroque city built on two hills overlooking the Salzach has a rare architectural coherence in Central Europe, shaped for centuries by prince-archbishops. Festung Hohensalzburg towering above the orange roofs and Getreidegasse below it together capture that tension between religious power and commercial life.

Spring (April–May) and early autumn offer the city without the summer saturation of the Festival. Two days are enough to explore on foot; the city is compact and public transport covers the outer quarters well. Skip the snowglobe and Mozart chocolate shops squeezing the Getreidegasse: they take up space without saying anything about the place. Instead, cross the river into the Lehen neighbourhood to see where Salzburgers actually live.