Salzburg in November

This post is a broad reflection of our five days in Austria which we spent entirely within Salzburg. I will be focusing on our visits to various attractions and the Christmas Markets which were the main reason for choosing to stay here in November.

Basic Information

The main language of Austria is German, so it’s very much worth your while to learn some of the basic vocabulary so that you can make the best of your stay. As in all countries, even a smattering of the language goes a long way.

The cars drive on the right so if you come from the UK like me, remember to look that way when crossing the road. The cars will wait for you to cross the road at a zebra crossing and, certainly while we were there, road etiquette was faultless. There are fines for Jay walking so make sure you don’t dash across on a red pedestrian light.

The roads are exceptionally quiet, although they are busy at times, because so many people drive electric vehicles. There are a large number of charging points across the city and the resulting quiet is a real bonus for someone from the UK where everywhere is loud and frenetic.

Austrians themselves are very quiet. They are not constantly talking into phones as the British tend to and when they do talk they do so much more quietly than the English, a trait that extends to teenagers who are unlike their counterparts elsewhere in that they didn’t tend to dominate their space physically and vocally. They don’t even seem to be wedded to their phones and are much more aware of their surroundings as a result. There is an absolutely lovely atmosphere of calm throughout the city that made me relax extremely quickly. That was a good thing for me as I usually take two or three days to get into holiday mode, but in Salzburg I was ready to enjoy myself on the first morning.

Sights to Visit

Within so small an area, the Old Town fits in a large amount of interest to the tourist and, no doubt, local alike. Here are five attractions I really enjoyed.

Hohensalzburg

We went to the Hohensalzburg, a castle above the town, which you reach by a very quick and very regular funicular railway service. The Castle itself is not without its interest, but it is on my must see list because of the panoramic views of Salzburg that you can get of the mountains and the town below. I strongly recommend that you make this your first stop on the trip.

Mozart Geburtshaus

The birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a must visit, whether you are interested in classical music or not. It is a place that has history and atmosphere in every brick and it can’t fail to fascinate. There are very informative blocks of text on the walls in both English and German, letters written by the genius himself and instruments that he played. I found it a most fascinating hour or so and I would recommend it to anyone.

Weinachtsmuseum

Salzburg’s Christmas Museum is an absolute labour of love showcasing the collection of Ursula Kloiber over a period of 50 years and reflecting the festive season in Salzburg over the course of a century from 1840 to 1940. Now, I am a Christmas fanatic, but I can’t hold an Advent Candle to Frau Kloiber when it comes to doing Christmas justice. It is social, cultural and seasonal history of a type that you couldn’t see anywhere else. I spent an hour in the museum and another 20 minutes in the amazing shop. Even if you visit Salzburg in August, you simply must see this museum which is open from Wednesday to Sunday each week.

Salzburg Cathedral

The city’s cathedral is an imposing and beautiful place. It is unlike any other cathedral I have ever visited, with ordinary windows replacing the stained glass of other large religious buildings and carvings and paintings being featured in a way I hadn’t seen before. It is a religious building first and foremost, not a tourist attraction in its own right as somewhere like Westminster Abbey is. However, you should try to get there between 11.30 and noon on any weekday in order to listen to the organ recital. The cathedral has seven organs of various sizes and specifications and when we went, the organist played four of them. In between the beautiful music we were given a history of the cathedral and an explanation of the development of the organs in the building. It was a fascinating, rewarding and awe inspiring half hour. If you can’t make it for the recital it is still well worth a visit but the recital makes it unmissable.

Dom Quartier

My final suggestion is a visit to the Dom Quartier building which houses paintings, costumes, sculptures and artefacts from the last millennium or more of Salzburg history. It is a long walk to the top of the building but you must follow the route through from the lower floors through to the top. We decided to start at the top and were sent back downstairs to start in the correct place 🤣🤣 Ironically, the top floor is definitely the most interesting with artefacts from the cathedral, a marvellous bird’s eye view of the cathedral and the opportunity to see the largest organ up close. It’s a very interesting place but definitely go early on in the day because if you add it to the end of a full day’s walking you might not finish in one piece!

Christkindlmarkt

The Christmas Market season started on the Thursday we were there, and was our reason for going in November. There are Christmas Markets throughout the city, but the Christkindlmarkt is the main market for locals and tourists alike. It was a truly magical experience. I had never visited anywhere quite like it. The Christmas Markets in the UK are, in the main, utilitarian and imitations of the real thing. Christkindlmarkt is steeped in Christmas. Yes, the booths are looking to make money, but they do so in a way that seems to perfectly reflect the best aspects of the celebration. There is a feeling of excitement and joy in the air, and no other place has made me feel so Christmassy. Given that I am a total fanatic for Christmas I don’t say that lightly. So what is my advice to those venturing to Salzburg for the market?

First of all, take cash and lots of it! Very few of the stalls work with credit cards and none with phones. (As an aside, I saw more people paying with cash in Salzburg than I could remember in about a decade. Cash is not necessarily king outside the Christmas Markets, but it is definitely still in the mix in a way it no longer is in the UK.) Next, take two trips to the market on your first day, one in the morning to get an idea of your surroundings and to try to remember which stalls you want to come back to, and how much your chosen items will cost to ensure that your cash will last. (Spoiler alert – it may not work! It certainly didn’t for us!) By coming in daylight, you can see the market with fewer people around. After dark, it is packed. However, it’s not a scrum pushing and shoving, just a large number of relaxed, good natured and generally very polite people who are there to enjoy some of that Christmas magic. On the second day we went back at 5pm to listen to a choir sing Christmas Carols. We were there to listen to the MGV Lamprechtshausen a male voice choir singing carols I had never heard before, with the exception of a German language version of O Come All Ye Faithful. They were incredible and it was an absolute privilege to listen to them. After this we went in search of souvenirs and Christmas decorations with a proper dose of Christmas spirit coursing through our veins.

Eating and drinking is definitely something you will want to do within the confines of the market. There are stalls serving local delicacies and I cannot recommend the Breze stall highly enough. These German pretzels are huge and will satisfy all but the biggest appetite. We had olive and chilli cheese breze which were delicious. The best place for a traditional drink is the Lions stall, which raises money for charity and provides a choice of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, with Gluhwein being my wife’s favourite and Apfelpunch being mine. As a real bonus, the drinks come in souvenir Christkindlmarkt mugs. You can return them and get 4 Euros back, but we took ours home and, unless you already have them, you will want to as well.

Final Thoughts

The bus service in Salzburg is incredible and we used it whenever we wanted to get somewhere and we had done enough walking! We were staying in the Best Western Plus Almedia Art which was very comfortable and right next to the bus stop when we came back from town! You will get a Guest Mobility Ticket from the hotel after paying a small tourist charge that will cover you for your whole stay but you must remember to ask for it. Your bus travel is also part of the Salzburg Card which is an absolute must as it gives you free or reduced entry to pretty much all the sights of the city. You can get it online or go to the Tourist Information office, as we did, to get the physical card. For 72 Euros you get three days of free entry and its worth every cent. Use a little bit of German if you can, as it really makes a difference. Finally, just enjoy one of the loveliest and most relaxed cities in the whole of Europe.