Sound of Music Movie Tour In Salzburg:
The hills are still very much alive in Salzburg! While thousands of tourists fork over €60+ each day to get crammed onto a commercial tour bus, the truth is that over 80% of the iconic movie sets are right here in the historic center of Salzburg and easily visited on foot for free.
Whether you want to spin around the 16-Going-On-17 gazebo, splash the Horse Fountain like Maria, or skip up the famous Do-Re-Mi steps, this free self-guided Sound of Music walking tour puts the route completely in your hands. Put on your headphones, queue up the soundtrack, and let’s explore the movie magic and the deep history behind it.
🗺️ Tour Overview & Logistics
🗺️ Interactive Route Map: Click HERE to open our Custom Sound of Music Google Map
🧭 Style: Do-It-Yourself Walking Tour (Self-Guided)
⏱️ Time Needed: 3–4 hours for the Old Town walking loop (Stops 1–11). Add a half-day if you plan to visit the properties south of town (Stops 12–15) via bike or public bus.
📍 Start: Mirabell Palace Gardens
👟 Walking Distance: 2.5 miles (4 km) for the main Old Town core stops.
💶 Total Cost: Free! (Optional Bus 25 ticket for the gazebo and entry fees apply only if you do the full indoor tours of Hellbrunn Palace or a show at the Puppet Theater).
⭐ Fun Scale: 10 / 10
Related Guide & Video: How To Get To The Sound of Music Meadow.
How To Divide Your Time:
In 1 day you can quickly breeze through The Sound of Music movie locations in Old Town Salzburg (stops 1-11) and even tour the four just South of town (stops 12-15) if you start early. With 2 full days in Salzburg, you will have time to also visit most The Sound of Music movie tour sights further outside of town or mix in the Mozart attractions and High Salzburg Fortress from our Old Town Salzburg Walking Tour. Having 3 full days is ideal, but to help you better divide your time, check out our suggested itineraries for Salzburg.
To keep you from crisscrossing the river unnecessarily, we have mapped this out in a seamless, sequential loop.
- Stops 1–11 (The Old Town Locations): Everything is clustered close together, fully pedestrianized, and highly walkable. Takes half a day.
- Stops 12–15 (The South Salzburg Excursions): These require a short bike ride or a quick trip on Bus 25 to reach locations like Hellbrunn Palace (The Gazebo) and Schloss Leopoldskron.
Getting Between Movie Locations:
Most of the Sound of Music movie tour locations in Salzburg are close to Old Town so they can be seen on your own by foot without paying to join a guided tour. While you can easily walk between most of the Sound of Music film sights in Salzburg, we like to rent bicycles from Avelo in Mozartplatz ($15 a day; April-September 9:30am-5 pm; July & August 9am-7pm; avelo@aon.at), especially for movie tour locations 12-15 located just outside of Old Town to the South.
Turning the walking tour into a self-guided Sound of Music bike tour will make your day more magical. There are half-day or even overnight rentals if needed and you usually only need to make a reservation if you are in a group, need a tandem, or an e-bike. Helmets and bike locks are included. For Sound of Music movie locations farther from Salzburg, we have included bus/train routes on our map, and current schedules are available online here.
The Sound of Music Movie Tour:
1. Mirabell Palace & Gardens:
About Mirabell Palace: Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start! What better way to kick off this self-guided walking tour of The Sound of Music film locations than the gardens that are best known as the grand stage for the sweeping “Do-Re-Mi” montage? While the gardens were laid out in the 1700s, the palace itself is steeped in history, having been built by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau for his mistress in 1606, and a young Mozart even played private concerts here! Today you can relive the climactic finish to Do-Re-Mi in the gardens to set the proper energy for your Big Boy Travel tour!
💶 Cost: Free.
⏱️ Time Needed: 30–45 minutes.
🕰️ Hours: Main Gardens open daily from Dawn to Dusk. Palace Interior open daily 8:00 AM–6:00 PM.
📍 Location: Mirabellplatz (Enter from the South edge of the gardens).
📸 Top Photo Spot: Posing like the children next to the gladiator statues, or shooting over the central fountain with the fortress in the background.
♿ Mobility: The main gardens are flat, paved, and fully accessible.
🎬 Sound of Music Film Connections
The Fencing Statues: As you enter from the south, you will immediately recognize the two pairs of grand Greek fencing statues from the movie. Inspired by the ancient Borghese Gladiator displayed in Paris’ Louvre Museum, each stone figure leaps forward with a fist triumphantly in the air. This is the exact spot where the Von Trapp children mimic the statues’ heroic poses as they march past.
The Central Fountain: Wandering further into the garden, you will find the massive central spouting fountain where Maria and the children skip in front of large sprays of water. The statues lining this area are worth a close inspection as they represent the fundamental elements of nature (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water).
The Fortress Backdrop: While standing at the central fountain, make sure to turn around. This exact spot provides the iconic movie view of the Hohensalzburg Fortress towering majestically over the city skyline.
🌟 Big Boy Pro-Tip
The Early Bird Solo Shot: Because the south entrance gate has no doors and opens at dawn, arriving early means you can capture your gladiator pose photos completely frame-free. By 10:00 AM (9am on weekends), huge tour groups may cluster around these statues, forcing you to wait in a long line just to mimic the pose. Get here earlier to enjoy the morning light reflecting off the central fountain in total peace.
➡️ Next Stop (2-minute walk): The Pegasus Fountain and the Do-Re-Mi steps are located in the northwest corner of these exact same gardens, to the left of the palace.
2. The Do-Re-Mi Steps & Pegasus Fountain:
About The Do-Re-Mi Steps: Welcome to the most iconic Sound of Music film location in Salzburg! The historic stone staircase and its adjacent fountain in the northwest corner of Mirabell Gardens serve as the grand finale of “Do-Re-Mi.” This is the exact spot where Maria and the children use the stone steps like living piano keys. Aside from the gazebo, this is the main reason millions of movie fans make the pilgrimage to Salzburg, and it is incredibly easy to visit on your own without an expensive guide.
💶 Cost: Free.
⏱️ Time Needed: 15 minutes.
🕰️ Garden Hours: Daily all year from Dawn to Dusk.
📍 Location: Northwest edge of Mirabell Gardens (known as the Small Parterre).
📸 Top Photo Spot: Stand at the very top of the terrace stairs and strike Maria’s final pose: left hand resting on the back of your head, and your right hand thrown triumphantly straight up into the air!
♿ Mobility: The fountain area is flat and accessible; climbing the steps is required to reach the upper rose garden.
🎬 Sound of Music Film Connections
The Pegasus Lip-Skip: The large circular basin surrounding the winged horse statue is where Maria and the children skip in single file around the fountain’s stone rim. The copper centerpiece is brilliant and was forged by sculptor Kaspar Gras in 1661 before being moved to this position in 1913.
Look Closely at the Guardians: As you walk from the fountain toward the base of the stairs, stop and check out the two grand stone statues framing the walkway. Look closely at their faces—they aren’t standard horses. They are actually goat-bearded unicorns guarding the path up to the North Terrace!
The Musical Steps: The North Terrace Steps are the undisputed climax of the song Do-Re-Mi. This is where Maria stands center-stage at the top of the flight, throwing her hand into the air like a victorious conductor, while the children bounce up and down the steps behind her to hit the musical scale’s final high note.
🌟 Big Boy Pro-Tip
The Director’s Angle: To capture the film’s most iconic shot, hike up the steps to the North Terrace (toward the Rose Garden), turn around, and shoot down over the Pegasus Fountain toward the fortress. Don’t frame it looking up from the bottom; actually climb the stairs for the view! Because this spot gets completely swamped by tour buses, arrive before 9:00 AM for clear steps, or pack your patience and wait a few minutes for the crowd to part. It is more than worth the wait to get that perfect, unobstructed Hollywood backdrop.
➡️ Next Stop (1-minute walk): From the base of the Do-Re-Mi steps, look immediately to your right to find the small stone footbridge guarded by lion statues. Cross it to enter the Dwarf Garden.
3. Dwarf Statue Garden & Hedge Maze:
About The Dwarf Statue Garden: Hidden across a small stone moat, the Dwarf Garden serves as the weird, wonderful underbelly of Mirabell. This secluded park contains a collection of bizarre, grotesque marble dwarfs that the Von Trapp kids playfully pat on the head during their “Do-Re-Mi” montage.
💶 Cost: Free.
⏱️ Time Needed: 15 minutes.
📍 Location: Eastern terrace of Mirabell Gardens (across the lion bridge).
📸 Top Photo Spot: Posing next to the bespectacled dwarf, or looking down the center of the green ivy tunnel.
♿ Mobility: Flat and accessible.
❄️ Seasonal Note: The Dwarf Garden and the adjacent Hedge Maze are locked from November to March to protect the marble from winter frost.
🎬 Sound of Music Film Connections
The Head Pat: As the Von Trapp children march through the garden during “Do-Re-Mi,” each one reaches out and pats the head of one specific dwarf. Look for the dwarf on the southern (left) side of the collection with a pair of round spectacles and his tongue sticking out. His head is noticeably smoother and shinier than the others because millions of fans have patted it for luck!
The Ivy Pergola: Just past the dwarves is an interesting Hedge Maze, but below it on the garden’s main level is a green, tunnel-like vine pergola that you shouldn’t miss. Maria and the kids sprint through the tunnel while racing at full speed, bursting into song.
🗿 The Real Dwarf Garden History
Royal Insults in Stone: Carved around 1715 from local white Untersberg marble, these 15 surviving statues (originally 28) were commissioned by Prince-Archbishop Franz Anton von Harrach. Rather than just depicting court jesters, they were deliberately grotesque caricatures of common Salzburg locals and everyday professions—people who weren’t even allowed inside the private palace gates at the time (the gardens didn’t open to the public until 1854). They were purposefully sculpted to look ugly and deformed so the elite nobility could stroll past them and feel grander and more physically flawless by comparison.
The Royal Curse: In 1815, Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig I became convinced these creepy statues would visually traumatize his pregnant wife and curse his unborn child, so he had the entire collection torn down and sold at auction! The superstitious plan may have worked, as the child, Otto, was born safely in Mirabell Palace and later became the King of Greece. It took until 1919 for the city to successfully track down and buy back the surviving dwarves from private gardens across Austria. Upon their return, they were moved from their original location in the Orangerie to their current home atop this historic medieval bastion.
🌟 Big Boy Pro-Tip
Know Where The Cast Stayed: As you exit the gardens into Makart Square (Makartplatz), pay attention to the luxurious Bristol Hotel. This is where the cast of The Sound of Music stayed during filming in 1964, and where a drunken Christopher Plummer (Captain Von Trapp) would play the piano in the lobby for the cast in the evenings. Also in the square is the home where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived from age 17 to 25, now a museum featured in our free Mozart Walking Tour Guide.
➡️ Next Stop (4-minute walk): Exit Mirabell Gardens back through the southern gate onto Schwarzstraße. Turn right and walk past the theater building to find the Salzburg Marionette Theater.
4. Salzburg Marionette Theater:
About the Salzburg Puppet Theater: Operating continuously since 1913, this world-famous cultural institution served as the real-life inspiration for one of the film’s most beloved scenes: “The Lonely Goatherd.” Today, they also perform a full-length production of The Sound of Music using their handmade puppets!
💶 Cost: Free to view the street-side window displays. Puppet show tickets range from €35–€60.
⏱️ Time Needed: 5–10 minutes for an exterior look; 2 hours for a live performance (or 1 hour for short versions).
🎭 Showtimes: Typically at 4:00 PM or 7:30 PM
📍 Location: Schwarzstraße 24.
📸 Top Photo Spot: The historic poster boxes and intricate puppet display cases along the exterior sidewalk.
♿ Mobility: Fully accessible.
🎬 Sound of Music Film Connection
Legendary Inspiration: It was this specific troupe’s performance style that inspired Rodgers & Hammerstein as they wrote the Broadway version of The Sound of Music in 1959. This direct influence led to the iconic “Lonely Goatherd” puppet scene in the 1965 film!
The Hollywood Illusion: When producers wanted a puppet show in the movie, they originally approached this exact Salzburg troupe. However, the Austrian puppeteers were away on an international tour during the 1964 filming window. Director Robert Wise instead hired famous American puppeteer Bil Baird and his wife, Cora. The entire “Lonely Goatherd” sequence was filmed on a massive Los Angeles soundstage using American-made puppets, completely bypassing this theater!
The Show Comes Full Circle: While the Salzburg Marionette Theater was left out of the movie filming, they officially adapted the Broadway version of The Sound of Music into a permanent, full-length puppet production in 2007. Today, it takes 10 master puppeteers and three completely separate sets of marionettes just to handle the Von Trapp children’s rapid wardrobe changes on stage.
The Iowa Easter Egg: Where are the original 1960s movie puppets now? You won’t find them in Austria. The screen-used wooden goats and characters are currently preserved and on public display in the United States at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, Iowa, Baird’s hometown.
🌟 Big Boy Pro-Tips
Skip the Tourist Traps: If you want a genuinely unique Salzburg experience that bypasses the massive, cheesy tourist bus routes, book an afternoon ticket to their puppet version of The Sound of Music. The craftsmanship is staggering—the puppeteers can make the wooden marionettes look as if they are breathing and changing facial expressions. You’ll leave just as inspired as Rodgers & Hammerstein were.
Book Early: The theater is intimate and only holds about 350 people. During the summer, the Sound of Music performances routinely sell out weeks in advance, so secure your tickets online early! The troupe also tours outside our country every January, February, and September, so plan accordingly.
🌐 Website & Schedule: marionetten.at
➡️ Next Stop (8-minute walk): Walk south down Schwarzstraße toward the river. Cross the Staatsbrücke bridge into the Old Town, turn right, and head to the Anton-Neumayr-Platz elevator entrance to ride up to the Winkler Terrace on Mönchsberg hill.
5. Winkler Terrace:
About Winkler Terrace: Perched high on the sheer cliffs of Monk’s Hill (Mönchsberg), this stone terrace offers the definitive panoramic postcard view of Salzburg. In the film, this is where Maria’s journey truly begins as she leaves the convent, and it’s where she brings the children to practice shuffling the musical notes of “Do-Re-Mi” against the backdrop of the city’s spires.
- 💶 Cost: The terrace is free; the Mönchsberg Lift (MönchsbergAufzug) costs €4.50 round-trip (Free if you hold a Salzburg Card).
- ⏱️ Time Needed: 20–30 minutes.
- 📍 Location: Inside Anton-Neumayr-Platz (Look for the pink building with the “MdM” logo; the elevator shoots straight through the inside of the mountain).
- 📸 Top Photo Spot: Walk along the stone ramparts past the elevator exit to frame the grey domes of the Cathedral and the red onion dome of Nonnberg Abbey below you.
- ♿ Mobility: Fully accessible via the mountain elevator.
- ⚙️ Lift Hours: Typically runs daily from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM or 9:00 PM depending on the season.
🎬 The Movie Moments to Recreate
- The Convent Exit: Early in the movie, as Maria reluctantly leaves the abbey to become a governess, she steps out onto this high terrace to look down at the city below.
- The Note Shuffling: During the “Do-Re-Mi” montage, Maria and the kids walk along this stone walkway while she tests them by mixing up the order of the musical notes.
🛡️ The Medieval Wall: The stone walkway you are standing on isn’t just a viewing platform; it’s part of the Bürgerwehr (Citizen’s Militia Wall), a massive fortified defensive rampart built in 1487 to protect the independent Prince-Bishopric from foreign invaders.
🌟 Big Boy Pro-Tip: Claude’s draft suggested skipping the upscale M32 Café at the top of the lift, and for once, the AI was right—the service there can be notoriously detached. Instead, skip the museum crowds entirely and hike just 5 minutes further along the wooded crest of the hill to the Stadt Alm. It’s a rustic, hidden alpine hut sitting right on the medieval wall. You get the exact same killer views but with cheaper espresso, cold Austrian beer, and a completely authentic local vibe.
➡️ Next Stop (6-minute walk): Take the Mönchsberg Lift back down to street level. Exit the building into Anton-Neumayr-Platz, turn right, and walk 2 blocks through the historic pedestrian lanes toward the massive rock cliff face to find the Horse Bath (Pferdeschwemme).
6. Horse Bath (Pferdeschwemme):
About The Horse Bath: Sitting below the cliffside of Mönchsberg Hill is the largest of Salzburg’s two surviving Medieval horse baths which were basically car washes for horses in the Middle Ages. In the Sound of Music movie, this long fountain is where Maria and the Von Trapp kids stop to splash in the water during the instrumental ending to ‘My Favorite Things’. Additional scenes for the movie were shot at the fountain but were later cut from the film.
The Prince-Archbishop had the mural backdrop and statue of a horse being tamed added to the sprawling fountain in 1693 (in use since 1599) to match the theme of his neighboring Royal Stables (Hofmarstall). We love how the cliff backdrop and bright murals add drama to any photos you take here. We will pass by the other Medieval horse bath later on this free Sound of Music walking tour in Chapter Square (Kapitelschwemme) which framed by two lovely willow trees below the High Salzburg Fortress. Both horse bath fountains in Salzburg are fed by ancient underground canals in use since Roman times and revamped in both the 700s and 1200s.
Sound Of Music Movie Connection: Maria and the children dance past the Horse Bath in the song “My Favorite Things”. A few other shots filmed here were cut from the movie.
7. Rock Riding School & Toscaninihof:
About The Rock Riding School: Stretching for more than a city block tucked against the steep cliff of Monk’s Hill (Mönchsberg), the massive Rock Riding School was home to some of the most powerful film scenes in this Sound of Music movie tour. It is here the in the movie Von Trapp children rehearse for the Folk Festival inside the Festival Hall Theater (Festspielhaus) with Max as the tensions with the Nazis being to arise. Later this open-air theater is also where Captain performs “Edelweiss” with help from the audience before being joined on stage by his family for “So Long, Farewell” before fleeing Salzburg. This was one of only two interiors scenes from The Sound of Music movie (along with the wedding) that were shot on location instead of in a Hollywood studio.
During the filming of the scenes, hundreds of local extras took part in the audience and were taught the words to Edelweiss on set so they could join in. The use of the song Edelweiss is a uniquely powerful way to say goodbye as the song was the last words written by famed play-write Oscar Hammerstein. Hammerstein was battling cancer while adapting Maria’s memoir into the hit 1959 Broadway play, which superseded the iconic film by six years. It was essentially his own goodbye song sung through Captain. While not a real folk song, the Edelweiss flowers are important in Austrian culture because it only grows high up on the mountains. When a young lady would receive an Edelweiss she knew that the boy who gave it to her had just risked his life to pick it (now illegal as they are protected).
While the Von Trapp’s Folk Festival performance didn’t happen this way in real life, it is still one of the best scenes of the movie. In reality, the family had performed here in 1935 and won the Salzburg Music Festival in 1936 after officially forming their choir, but that was almost two years before the Nazis annexed Austria in early-1938. After refusing to sing for Hitler’s birthday in April of 1938, the family escaped to Italy two months later, prior to the annual Salzburg Folk Festival depicted in the movie.
The real history of the Festival Hall Complex is also very interesting. The cliffside was used as a quarry to build many of Salzburg’s churches before the Prince-Archbishop began to fill the void from the excavations with new Royal Horse Stable and Summer Riding School in 1693. The well-named Rock Riding School (Felsenreitschule) was complete with an impressive 3-level, 96 box viewing gallery carved out of the rock wall. The courtyard became important to Salzburg for horse training and riding competitions similar to the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. We find it fitting that the arched stone portals in the wall look like a gladiator arena since Salzburg was originally a Roman town of Luvaum (15BC-488AD). Since then, the former Rock Riding School Complex has been converted into 3 separate theaters and is fun to tour even when no shows are going on.
During the 5th annual Salzburg Festival in 1925, the Royal Horse Stable was the first of three spaces turned into performance theaters in the complex. Known as the Small Festival Hall (Kleines Festspielhaus) huge frescoes were painted in the theater foyer covering almost every square inch of the lobby the following year. In 1939, the occupying Nazis had all of the beautiful frescos in the lobby removed saying they were terrible art, but luckily they were re-added in their original positions during renovations in 1956. Further improvements took place in 2006 in preparation for the celebration of 250 years since Mozart was born in Salzburg, and space was renamed the House for Mozart (Haus für Mozart). Today this sleek looking theater seats over 1,500, is used mainly for productions of Mozart’s operas, and still has an awesome mural filled entrance hall.
The second performance space came in 1926 when the Summer Riding School was also converted into a theater using the carved rock wall as a natural backdrop. Called the Festival Hall (Festspielhaus), this open-air theater gained a partial roof (now fully retractable) in the 1930s and was the space featured in The Sound of Music movie. The theater has over 1,400 seats, a sprawling 130-foot-wide stage, a 3-story arcade rock wall backdrop, and a retractable roof. The final theater, called Great Festival Hall (Grosses Festspielhaus) is inside the former Winter Riding School and didn’t open until 1960 as it required additional excavating. This huge space is the largest in the complex with over 2,100 seats, a massive 300-foot-wide stage, and shows a lot of productions by Richard Wagner.
The only way to see the inside of the complex where the Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg, is to either join the official theater tour or see a live show. Even if you aren’t going inside, make sure to swing by Toscaninihof Square on the Eastern end of the building which is also featured in The Sound of Music movie. In the square, a seemingly cold-blooded Rolf gives Liesl a telegram for her dad from Berlin after the children finish rehearsing for the Folk Festival. At Toscaninihof you will also find steps leading up to the top of Mönchsberg cliff if you are looking to explore.
Address: Hofstallgasse 1. Guided Tour Cost: 7€. Guided Tour Hours: September-June 2pm; July & August 9:30am, 2pm, & 3:30pm., please see their website here. Photo: (Exterior from the West).
Sound Of Music Film Connection: Captain performs “Edelweiss” at the Rock Riding School and is joined on stage by his family for “So Long, Farewell” before escaping. The theater is one of only two interior scenes actually shot on location in Salzburg. Toscaninihof Square is where newly aggressive Rolf gives Liesl a telegram for her dad Berlin after the children finish rehearsing.
8. Saint Peter’s Cemetery:
About Saint Peter’s Cemetery: Near the end of the Sound of Music movie, the Von Trapps hide from flashlight wielding Nazis behind tombs in the cemetery of the Nonnburg Convent. The real Nonnburg cemetery is extremely small and modest, so as the producers turned to the cemetery at Saint Peter’s Church for inspiration to build the set in Hollywood. Ringing the edges of the flower-filled Saint Peter’s Cemetery are large crypts for local wealthy families closed with elegant wrought iron gates which were expertly reproduced for the movie. While the real-life Von Trapps never hid in a cemetery, the scene in the movie adds great drama and a confrontation with Rolf which is different than the original Broadway play produced in 1959.
The peaceful grounds of Saint Peter’s Cemetery may just be the most serene location in all of Salzburg and it’s easy to see how it inspired the Sound of Music film scenes. This unique cemetery goes back prior to 700 AD with cliff-side catacombs that go back even further to 215 AD. We love the small Saint Margaret’s Chapel in the middle of the cemetery from 1491 and the oldest headstone we have found is from 1288. Among the graves are Mozart’s sister Maria Anna as well as Franz Wasner who was the real-life Max Detweiler depicted in The Sound of Music movie. Franz Wasner served as the Von Trapp’s advisor and choir conductor.
The most unusual thing about Saint Peter’s Cemetery to American visitors is that you do not buy the plots, but instead rent them. Relatives of the dead must pay rent for the plot every 10 years and must serve as the caretakers. If your family doesn’t pay your rent, they toss your body out. This method also helps ensure that almost every rod iron headstone you pass by will have an abundance of fresh flowers.
If you making good time on this free Sound of Music film locations tour, make sure to check out inside of Saint Peter’s Church which has stunning murals lining its nave. Next door to the church is one of our favorite places to eat called Stiftskeller Restaurant (website) which has nightly Mozart concerts (more info) and is considered to be Europe’s oldest restaurant. Emperor Charlemagne himself even ate here back in 803 AD.
Hours: April-September 6:30am-7pm; October-March 6:30am-6pm. Cost: Cemetery is Free; Catacombs 1€ Adults, 0.60€ Children.
Sound Of Music Movie Tour Connection: Saint Peter’s was the inspiration for the cemetery the Von Trapps used to hide from the Nazis at the end of the movie, although the scene was filmed in Hollywood. The cemetery is home to the grave of Franz Wasner who was the real-life Max Detweiler.
9. Residenz Square & Fountain:
About Residenz Square & Fountain: Sitting on the site of a former ancient Roman Forum, Residenzplatz Square still shows off Salzburg’s early Italian ambitions. The massive Horse Fountain in the middle of the square was one of the main filming locations where Maria family gleefully splashes while performing ‘I Have Confidence in Me’ in The Sound of Music. Later in the movie, Nazi soldiers march through the large square while their flag hangs above the entrance to the Old Residenz Palace. The dreary scene of the soldiers entering town symbolizes German annexing Austria in March of 1938 in what was called the Anschluss.
The focal point of the busy Residenz Square is the centrally located 45-foot-tall Horse Fountain (Residenzbrunnen). Four horses leap out of the base while the Greek God Trion spouts water from a seashell at the top of the fountain. Completed in 1661, the upper section is a replica Bernini’s famous Triton Fountain in Rome and it is the largest Baroque fountain located outside of Italy. People watching near the Horse Fountain is incredible as the Residenz Square is the center of everything Salzburg.
On the Westside of the square is Old Residenz Palace (Alte Residenz) which had a Nazi flag draped over it in The Sound of Music movie. Because of the disdain for the Nazi symbols in Salzburg, it took a lot of work to film this scene which also included soldiers marching through Residenz Square symbolizing the day Germany annexed Austria (the Anschluss). The palace was built as a mansion for Salzburg’s Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau in 1596. Today the Old Residenz Palace has elegant staterooms, which are lavishly decorated, plus a prestigious art gallery that has Rembrandts and Rubens.
In 1602 the Archbishop built the New Residenz (Neugebäude) on the Eastside of the square to serve as his guest house. Today the New Residenz is home to the Glockenspiel Bell Tower, Heimatwerk Shop, and the Salzburg Panorama 1929 painted by Johann Michael Sattler. The Panorama 1929 boasts a series of stunning 360-degree panoramic paintings of many European cities made during the early 1800s.
As part of the construction to create the new open square and surrounding buildings, the Prince-Archbishop had to level many Medieval homes and a cemetery that sat here built above an ancient Roman Forum. The Forum was from Salzburg’s early days as the settlement of Luvaum (15BC-488AD, pronounced U-Va-Voom) and was partially excavated in 2008 which revealed artifacts and walls from the time of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211).
Sound Of Music Film Tour Connection: During the song “I Have Confidence in Me”, Maria splashes in the horse fountain. The Old Residenz also has a giant Nazi flag on its facade in the movie as soldiers march into the square marking the German annexation of Austria (the Anschluss).
10. Mozart Footbridge:
About Mozart Footbridge: This art deco pedestrian footbridge named after Salzburg’s most famous resident, Mozart, opened in 1903. In the Sound of Music, the Mozart Footbridge (Mozartsteg) is the where Maria and the kids cross the river while pointing at the sights during the instrumental end to the song ‘My Favorite Things’. The children then also cheerfully skip along the grassy riverbank during the scene. The Mozart Bridge is a must visit for any Sound of Music movie tour in Salzburg.
Even though Salzburg dates back to 15BC as a Roman settlement of Juvavum, the Mozart Footbridge was only the third to span the river directly into the heart of Old Town. An old Roman Bridge (römische brücke) was the only one over the Salzach River from 15BC-1599AD before it was replaced by the State Bridge (staatbrücke) and a second one wasn’t opened until 1859AD when the first Caroline Bridge (Karolinenbrücke) was completed. All of the bridges had to be repaired or rebuilt following WW2.
If you do feel adventurous, the historic Steingasse & Kapuzinerberg Monastery, which are featured in our Old Town Salzburg Walking Tour, are only a short walk across the river. Until the Mozart Footbridge was bought by the city in 1921, it actually required a toll to cross between Old Town and Stone Lane (Steingasse).
Sound Of Music Movie Tour Connection: Maria and the kids across the river while pointing during the instrumental end of “My Favorite Things” then skip along the grassy riverbank.
11. Nonnberg Abbey Convent:
About The Nonnberg Convent: Sitting above the East side of Salzburg, the historic Nonnberg Abbey (Stift Nonnberg) was where the real-life Maria lived and the convent was depicted in many powerful scenes in the Sound of Music movie. Founded between 712-715 by Saint Erentrudis, the niece of Saint Rupert (Bishop of Worms), Nonnberg is the oldest convent located North of the Alps which made it an excellent filming location.
Prior to being a convent, the perched location had been home to an ancient fortification dating back to when the town was the Roman settlement of Luvaum (15BC-488AD, u-va-voom). The small fortification is why Bishop Virgil later renamed the town Salzburg (Salt Fortress) in the late 700s. The Nonnberg Convent has been rebuilt a couple of times since its founding with the current Gothic buildings dating back to 1464-1506. The red onion dome on the abbey’s belltower is one of the most iconic architectural features in Salzburg.
There were 4 great scenes filmed on the grounds of the Nonnberg Convent in the Sound of Music movie near the abbey gates. These iconic gate scenes include Maria leaving the abbey while wondering “What will this day be like?”, the nuns talking about Maria, the children coming to visit, and the Nazis on the hunt for the Von Trapps during the escape as the nuns disable their car. Fans of The Sound of Music movie will also remember the nuns singing the song ‘Maria’ in the courtyard at Nonnberg Abbey. Permission to film inside the convent courtyard was not allowed, so they had filmed the scenes at much larger re-created sets in both Hollywood and at a small studio in Salzburg.
Nonnberg Abbey happens to be the same convent that the real-life Maria (Maria Augusta Kutschera) moved to from Vienna at age 19 where she lived in as a postulant (nun apprentice) for 2 years starting in 1924. Maria (orphaned at age 6) also taught at the Benedictine Convent which led her to become an in-home tutor for one of the widowed Captain Von Trapp’s sick children. She gave up her path toward becoming a nun and married Georg Von Trapp here in the chapel of the Nonnberg Abbey on November 26th, 1927. The filming of Maria and Captain’s wedding scene for the movie, however, was at Collegiate Church in Mondsee Austria which is listed later on this Sound of Music movie locations tour. It is interesting to note that the real wedding actually took place 11 years before the Nazis came to Salzburg (1927 vs 1938) and that Maria was 25 years younger (22 vs 47) than Georg at the time.
Many visitors skip the trek up to the abbey, but we think it is worth the effort and a highlight of our Sound of Music walking tour. Every morning at 6:45am you can hear the resident nuns sing Gregorian chants in Latin which is a real treat. Down to 14 nuns in 2017, there were 50 nuns living here during the filming of the Sound of Music. The interior of the Gothic abbey where they sing is beautiful with a painted wooden altar from 1515 and a carved Pieta statue from 1415. If you want to cheat a little on your hike up, you can actually walk downhill to the Nonnberg Convent after visiting the Salzburg High Fortress.
Singing Nuns: Every morning at 6:45am you can hear the nuns sing in the convent church. Other Music: Most days March-November at 4:30pm the abbey also hosts 30 minutes of live music (mainly classical or chorus) by local artists. Church Service: In addition to the major Catholic holidays, weekly church service is open to the public every Sunday at 9:30pm. Place of Worship: Remember to be respectful while visiting and don’t be a loud tourist. Church & Cemetery Hours: Daily 6:45am-Dusk (6pm in Summer); the Convent living quarters are not open to the public. Abbey Website: Here.
Sound Of Music Film Tour Connection: There are 4 scenes shot at the Abbey gates, and the nuns sing “Maria” inside, although the interior scenes were shot in a studio. The real-life Maria lived here for 2 years, she taught in the convent, and was married here in 1927, which was actually 11 years before the Nazis arrived in Salzburg. The real nuns sing here every morning at 6:45am.
Sights Just South Of Salzburg:
12. Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron:
About Palace Leopold: This breathtaking, cream-colored Rococo palace sits directly on the banks of a mirror-like lake (Leopoldskroner Weiher). In the movie, this property serves as the primary visual template for the exterior of the Von Trapp family villa. This is where the iconic lake terrace scenes, the boating accident, and the backyard arguments took place.
💶 Cost: Viewing the palace across the lake is Free. The interior and private lakeside grounds are strictly closed to the general public and are accessible only if you book a room at the property (it operates as a luxury boutique hotel, Schloss Leopoldskron Hotel).
⏱️ Time Needed: 20 minutes if viewing from the public path across the lake; 1+ hours if you are a hotel guest.
📍 Location: Leopoldskronstraße 56-58.
📸 Top Photo Spot: Stand on the public footpath on the southern or western banks of the lake (König-Ludwig-Weg). This gives you the ultimate cinematic postcard shot of the palace façade reflecting perfectly in the still water with the Untersberg mountain looming in the background.
♿ Mobility: The public walking path around the lake is completely flat, wide, gravel-paved, and fully accessible.
🎬 The Movie Moments & The Hollywood Illusion
What you see on screen is a brilliant, fractured illusion. Twentieth Century Fox was denied permission to film inside the actual historic building because the owners feared camera equipment would damage the delicate interiors. To solve this, Hollywood split the palace into pieces:
The Lakeside Terrace: Production designers built an exact, scale replica of Leopoldskron’s outdoor stone terrace (the one framed by two white stone statues of mythological figures where Baroness Schraeder drinks pink lemonade) on an adjacent piece of building just down the shoreline where the hotel’s check-in office is today. This is where the kids fall out of the rowboat into the lake.
The Golden Venetian Room: Inside the real palace sits the breathtaking Venetian Room, a gold-leafed, mirror-lined Rococo masterpiece. Hollywood set designers were so thoroughly enchanted by this private room that they copied its architecture line-for-line on a massive soundstage in Los Angeles, California to serve as the villa’s interior “Grand Ballroom.”
The Puppet Show & The Ländler: This Los Angeles replica room is the exact setting for two of the movie’s most famous sequences: the elaborate marionette puppet show where the kids sing “The Lonely Goatherd,” and the elegant evening party where Maria and the Captain dance the traditional Ländler courtyard dance and realize they are falling in love.
🛏️ Exclusive Interior Access Note
Must Be A Guest: Because the palace is now a private hotel, standard day-tourists cannot step inside to see the real Venetian Room. The only way to stand in the magnificent gold-and-mirror space that inspired the movie’s ballroom is to book an overnight stay at the Schloss Leopoldskron Hotel.
🎭 Tragedy and the Archbishop’s Heart
Built in 1736 by Prince-Archbishop Leopold Anton von Firmian as a private residence for his family, the palace holds a deeply rich history that rivals its Hollywood fame:
The Heart in the Floorboards: Prince-Archbishop Firmian loved this property so intensely that when he died, he requested that while his body be buried in the main Salzburg Cathedral, his actual human heart be extracted and buried beneath the floorboards of the private chapel inside this palace. It remains there to this day.
The Theater Titan: In 1918, the palace was bought in a state of decay by Max Reinhardt, Europe’s greatest theater director and the co-founder of the world-famous Salzburg Festival. Reinhardt spent 20 years restoring the palace into a creative haven before the Nazi regime brutally confiscated the property from him in 1938 because he was Jewish. Reinhardt fled to America and tragically died in exile, never seeing his beloved palace again.
🌟 Big Boy Pro-Tip
If you can’t afford to splurge on a room overnight, do not just walk to the lake’s edge and leave. Walk down to the public park area on the western side of the lake. There is a small public bench perfectly positioned under the shade trees that aligns directly with the palace facade. Bring a pastry from the Old Town, sit down, and enjoy the exact view Max Reinhardt had when he was planning the Salzburg Festival over a century ago.
➡️ Next Stop (15-minute bike ride or 5-minute taxi): From the palace lake, ride east along Leopoldskronstraße, turn right onto the historic, tree-lined gravel pathway of Hellbrunner Allee, and follow it south until the grand yellow gates of Schloss Frohnburg appear on your left.
13. Frohnburg Palace:
About Frohnburg Palace: This elegant, 17th-century Baroque country house features a distinctive bright yellow façade and symmetrical stone wall. While Schloss Leopoldskron was used for the lakeside backyard scenes, Schloss Frohnburg was used exclusively to represent the front exterior & gate of the Von Trapp villa. They went to such extremes during filming that even within a single scene, one angle might look out over the lake at Leopold Palace, while the next cut would be at Frohnburg Palace.
💶 Cost: Free (Exterior viewing behind the gates only).
⏱️ Time Needed: 10 minutes.
📍 Location: Hellbrunner Allee 53.
📸 Top Photo Spot: Stand directly in front of the main iron gate and recreate Maria’s iconic heel-click skip! Click your heels together mid-air while framing the tree-lined alley behind you.
♿ Mobility: Fully flat and easily accessible via the wide, gravel-paved pedestrian and bike trail.
🎬 Sound of Music Film Connections
The Triumphant Arrival: This is the exact gate Maria (Julie Andrews) walks up to during the grand finale of “I Have Confidence.” After skipping up the tree-lined alley with luggage in each hand and doing her famous mid-air heel click, she reaches these gates. She pauses, peers nervously through the iron bars at the massive estate, whispers, “Oh, help!” and then gathers her courage to push open the gates and confidently march up to ring the doorbell.
The Midnight Escape: The Frohnburg courtyard driveway is where the family attempts to silently roll their heavy car out of the gates in the dead of night to escape the Nazi officers, only to be caught in the act by Gauleiter Zeller.
The Flag Defiance: Look up at the balcony directly above the main entrance door. This is where Captain Von Trapp furiously rips down the newly hung Nazi swastika flag and tears it in half upon returning from his honeymoon.
- 📜 The Historical Truth: Although the couple’s real-life wedding took place in 1927 (11 years before the Nazi annexation), the real Captain truly did refuse to fly the Nazi flag at his home. In a further act of brave defiance, the musical family officially refused an invitation to sing at Adolf Hitler’s birthday party on April 20, 1938, ultimately fleeing Salzburg just two months later
🎓 A Sanctuary for Modern Music Genius
A Quiet Music School: Frohnburg Palace was originally called Grafenau Palace when it was built by Prince-Archbishop Max Gandolf as a summer retreat on the edge of the city. The estate passed to the Counts of Frohnberg through marriage. Today, the palace is not a museum or a residence—it is a live campus building housing the Mozarteum University Salzburg. The interior contains student dormitories, concert spaces, and private practice rooms for some of the world’s finest young classical musicians.
Look, But Don’t Trespass: Because it is an active educational facility, the general public is strictly prohibited from entering the courtyard or the building. Keep your exploration limited to the public trail behind the iron gates. If you listen closely from the path, you can often hear world-class opera vocals or violin concertos drifting out of the historic windows.
🌟 Big Boy Pro-Tip
Busting the “Tree Urchin” Myth: As you walk along the idyllic Hellbrunner Allee, you will likely hear commercial tour guides claim this is where the Captain drives past his kids hanging from the trees and calls them “just some local urchins.” Don’t fall for it! While the road looks strikingly similar, that scene—along with part of the family bike riding montage—was actually filmed miles away on the east bank of Lake Mondsee. That said, it can still be fun to pretend!
➡️ Next Stop (10-minute bike ride, 20-minute walk, or 4-minute taxi): Continue south along the idyllic, tree-lined path of Hellbrunner Allee. The trail will lead you directly into the sprawling, majestic park grounds of Schloss Hellbrunn.
14. The Sound of Music Pavilion:
About The Sound of Music Pavilion: One of the most famous and romantic scenes of The Sound of Music was filmed in this timeless gazebo when Liesl sings ’16 going on 17′. Liesl badly twisted her ankle filming these scenes but was luckily able to tough it out. Later in the movie, Maria and Captain fall further in love while singing ‘Something Good‘ in the gazebo. It is still one of the most romantic stops today on our Sound of Music movie tour.
During the filming of the movie, the Sound of Music Gazebo was constructed on the edge of Leopold Palace more as a background prop for the lake scenes. There was a second, much larger version of the gazebo built at the film studio in Hollywood which offered oversized space needed to shoot the scenes inside the pavilion. After filming wrapped up the local gazebo was given to the city of Salzburg as a gift and initially remained on the grounds of the Leopold Palace. After rapid fans started climbing the walls of the private estate to get to the gazebo, it was restored and moved to the more tourist-friendly grounds of Hellbrunn Palace.
The pavilion today is outside the walls the near the Eastern entrance to the Hellbrunn Palace and you don’t even need to pay the Hellbrunn entry fee to see it. The public is not allowed inside the Gazebo, but you can still walk up to and dance around it. Near the Gazebo is a large park filled with tons of flowers that locals like to visit to get out of Salzburg for a few hours.
If you are making pretty good time on this Sound of Music walking tour you should consider visiting the Trick Fountains at Hellbrunn Palace. The fountains are only available as part of a guided tour but is a very memorable time. The tours last about an hour and take you through grottoes, ponds, and walkways all filled with trick fountains that are out to get you. If you have kids with you, the Hellbrunn Fountains will be the most fun thing they do in Salzburg. Your ticket for the Trick Fountains tour also lets you tour the inside of the Hellbrunn Palace itself which is pretty fancy and has some amazing ceilings.
Meaning Mouth of The Spring, Hellbrunn Palace and gardens were built by Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus from 1612-19 as a daytime retreat on the site of an old hunting lodge from the 1400s. It’s said that during the construction the Palace was home to the first opera performance North of the Alps in 1616. Like the trick fountains, the Hellbrunn Palace was really made for fun and was built with ZERO bedrooms. The vast wooded grounds of the estate were settled as early as 500BC and have had a large villa since Roman times.
Getting To Hellbrunn Palace: Bus 25 from Old Town Salzburg stops right here (Fürstenweg) and it’s a 15-minute ride from Salzburg. Alternatively a 50-minute walk with limited sidewalks from both Old Town and Palace Leopold or 20 minutes from Frohnburg Palace. Bike rental is also a great option to see it all. Gazebo Hours: Daily Dawn-Dusk all year. Palace Hours: April, October, & November 9am-4:30pm; May, June, September 9am-5:30pm; July & August 9am-6pm. Trick Fountain Hours: The Trick Fountains have tours from 9am-9pm in the peak season but are closed for Winter from November-March. Cost: You can see the Gazebo for Free near the Eastern entrance to the Palace. Tours of the grounds included both the Palace interior and Trick Fountains of 10.50€ for Adults, 5€ for kids. Palace Website: Here.
Sound Of Music Movie Tour Connection: Where Liesl and Rolf sing “16 going on 17” while dancing around. Maria and Captain also later sing “Something Good” in the Gazebo. Most interior scenes had to be filmed in a studio as the inside of the real Gazebo was too small.
15. The Von Trapp Villa:
About The Von Trapp Villa: While not used as a filming location in the Sound of Music movie, this beautiful yellow 22-room mansion (built in 1863) was where the real Von Trapp family lived in from 1923 to 1938. The widowed George Von Trapp was able to acquire the mansion for himself and his 7 children after being granted baron status for his valor in as a Captain in the Imperial Navy in WW1.
In 1926, Maria Kutschera was sent to the Von Trapp family home by the Nonnberg Convent to tutor Captain’s ill daughter Maria (children’s names in the movie were all different). One year later the couple married which was actually 11 years before the Nazis arrived in Austria in early-1938. Georg Was 47 at the time they married and Maria was only 22. Maria and Captain had another 2 children of their own (of 3) while living in the Von Trapp Villa.
In 1936 the Von Trapps lost a lot of money in a bank crash, had to start renting out rooms in the lower level of their home, and started to perform professionally as the Chamber Choir Trapp to make money. Sent by the local Archbishop, priest Franz Wasner came to live with the Von Trapps during this time and ended up becoming the family’s choir director depicted in the Sound of Music film as the character Max Reinhardt.
By early-1938 the Nazis arrived into the newly annexed Salzburg and the family began to plan their departure. In June of 1938, the Von Trapps used the Salzburg Aigen Station in front of their mansion to escape by train to Italy (not Switzerland and no hiking), just 1 day before Hitler closed the Austrian borders. Untersberg Mountain which they were depicting hiking over for freedom in the movie actually led right to Hitler’s backup command center in Berchtesgaden and Switzerland is a 250 mile (400 km) hike away over some of the Alps most rugged mountains.
At the time the family fled Salzburg, Maria was pregnant with the couples 3rd child (Captain’s 10th), who was later born a few months after the family reached America by boat from London. The family’s estate was the seized as the private home for SS Chief Heinrich Himmler during the war before being returned to the Von Trapps who sold it to a local Catholic mission.
From 1936-1956 the Von Trapp family performed in over 2000 shows in 30 countries before settling on an American farm estate they turned into a hotel. Georg Von Trapp died of lung cancer in Vermont in 1947, but Maria lived until 1987 and even had a brief cameo in the Sound of Music movie.
In 2008, the Von Trapp Villa was renovated into a hotel which you can tour or stay in today. While you’ll probably want to use a bike or taxi to visit the Villa, it is worth a stop to work some real-life history into our Sound of Music movie tour in Salzburg. Opened in the lower floor of the mansion is the educational Sound of Music Museum which has behind the scenes info dedicated to the filming of the movie. They have audio guides available and the visiting hours are open every day.
Getting To The Von Trapp Villa: The Villa is located directly next to the Salzburg Aigen train station creating easy access just a 10-minute ride from Salzburg Station on the way to Werfen. By Bike, it will take about 10-15 minutes from Old Town Salzburg (30 on foot) and about 15 minutes by bike from either Leopold Place or Mirabell Palace. Taxi from Old Town only takes 5 minutes. Arrive By Train: From Salzburg Central Station the S3 line leaves around every 30 minutes and after 4 stops gets directly to Villa Von Trapp at the Salzburg Aigen Station which the real family had used to escape.
Sound of Music Museum Hours: Open daily from 10am-6pm. Museum Cost: Adults 8€; Kids 6-12 are 4€; under 6 are free. Villa Tours: Tours of the bedrooms are available daily at Noon with a reservation only for 15€. Hotel Website: Here.
Sound Of Music Film Locations Tour Connection: Was the real-life Von Trapp family mansion and across the road is the train stop they used to escape to Italy just one day before the borders were closed.
Locations Further Away From Salzburg:
16. Werfen Picnic Meadow (Werfen, Austria):
About The Werfen Picnic Meadow: Perched just above the village of Werfen is the Gschwandtanger Meadow where Maria and children have their picnic scene during the start of the song “Do Re Mi”. While you needed permission in the past to visit the farm meadow, the city of Werfen created an official Sound of Music Trail in 2015 to open it up to visitors. A short 1.4km hike brings you above the village where you can re-create the picnic scene for yourself.
Make sure to take in the views of the valley and Hohenwerfen Castle below which dates back to 1077. The Fortress is the sister of Old Town Salzburg’s Hohensalzburg Castle and is highly visible in the Sound of Music picnic meadow scene. If you are looking to make your visit to Werfen a full day affair, make sure to tour the castle and also visit the World’s Largest Ice Cave sitting high above the city. You’ll have to start early to do both.
Getting To Werfen: Trains run every 30 minutes between Salzburg and Werfen and the journey lasts just 45 minutes. A hiking path leads from the train station to the castle and another up the hill to the meadow. The ÖBB offers practical combo-tickets ‘With the train to Hohenwerfen Fortress’. More information is available here. Visiting In Winter: Bother the Sound of Music Meadow trail and the Werfen Ice Caves will be closed during the Winter months due to snow, but the Fortress is open all year.
Sound Of Music Film Locations Tour Connection: The famous picnic scene where Maria and the kids first start the song “Do, Re, Mi”.
Related Guide & Video: How To Get To The Sound of Music Meadow.
17. Sound Of Music Meadow (Marktschellenberg, Germany):
About The Sound of Music Meadow: Made famous in the opening scene of The Sound of Music movie with a twirling Julie Andrews, this timeless meadow is where we learned that the ‘Hills are alive with the Sound of Music’. Officially called Mehlweg, the Julie Andrews meadow is only 12.5 miles south of Salzburg in Marktschellenberg, Germany. Although previously connected to a guesthouse, the property has been a private farm since 2010 and is no longer regularly accessible to visitors. You can, however, visit the Picnic Meadow in Werfen which is also on this do-it-yourself Sound of Music tour.
During the filming of the opening scene here, Julie Andrews had to be transported up the hillside each day in an ox cart to reach the meadow. Even though it was in the Summertime (early June of 1964), it took them 5 days to finally get enough sunshine in the meadow for the perfect shot. When the conditions were finally right, the strong force of the wind from the helicopter knocked Julie down 4 out of 9 tries before they finally got the famous shot of her twirling. Because of how loud the tiny helicopter was, they had to do a voice over for part of Julie Andrews singing ‘The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music’.
A month after shooting the twirling portion with the helicopter, they returned to Mehlweg Meadow to finish the rest of the opening scene of the movie before leaving Salzburg. The birch trees Julie Andrews walks by were actually fake (notice how you can’t see the tops or bottoms?) and other dressings like the stream were added artificially for the filming of the movie, but even stripped down the meadow is amazing.
Getting To The Sound Of Music Meadow: Although the Sound of Music Meadow is near the top of the Marktschellenbergiking trail and accessible by car/taxi it is now part of a private farm and not open to the public. You can thank visitors who repeated walked through the owner’s family garden and irritated their sheep for the lack of access. Respect their privacy and visit the Picnic Meadow in Werfen or the nearby hills in Berchtesgaden for the full Sound of Music Meadow experience.
Sound Of Music Film Locations Tour Connection: Julie Andrews twirls around in circles during the opening scenes of the Sound of Music while singing “The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music”.
18. Roßfeld Mountain (Berchtesgaden, Germany):
About Roßfeld Mountain: The Alpine toll road that loops around Roßfeld Mountain East of Berchtesgaden Germany was used to depict the family’s climb to safety over nearby Untersberg Mountain at the end of The Sound of Music movie. With a total of 12 takes they only used two clips with one from the South and one from the North with the Purtschellerhaus Alpine hut visible in the background. While we love this iconic closing scene from The Sound of Music movie with the family singing ‘Climb Every Mountain’, it wasn’t very accurate.
For starters, the real-life Von Trapp family escaped by train and not by climbing over nearby Untersberg Mountain in real life. The family lived right next to a train station and were quite lucky as the day after their train left for Italy in June of 1938, Hitler shut down the borders of Austria. Even if the family had tried to hike over Untersberg, it would have been 175 miles across the rugged Alps to Switzerland for safety. It also would have been hard to start the hike here as Hitler’s backup command center in Berchtesgaden was nearby. The command center of Obersalzburg was home to the famous Eagles Nest and the Berghof mansion where Hitler spent more time than anywhere else during the war.
All of that being said about the film’s inaccuracies, this stretch of the Rossfeldstraße is still amazing to visit for drivers and the mountain is popular with skiers in the Winter. If you wish to visit the summit of the real Untersberg Mountain you can bus there easily from Salzburg and Berchtesgaden followed by a quick cable car ride. More adventurous visitors can also hike 2 hours from the summit to the Untersberg Mountain Ice Caves (Eishöehle) which is only ice cave in Germany. Keep in mind that there are other ice caves in Werfen and Hallstatt Austria that are way easier to get to.
Getting To Roßfeld: The Alpine loop toll road around Roßfeld is best accessed by rental car or motorcycle. Getting From Here To Untersberg: Take bus 840, 25, or 28 to the village of Saint Leopold then ride on the Untersbergbahn Alpine Lift Route to the top of the mountain if desired. The Ice Cave is a 2-4 hour hike out of the way from the Alpine Lift.
Sound Of Music Movie Tour Connection: Roßfeld was used to depict the family’s escape over nearby Untersberg Mountain during the closing scenes with “Climb Every Mountain”. In real life they took a train to Italy and climbing this mountain would have put them right at Hitler’s backup command center in Berchtesgaden.
19. Collegiate Wedding Church (Mondsee, Austria):
About The Wedding Church: Located 16 miles East of Salzburg, the Collegiate Church (Kollegienkirche) of Saint Micheal in Mondsee (Moon Lake) was the film location for Maria and Captain’s wedding in The Sound of Music movie. Often called the Wedding Church or Mondsee Cathedral, this bright yellow church was the perfect fallback setting for the wedding after filming was not allowed inside Nonnberg Abbey.
It is surprising to know that the timeless wedding scene was actually the first thing the crew filmed when they arrived in April of 1964 for their just over 3 months of shooting around Salzburg. The filming of the wedding processional inside of the Collegiate Church was one of only two major indoor scenes (along with the singing contest) of the movie that was shot on location instead of in a studio. The wedding was all filmed in one day (April 23rd) with the help of 600 local extras, and the crew attended other weddings here the week beforehand for scouting. In the busy season, the Mondsee Church from the Sound of Music movies hosts up to 8 weddings a day.
The 170-foot tall twin towers and lavish pink interior are both awesome, but the Collegiate Church has a history also. The first Mondsee Abbey was established in 748AD (rebuilt in 1500) making it one of the oldest in Austria and like Salzburg, the village itself goes back to Roman times. In addition to the bright pink interior seen in the Sound of Music’s wedding processional, the Church is renown for its 7 side altars and the main Baroque altar which the statue of Saint Micheal from 1626.
In 2005, Pope John Paul II upgraded the spacious Collegiate Church Saint Michael from a Cathedral to a Basilica. Mondsee is a pretty small village but the quaint square in the center of town near the Church is very rewarding and offers easy access to take a nice lakefront stroll. As you head toward the lake, you’ll see the trees the children are hanging out of as Captain drives by with the Baroness and Max.
Getting To Mondsee From Salzburg: Quickest way to get here is bus 140 which leaves every 40 minutes and only takes 50 minutes for the journey. If you have a car it is only 20-22 minutes away. Consider checking out the nearby cities of Saint Gilgen or Hallstatt if you are going this direction. Visiting Hours: Most days 9am-7am, optional donation suggested. Church Website: Here.
Sound Of Music Film Locations Tour Connection: The Collegiate Church served as the film location of Maria and Captain’s wedding processional. It was one of only two major interior scenes of the movie shot on location instead of a movie set.
20. Mondsee Lake (Mondsee, Austria):
About Mondsee Lake: Mondsee is one of the many amazing lakes you can easily visit near Salzburg. Other favorite lakes of ours include Kings Lake in Berchtesgaden, Wolfgang See near Saint Gilgen, and Hallstatt See. Kings Lake, Obersee, & Fuschlsee are all seen in aerial shots in the opening scenes of the Sound of Music. As you head toward Mondsee Lake from the church you’ll see another spot from the movie, the trees the children are hanging out of as Captain drives by with the Baroness and Max.
Further along the Eastern edge of Mondsee, you’ll find one of best Sound of Music film locations where the Maria and the kids ride bikes during “Do, Re, Mi”. As the children bike around Lake Mondsee, you can see the Zwölferhorn Mountain visible across the water. When you picture a Sound of Music bike tour, the path around Mondsee is by far the most iconic route to pedal.
Getting To The Mondsee Lake Bike Scene Location: From Mondsee, you can either bike to the other side of the lake in 6 miles or take Bus 596 from the bus station to the Innerschwand/Mondsee Niedersee Stop in about 20 minutes, but the bus only leaves every 2 hours.
Sound Of Music Film Locations Tour Connection: Where the kids hang from the row of trees as Captian’s car drives by and where they ride bikes with Maria along the water during the song “Do, Re, Mi”.
Local Sound of Music Tour Guides:
1. Bob’s Tours: Bob’s Tours offer both a half day and full day Sound of Music Tours in intimately sized groups with 8 person vans. The 4 Hour Tour covers all the main Sound of Music sights right in Salzburg including Hellbrunn Palace but also goes to the Leopold Palace, the Salzkammergut Lake District, village of St. Gilgen, and the Church of Mondsee. The 8 Hour Tour takes the experience a step further by taking visitors to the unforgettable lakeside town of Hallstatt. Hours: 4 Hour Tour leaves at 9am & 2pm; 8 Hour Tour leaves at 9am only. Cost: 4 Hour Tour is €45 for adults and €35 for children; 8 Hour Tour is €90 for adults and €70 for children.
2. Panorama Tours: Panorama Tours is more of the traditional larger tour bus style tours with a commercial feel. This tour covers pretty much the same sights as Bob’s Tours 4 Hour Tour, and although it’s not as personal, it is a great sure fire tour. Hours: Leaves at 9:30am & 2pm. Cost: Adults are €40 and children are €40. Has a hotel package deals that include a room, breakfast and 4 Hour Tour which ranges in price from €135 to €200 per person.
3. Maria’s Bike Tours: We love Maria’s Bike Tours! Their 3.5-hour-long tours do the best job of letting you experience the Sound of Music instead of just seeing it through a window of a van or bus. People of all ages like this tour because although it is a bike tour, it doesn’t require you to be super in shape. The biggest advantage is that it has an afternoon tour in peak season while most of the SOM tours only depart at 9am. Did we mention, they provide the bikes and helmets? Meeting Point: Mirabell Palace Entrance. Hours: Leaves daily at 930am and runs from May 1st-Sept 31st; 430pm tour starts in June; reservations required June & August. Cost: Adults €24, Ages 10-15 €15, Children 10 and under €10; bike is included for free and you can rent it for the duration of the day for €8. Alternative: You can rent a bike without a guide from Mozartplatz and follow our full Sound of Music movie tour on your own.
