There’s more to Salzburg than The Sound of Music

Returning to Salzburg last week, for the first time since Covid, I’d almost forgotten what a beautiful city this is. I’ve been here umpteen times, but each new arrival takes my breath away. An ornate cluster of domes and spires, set against a backdrop of snowcapped peaks, it’s implausibly picturesque, like the setting for a movie – which is apt, because for most Britons it’s still synonymous with that kitsch classic, The Sound of Music.

Salzburg does have its schmaltzy side, but it’s also a highly sophisticated place, a city of classical music and antiquities, and it’s this blend of highbrow and lowbrow which makes it so appealing. You can go hiking in the hills and spend the evening at the opera, or you can sit in a Biergarten beneath an old chestnut tree and simply watch the world go by. I could drone on and on about how lovely it is – how in winter those spires and domes are draped with snow, how in summer they glint and sparkle in the sunlight – but I’ll spare you the flowery prose.