Mention Salzburg and the vision of Julie Andrews twirling her skirts and prancing around the hilltop comes to mind. In fact, the very reason for me to make a trip to Salzburg was to fulfil the childhood dream of visiting the place that I once admired onscreen. I didn’t stay very long in the beautiful city, but I did manage to see what I came here for and more. And here are five top attractions you’d need to see in Salzburg.

1. Take the Sound of Music Tour

I did say I came here because of the movie.  Naturally, the first thing I did when I reached the Bed and Breakfast was to book my Sound of Music Tour. These tours are easily available through your hotel concierge and they’ll even pick you up from your hotel. The tour typically takes around four hours, and will take you through familiar sights you would have seen in the movies. The best part of the tour? You needn’t be embarrassed to be a fan. Chances are your fellow tour mates are fanatics as well, and you’ll all have a good time belting out the songs from the movie. Read here for more details of what goes on during the tour.

2. See Salzburg from afar

Salzburg has quite a number of mountains, so get on top of one and enjoy a beautiful scenic view of Austria’s fourth largest city. The Untersberg Mountain is pretty near the Salzburg city center, easily assessible by bus and grants a sweeping view of the city. In fact, the mountain was said to inspire a series of works by German artist Stephan Hess. Going up the mountain is easy. There is a cable car service that lifts passengers over 1300m to the Geiereck peak. If you’re up for it, there’s also a hiking trail up the mountain too.

Don’t worry about packing food to combat hunger. There is a tidy restaurant selling Austrian fare and ice cold beer. I’ve got to admit, it’s quite an experience, tucking in at the top of the mountain overlooking the miniature city.

3. Explore the historic Old Town

Wandering around the labyrinthine streets in Salzburg’s old town is like taking a step back in history. Its baroque architecture is well preserved and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The streets are narrow but filled with quirky shops. But if you are adventurous, you’ll be rewarded with spoils. Some of the sights not covered in the Sound of Music Tour can be found in the city center, like the Mozartsteg, the Art Nouveau bridge where Maria brought the kids for a day out to town.

Tip: walking through the old town is a bit of a downer in summer. Because the streets are already narrow, sometimes, the crowds can get so thick that you get can get stuck along the narrow pathways for some time.

4. Visit the Hohensalzburg Castle

Perched on a hilltop just above the Old Town, the Hohensalzburg Castle is really more a fortress. Visible from most parts of the city center. It’s one of the biggest and best preserved fortresses in Europe. You could either amble up a steep hill, huffing and puffing for 15 minutes, or take a leisure ride in the glass funicular up.

There are chapels and grand halls to explore at the Hohensalzburg, and this fortress exploration may take you half a day, depending on how interested you are in ancient castles. You’ll also get to see a beautiful view of the city center from the hill.

5. Visit a Salt Mine

Did you know that Salzburg means Salt Fortress? There are a number of Salt mines around the region and visiting one is quite an experience. At the mine, you’d be asked to change into “mining attire” and taken on a slow ride on a mine truck and taken deep into the mine. As you go deeper, it gets colder, and you’ll be given an eye-opening tour of how the production of salt came about.

Salt mine tours are usually an up-sell item on the Sound of Music Tour, and doesn’t cost a bomb, definitely less than 20 Euros.

Tip: Don’t go if you’re claustrophobic. The mine is dark and has narrow passageways sometimes, you’ll feel the walls are closing in on you if you’re not comfortable in small spaces.

There are other sights to visit in Salzburg but these are definitely my top five. Have you been to the scenic city before? Which attractions are your favorites?

The opening scene was etched in my mind. Where Julie Andrews skipped and dance on the hills that sprung alive with her singing. The movie kept me riveted throughout, except for the part where Captain Von Trapp and Maria played footise at the ball. The romance was definitely lost on a young me.

Sure, the songs were amazing, but what captivated me were the gardens where the kids sang Do-re-mi, the beautiful hills and lake in the opening scene of the movie and the stately mansion of the Captain’s family. So naturally, I couldn’t pass up the chance to take on the Sound of Music Tour when I was in Salzburg. Heck, in fact, I especially made sure I made it to Salzburg when planning a central Europe trip.

There is a handful of Sound of Music Tours available, but I picked the Gray Line’s Salzburg Sound of Music Sightseeing Tour because the coach looked comfortable. Most tours visit similar places, only the coaches are different. So I allowed that as my deciding factor. You can book the tour (at around 37 Euros) at your hotel concierge, and the tour will send a pickup to your hotel to fetch you to the starting point of the 4-hour tour- The Mirabell Gardens.

A baroque style historical building, lying in its centre is a geometrically-arranged garden filled with mythology-themed statues dating back from the 1600s, most notably the Pegasus the winged horse.

The garden’s centrepiece is a fountain, which fans would remember was where the Von Trapp kids gather and sing Do-re-mi. The beautifully manicured gardens with its fresh blooming flowers is the perfect start to the tour, and it gets you in the mood for a Sound of Music immersion experience.

The second location brings us to the iconic gazebo at the Hellbrunn Palace. This was one of my favorite scenes in the movie, where Rolf and Liesl sang and danced to “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”. The gazebo was presented to the city of Salzburg as a gift after the end of filming in 1964. In 1991, after restoration, it was housed at the Hellbrunn Palace Park for the public to view.

Unfortunately, all my hopes of re-enacting parts of the movie in the Gazebo went down the drain when I realised that it was locked. Apparently, one too many fans have been trying their sixteen-going-on seventeen routine, but alas, not as many were as agile. Many visitors injured themselves, forcing its closure.

The path leading to the Hellbrunn Palace may look normal, but any true blue fan of the movie can instantly tell that it’s the trail that Maria took when she first got off the bus at the entrance to the Von Trapp residence, singing in gusto to Confidence in Me. It may seem strange that an average dusty road can send me into palpitations, but I was just ecstatic to have walked the grounds that the great Julie Andrews once stepped on.

The third movie setting was the Palace of Leopoldskron. The tour didn’t bring us to the Palace interiors because there isn’t a need to. In fact, the coach stopped a distance of a lake away.

The historical 18^th century palace and its grounds and lake were featured in many parts of the movie. The lake was where the boating scene took place, while the palace’s terrace was in the scene where the Baroness chilled out and had her pink lemonade whilst plotting to send the kids to boarding school. The tour allows you time to apart from replaying the movie, to also absorb the splendour of the picturesque site.

The next stop is the most breathtaking part of the tour- the Wolfgangsee.  This lake is set against a picturesque backdrop of the famous Schafberg Mountain, and beside the sleepy St. Gilgen village. This stunning landscape was featured in the opening scene of the movie. The very same sequence that got me fascinated right from the beginning of the movie. The tour took longer a longer than usual break here. Possibly because everyone in the tour group was trigger happy. But I would suggest taking a handful of pictures, and spending the rest of the time soaking in the wondrous scene ahead of you; the vibrant clear blue sky that meets with mountain peaks that flow down lush forests that spread out to a cluster of quaint village houses.  It’s pointless to have 20 pictures of the same thing but you can’t remember a darn thing about the lake when you get back.

The last stop on the tour is the Church of Mondsee, or the Mondsee Abbey. This is also known as the Sound of Music Wedding Church. This historical church lies in a former part of Bavaria, known as Mondseeland. The charming but dignified church was once an imperial abbey. It’s the location of the movie wedding between Maria and the Baron. Both exterior and interior of the church were used in the filming.

The most memorable part is when Maria walked down the long aisle to meet Captain Von Trapp at the altar. Its deceptive humble exterior is a vast contrast to the intricately designed interior. The abbey’s high ceilings are heavy on gothic style.

After you’re done gawking at the church, you’re given some time to roam around the town area, and have tea before heading back to Salzburg city center.

Tip: the tour will sell an up-charge for the Sound of Salzburg show, a dinner and musical featuring the songs from the movie. I’d say forget about it. You’ve already sampled and reminiscence best of the movie. Moreover, the coach would have been replaying the movie’s songs, so you really don’t need to overkill your Sound of Music experience with this Song and dinner show.

The tour left out certain movie locations, because they are located in the city center, like the Mozartsteg  Bridge, featured in the sequence where Maria brought the kids out for a day of fun.

I must have seen the movie over 20 times and the half day movie experience was like a dream fulfilled. That’s definitely one item off my bucket list.