A Self-Guided Tour of Salzburg Sound of Music Locations

Looking for all the Sound of Music filming location in Salzburg? Here’s how you can see them all without being tied to a tour group!

On our trip to Salzburg, that’s exactly what I wanted. There are lots of great Sound of Music guided tours around town, but I really wanted to be able to take my time and explore these locations on my own. Plus, some of the tours didn’t hit everything I wanted to see!

So if you’re a movie fan and want to DIY your own tour of Salzburg Sound of Music locations, here’s a guide you can use. I’ll share exactly where to go, how to get there, plus some tips to make your experience at these spots extra special.

Reading Recommendations: Try pairing some of these books about Austria with your trip!

Walkable Tour of Salzburg’s Sound of Music Sites

Let’s start in the center of the city and work our way out. Which means we’ll start with the places in Salzburg that are easy to walk to.

I’ve put these in an order here that makes sense in a walking itinerary. And while you may wonder about the order (like, why is Mirabell Gardens so far down the list?), it’s actually because later in the evening you’ll have less crowds.

SO when should you try to hit these spots? Honestly, I would start this self-walking tour in the late afternoon. I have a couple of reasons for this:

• The main daytime crowds will have time to thin out
• Being at Nonnberg Abbey around 5pm may mean you can catch evening vespers
• Mirabell Gardens is SUPER popular, but since it’s open until dusk you can enjoy lighter crowds in the evening before it gets dark (at least if you’re visiting in the summer).

So, fill the rest of the day with other Salzburg activities (or see some of the Sound of Music sites outside the city), and then come back to this walking tour later in the day.

Another option? Start at Mirabell Garden early in the morning and work backwards from there.

Also, the total walking distance of this self-guided tour? Just about 2.2 miles (3.6 km).

There’s also a map at the bottom of this post that includes all of these sites!

Horse Pond (Pferdeschwemme)

Let’s start with the Horse Pond, which to be honest wasn’t even on my list of Sound of Music sites to see. But when we stumbled across it I just *knew* it was in the movie, I just couldn’t figure out where.

Turns out it’s during the “My Favorite Things” montage after the children have their curtain clothes on and Maria is taking them out exploring. There is a short part of the song where they are walking in front of this fountain.

And it’s a really cool thing to see! When it was built it was actually used as a horse bath, and you can tell because there are sloped walkways down into it on each side of the pond. This was my first time ever seeing anything like this!

Location: Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz 11, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Hours: 24/7
Movie Scene: “My Favorite Things”

St. Peter’s Cemetery

Keep walking 0.3 miles (550 m) and you’ll come to St. Peter’s. While the church here is worth seeing, what you’re really here for is the cemetery.

The abbey was built in 696, but the cemetery is actually even older than that! It has a super unique design, with some of it built into the mountain.

So you know the scene at the end of the movie when they are hiding in the abbey graveyard behind the giant tombstones which are also behind a locked gate? It was inspired by this cemetery.

While The Sound of Music wasn’t actually filmed here, they did recreate something like this on a soundstage to film that penultimate scene of the movie.

And it’s worth seeing in it’s own right. It’s a truly beautiful and serene place. And I loved all the little touches like the fact that most of the graves have been turned into the flower beds. I thought it was such a lovely and unique way to use the space!

Location: Sankt-Peter-Bezirk 1, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Hours: April to September: 6:30 am – 8 pm; October to March: 6:30 am to 6 pm
Movie scene: When the von Trapps are hiding from the Nazis in the abbey

Nonnberg Abbey

Speaking of abbeys, Nonnberg Abbey is where Maria was a nun.

To get here from St. Peter’s, go out the back gate of the cemetery and keep walking uphill about 0.4 miles (600 m). It’s a bit of an uphill climb, but it’s not too bad and you can take some breaks from some incredible views of the city!

When you get there, you’ll see the gate to the abbey where the children come to ask to see Maria hoping to convince her to come back as their governess after she has left them.

You can also walk inside the courtyard, and if you’re lucky, you may have a magical experience like we did.

Honestly, I didn’t even realize you could go inside the church. But then some other people were waiting and told us that at 5:00 the nuns were supposed to start singing evening vespers.

So at 5:00 we went inside, and we could hear the muted voices of the nuns down a hallway singing. It was such a sacred experience.

If you want to hear the nuns, they sing every morning at 6:45 am, on Sundays and holidays at 7 am, Monday to Saturday at 5 pm, and Sundays and holidays at 4:30 pm. From November to February you will need to register to hear them (find more info here).

Location: Nonnberggasse 2, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Hours: Outside gate 24/7; Collegiate Church from 6:30 am to 6 pm
Movie Scene: When the children come to the abbey asking for Maria

Mirabell Garden

Now we finally come to probably the most famous Sound of Music spot in Salzburg: Mirabell Gardens To get there, keep crossing the bridge and walk west along the river for a total of about .5 miles (900 m).

Mirabell Garden is featured prominently in the “Do-Re-Mi” scene in The Sound of Music.

• The kids interacting with the statues at the front
• Circling the fountain in the main part of the garden
• Circling the Pegasus fountain at the back of the garden
• Running through the tunnel covered in vines at the side of the garden
• And of course, hopping up and down the steps at the gate at the back of the garden as they finish the song.

The reason I have this last on the tour, is because if you start late afternoon, you can end here once the crowds are a bit lighter.

Plan to spend a good chunk of time here. There’s so much to see!

We actually stayed in the Sheraton Grand Salzburg right behind the garden (and even had a little view of the garden!) for part of our trip and I was glad we were able to walk through this spot each day. It’s such a peaceful and beautifully maintained spot.

Location: Mirabellplatz 4, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Hours: 6 am to dusk (with partial closures in winter)
Movie Scene: “Do-Re-Mi”

Sound of Music Gazebo at Hellbrunn Palace

Last but not least (for sure!) let’s talk about the famous glass gazebo used in The Sound of Music. You’ll recognize this from “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and “Something Good.”

While this gazebo used to be on the grounds of Schloss Leopoldskron (as it’s depicted in the movie), they’ve moved it to the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace so the public can access it.

First of all, Hellbrunn Palace is a spot in Salzburg that’s worth seeing in it’s own right. The palace itself is beautiful and very interesting (the guy who lived here was pretty eccentric), but the real attraction here are the trick fountains.

Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus, who lived here, loved rigging up these trick fountains to tease his friends. So if you visit, be sure to get a ticket to see this.

The gazebo though is located in the public park by the palace though, so you can enjoy a stroll through the gardens on your way to see this.

Location: Fürstenweg 37, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Hours: Park is open from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm
Movie scenes: “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and “Something Good”
How to get there: Take bus 25, and then it’s about a 4 minute walk

Villa Trapp

This is also something that isn’t actually seen in The Sound of Music, but this is the original Trapp family home in Salzburg. Now, it’s actually a hotel you can stay in.

So while it’s not a movie stop, if you want to see the real-life landmarks, you might want to book a room here!

Hohensalzburg Fortress

Hohensalzburg isn’t exactly featured in the movie, but at the same time it is in the movie all the time in the background!

This fortress sits high on a hill in the center of Salzburg, so it’s hard to miss. You really see it pretty much wherever you are!

You can choose to just view it from a distance during your Sound of Music tour, or you can visit it and tour the inside of the fortress. The interior gives you an interesting history of Salzburg as a city, and of course you can get some incredible views from up here!

If you choose to visit, I highly recommend getting the ticket with the funicular. It’s QUITE a climb up to the top, and adding the funicular ride is just a few euros extra.

Sound of Music Locations Outside of Salzburg

If you want to add to your Sound of Music explorations, there are also some locations you can visit outside of Salzburg.

We didn’t get a chance to go to any of these, but some of them are on my list for next time!

• St. Michael’s Mondsee — This church in Mondsee is where Maria and Captain von Trapp got married in the movie. It’s about 20 miles (30 km) outside of Salzburg, and there is a bus you can take that takes about an hour to get here.
• Werfen — This where the kids picnicked with maria and began learning the Sound of Music. There’s actually a “Sound of Music Trail” that takes you to this grassy spot. Werfen is about 30 miles (46 km) from Salzburg, and again you can take a public transport bus which takes about an hour.
• St. Gilgen — This town about 20 miles (30 km) from Salzburg is where many of the arial shots from the movie were filmed. It’s a small town and looks absolutely charming and it’s on a lake! This spot is definitely going on my list!
• Schafbergbahn — In “My Favorite Things”, the kids and Maria take this train up Schafberg. It’s Austria’s steepest cog railway and it’s over 100 years old! It’s located in St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, about 30 miles (49 km) from Salzburg. To get here you’ll need a car though, because there’s not public transport that will take you there.

Map of Sound of Music Locations

Here’s a map of all the Salzburg Sound of Music spots mentioned in this post.

The walking tour spots are marked green, the locations you need public transportation for are red, bonus stops are blue, and locations outside Salzburg are orange.

What’s Next?

• Find Out What It’s Like to Stay in the Sound of Music Hotel
• Read Some of These Books Set in Austria

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