Salzburg is the fourth largest city in Austria, bordering it’s neighbour Deutschland. It is a beautiful city full of charm and one that holds such compelling history; not only does it house Mozart’s birthplace, but it’s also where the Sound of Music was filmed… (which was my absolute favourite film when I was younger). The Salzach river runs through the city centre, dividing the old city that’s bursting with culture and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the luxurious new city with beautiful riverside houses.
As Salzburg is so close to the Austrian Alps, it’s a perfect opportunity to combine a city and ski break in one, which is exactly what we did. The ski resorts are so close and easy to get to, Flachau for example is only an hour away, and Leogang, which is where we enjoyed a few days of alpine luxury (which you can take a look at here) is only 1.5 hours away.
Salzburg is so pretty with countless quaint streets accommodating many cute cafes and quirky shops as well as the well known high end stores. As we were wandering around the old town, we fancied some coffee and cake so opted for the first one we stumbled upon which happened to be number one on Tripadvisor for deserts in Salzburg called Schatz Konditorei (which we only found out after our visit there). It was so charming and offered THE most divine cakes so I’m so glad we randomly found it. We sat on a table with a German couple who were giving us their top tips on Salzburg whilst munching on Sachertorte, the traditional Austrian chocolate cake. Our new German friends recommended we check out Carpe Diem for a drink – perfect that was our night sorted!
After our coffee and cake, an explore round the old town, and numerous cheese sticks, we headed back to our hotel, Motel One. Sitting on the banks of the river, Motel-One Salzburg-Mirabell offers a fabulously convenient location with only a short, picturesque walk away from the old town. It’s also great value, clean and comfortable with stylish furnishings.
We had a room right at the top of the hotel with a huge balcony overlooking the river and it was great fun! The bedroom was large with ample space for two girls with a lot of clothes and make up. We had such fun dancing and singing on the balcony before heading into town to experience Salzburg’s night life.
We walked to Carpe Diem where the lovely couple advised we check out and it was calming to stroll along the river (albeit quite cold) but the perfect distance to walk off any overconsumption of food (or drink haha!). We arrived at Carpe Diem and enjoyed a cocktail each, the bar oozed a chilled but quite fancy atmosphere. We had a great laugh and as it was so central that we could experience the ambiance throughout the town too on our walk there and back.
If you’re heading to Salzburg and want to book a great value, central, clean and comfortable hotel, check out Motel One here.