I got a bit offtrack on looking for Salzburg hotels, but am back on it now! I was curious which section of Salzburg people prefer to stay in - the old section, which I heard is very touristy and crowded - does that make it fun or overwhelming? - or just across the river in the Linzer Gasse/Fran-Joseph area? It seems that the hotels with the most character (within our budget like Am Dom, Goldene Krone, Gablerbrau, Goldenen Ente, Trumer Stube) are in those areas, and the ones with A/C a bit over budget but not as charming (Crowne Plaza Pitter, Zum Hirschen) are closer to the train station. (We also considered staying a bit farther out on a bus line, but do not seem to have any consensus on which area/hotel would be the best) Any feedback as to the areas right in Salzburg which would help us make our decision?
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Actually, your current favourites are a mixed bag of old and new town ...
Am Dom and Goldenen Ente are both in the old town, very centrally located. A friend stayed at the Ente and she recommends it highly. It has a nice restaurant attached. That area gets a lot of foot traffic in the height of the tourist season - but then so does most of Salzburg cos it is so small!
Goldene Krone, Gablerbrau and Trumer Stube are in the new town on or just off the Linzergasse. I often stay at the Gablerbrau and really like it. It also has a nice restaurant attached and lots of other restaurants close to hand. That area is slightly less touristy but not very much so, since there are so many hotels in the area! But I do prefer it - mostly because of the wider choice of shops and restaurants on that side. I would recommend the Gabler since that is close to the river anyway so you%26#39;re getting the best of both worlds.
The hotels on the new-town side also have the advantage of having frequent bus services to the railway station. When I stayed at Pension Chiemsee in the old town, we had to cross the river to catch a bus to the station - no big deal but a pain if you are dragging a heavy case (as I was!)
Hope that helps!
r
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Although we%26#39;re not old Salzburg hands like Roley, we can confirm, based on our very recent visit there, that she admirably sums up the pluses and minuses. We%26#39;d add only that the taxi fare for 2 people between the Old Town and the railway station was only about 7 or 8 Euros, and that we enjoyed being able to step out of our hotel and be directly in the heart of things. Crowds were merely moderate and not oppressive, in the 3d week of September. And depending on when you go, you may not need A/C -- we didn%26#39;t miss it, although we%26#39;re aware that a week or two earlier would have been different this year (right, Roley?).
On the other hand, if you go to an evening concert at the Mirabell Palace or to the Marionette Theatre, the walk %26quot;home%26quot; would be shorter if you stayed on that side of the river. (And you should go to both venues -- although the Mirabell concerts are promoted as %26quot;tourist%26quot; concerts, we learned that the Mozarteum plans the programs and provides the performers (not sure if that%26#39;s new this year, or just newly publicized). And even a serious classical-music fan can%26#39;t do better than that.
I%26#39;m not sure exactly where the particular Old Town hotels you mention are located, but the Weisse Taube in the Kaigasse where we stayed (and the Wolf next door), just off the Mozartplatz, are more or less at one end of the Old Town, so there were no crowds whatsoever in the immediate vicinity of the hotels -- yet Getreidegasse, the Old Town%26#39;s main drag, was at most 2-3 minutes walk away.
Hope this is useful, and that you have a wonderful visit as we did.
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Hi. My favorite place to stay in Salzburg is Haus Wartenberg. It%26#39;s in the old town but away from the big tourist area in a more residential area. It%26#39;s only a 10 minute walk to the center of old town.
Haus Wartenberg is a family-run inn with TONS of charm. It%26#39;s not overly fancy but has all the things you need. My husband and I had a lovely room on the second floor. There was a window seat I just loved. I sat there with the flowers spilling out of the window box below me and was in heaven. The breakfast (included in rate) was good with fresh bread, cereals, milk, slices of meat, jams/butter, coffee and tea.
You can check availability and request rates by emailing them. hotel@hauswartenberg.com
Their website has pictures: www.hauswartenberg.com
I would not recommend staying near the train station. Mirabell Gardens is near the station, but most of the best places to see are in the old town.
Be sure to visit Augustiner Brau if you like beer. It%26#39;s such a cultural experience. The Augustiner church (attached to beer hall) is lovely and worth a visit too. Also, I loved walking the trails near the base of the Hohensalzburg Fortress. St. Peter church is my favorite church in all of Europe and the cemetary is really interesting. I also really like the restaurant beside St. Peter- St Peter Stiftskeller. Enjoy!
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Thanks for all the great answers to my post! They were just what I was looking for. As you can tell, I was very confused about where to stay - given that I had cloices that I liked in the old and new sides. I also considered the hotels near the train station (although I knew that I would be happier in the thick of things) and out side Salzburg. (some really appealing places there, but I think I%26#39;d get tired of the bus).
I am going to go with the Gablebrau for this trip- the very first place I considered and with Roley%26#39;s good reviews(!) I always did like the sound of that location and they have a family room for 5 that should suit us. Keep you fingers crossed that we don%26#39;t need the A/C and that they still have availibility! Anyone know where to buy fans just in case?! (That%26#39;s a sort of serious question!)
Thanks too for the information on the Marionette Theater and the Mirabelle concerts. Do I need to book them in advance given that it is the high season - if so, should I do it through the hotel or online - or can I wait until my arrival to look into it? I have heard before the the St. Peters restaurant is good for the Mozart dinners/ Did any of you go to that?
I%26#39;ll be back with more questions, I am sure - I%26#39;m so glad everyone here is so nice about helping me out!!!
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I hope you%26#39;re happy with the Gablerbrau! I found them very efficient - and ooh, those breakfasts! My mum and I could barely move after all that eggs and bacon ... not to mention the breads, cheese, fruit, yoghurt etc etc etc!
We stayed in a room for 3 and it was really big, so I imagine their room for 5 will be a good size. Our bathroom was humungous - as big as some rooms I%26#39;ve stayed in!
I think that they actually do have a few tabletop fans you can borrow - ask at the desk when you check in and they should be able to put one in your room. I%26#39;m fairly sure we had a fan in our 3-bed room.
I don%26#39;t know how you plan to make your bookings but I have used the online booking on the Gabler%26#39;s own site in the past and that worked fine (though they might not have availability that far in the future). Their site is http://www.centralhotel.at/
Will you be there during Festival time (mid-July-August)? If so you might find some fun things to go to! The Landestheater (www.salzburgerlandestheater.at ) sometimes has opera and ballet on its programme, outside festival times. I%26#39;m afraid I can%26#39;t give any guidance on the Marionettes etc - Hoftraveler sounds an expert for that!
And I discovered on my last trip one restaurant that I would recommend. It%26#39;s a bit out of the way and tricky to find but worth the effort! It%26#39;s called Weisses Kreuz, and can be found behind the Domplatz at the foot of the fortress. It has the most fabulous Balkan food; we ate ourselves nearly unconscious! Their site is
members.eunet.at/weisses.kreuz/index_e.htm
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Hi Roley
I have been in contact with the Gablerbrau through their website, as you suggested. The %26quot;family room%26quot; is actually two rooms, either on the 2nd or 4th floors, with one bathroom. One room has a double bed, the other has either 3 rollaways or 3 normal beds...I%26#39;m not actually quite clear on that since they said it differently in 2 different emails. Oh well, they are for our 3 kids. I can%26#39;t imagine they%26#39;ll think much about it. Do you recommend being higher up in case the streets are noisy or doesn%26#39;t it make much difference? I just got an email back saying that the family room is available for 230 euros including breakfast and taxes.. Seems like a deal!
I was tempted to stay at the Blobergerhof in Leopoldekron - it looks adorable - but the bus would probably be a pain. Have you ever heard of it? Just curious.
I%26#39;ts a relief to have finally decided - thanks for your help. i%26#39;ll be asking more questions about other things soon if you don%26#39;t mind. bye!
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Forgot to ask - what foods would a Balkan meal include?
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You mention you might consider staying out of town on a bus route. We have stayed at the Hotel Doktorwirt in Aigen four times in the last twelve months and would never stay anywhere else. It is a 12-15 minute bus ride right into the the old town. The hotel is family run, four star and serves fabulous food. Try putting it into Google.
Liz.
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Hi Liz - thank you for your suggestion. My husband and I agree that the Doktorwirt is indeed beautiful. Fortunately, it is above the budget for this trip. I say fortunately, because if it were within budget it would send me into another spiral of indecision!
It, however, is bookmarked for consideration for a future trip...without kids!
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Sounds like you%26#39;re making progress! I would prefer the higher floor, given the choice, as it does cut down a little bit on street noise. They have a lift, so that%26#39;s no problem! My mum %26amp; I stayed on the fourth floor and experienced no difficulty with say, water pressure in the shower :) That sounds like a good deal for the price. I think our room was 125 euros for the two of us, which wasn%26#39;t bad at all.
I%26#39;ve not had any experience of the Blobergerhof (love the name, I imagine the guests blobbing out happily!) but I think the bus ride would be awkward, especially when you have a late night in town and then just want to get to bed in a hurry!
I am no authority on Balkan food at all so I%26#39;m having trouble remembering the names of the things ... I had spiced roast lamb which was absolutely delicious and my friend had a spicey meat and rice dish called Djuvec. Lots of paprika, which I love. For pud I had the most divine Milchraumstrudel served with hot berries, ooh that was delish. They also do Austrian dishes. The prices were very reasonable we thought, and the portions were huge in time-honoured Austrian style :) We admired the %26quot;Balkan specialties for 2%26quot; and wished we had ordered that! They have menus in English which helped.
I look forward to hearing about your Salzburg adventures (what, only about 9 months to go! :)
xr
