The Perfect Day in Salzburg in December with Kids: A One-Day Itinerary
On a winter trip to Europe with our kids, we got to experience many different cities. But when it was time to visit Salzburg, we quickly learned that it’s one of the most beautiful cities in Europe! And Salzburg in December is an especially magical destination.
Since we tried to fit in many stops during our European Christmas market extravaganza, that only left us with one full day in Salzburg (and two nights). That meant that we needed to try to pack in as much as we could…while still keeping the kiddos happy and content of course!
If you’re looking for things to do with your kids in Salzburg in December, look no further! In this blog post, I’ll discuss an easy one-day Salzburg itinerary that will allow you to see all the highlights of this charming city (plus even get a nap time in there for the little ones).
Disclosure: You may see affiliate links throughout this post, which means these are the products I handpicked! If you purchase something through these links, I will get a small commission at absolutely no extra charge to you. And that sure means a lot to me, so thank you in advance!
A Quick Overview of Salzburg, Austria
When you think of Salzburg, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For many people, it’s The Sound of Music, which was filmed there in 1964. And while that’s definitely a big part of the city’s history and culture, there’s so much more to Salzburg than just that.
More Than Just The Sound of Music
The Austrian city of Salzburg was founded in the year 696. And it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. It is home to one of the largest fortresses in Europe, and it’s also Mozart’s birthplace.
Salzburg is a city that will instantly charm you with its storybook setting. Nestled in the Austrian Alps along the Salzach River, Salzburg is a picture-perfect city with cobblestone streets, quaint shops, beautiful palaces, and baroque buildings. In December, the city comes alive with Christmas markets, making it the perfect place to enjoy the holiday festivities with your family. To put it simply, Salzburg in winter is incredible!
Where to Stay in Salzburg
This Salzburg winter itinerary focuses on the area of Old Town (also known as Altstadt). Old Town is where you’ll find the main tourist attractions. Since that was our focus, we wanted to stay at least somewhat close to that area.
During our time in Salzburg, we stayed at the Imlauer Hotel Pitter Salzburg for two nights. It was a great hotel for our family because of the location and the fact that it offers family suites.
The hotel and rooms were beautiful, modern, and comfortable. The family suite offered two separate bedrooms, which helped us all get better rest.
The location was perfect for us. Mirabell Palace and Mirabell Gardens were less than 5 minutes away from the hotel, and Hohensalzburg Fortress and the main Christmas market were a 15-20 minute walk. It was less than a 10-minute walk to the main train station. We didn’t bring car seats on this trip, so we relied on public transportation the entire time. Having a hotel close to the train station was key because of this! We didn’t want to have to
How to Pack: Weather in Salzburg in December
Well, I can tell you one thing…you won’t be running in the hills in a light, flowy dress like you see on The Sound of Music! You’ll want to bundle up! Pack warm clothes including a winter coat, hat, and gloves.
The weather in Salzburg in December is cold.
With an average high of around 40 degrees Fahrenheit and an average low in the 20s, you’ll experience some cold days (and even colder nights). Luckily, we’re midwesterners, so we’re used to winter weather, and it didn’t bother us to walk around the city in these temperatures.
There are only about 8.5 hours of sunlight each day. And there’s a good chance of precipitation with an average of 12 days of precipitation in the month of December. The fun part of that though? There is a chance for snow!
Yes, it can snow in Salzburg in December!
During our Christmas market vacation, the day we explored Salzburg was our only snow day on the trip. And it was absolutely magical!
The snow was heavy enough to create a pretty ambiance, but it wasn’t heavy enough to stick to the ground long enough to cause problems pushing a stroller.
The only downside to the snow was that we didn’t get the amazing views of the Alps and the city that we were hoping for. Being in, what felt like, a winter wonderland snow globe made up for that though.
How to Get Around: Transportation Options
Salzburg by Foot
To get around the city, I highly recommend walking! Salzburg is a very walkable city, and the distance between attractions is short. As stated above, the longest walk we had was no more than 20 minutes. And within that 20 minutes, we often made stops along the way to see different sights.
We brought along our Joovy Caboose ultralightweight sit and stand stroller for our little guys and had no trouble pushing the stroller along the streets and sidewalks in the city. Since it was so cold, we also brought a small blanket for each boy. We used stroller clips to keep the blankets in place. That way we didn’t have to worry about them dropping the blankets as we made our way through the city.
Salzburg by Bus
If you can’t or don’t want to walk, buses are the main mode of public transportation.
I’m no expert on public transportation in Salzburg since we didn’t use it, but I do know that you can purchase tickets at tobacco shops or at kiosks at some of the bus stops. You can also purchase tickets on the bus, but they’ll be more expensive.
Salzburg Card
If you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing, you might want to consider purchasing the Salzburg Card. The card gives you free access to most of the major attractions, as well as unlimited use of public transportation. That way you won’t even have to worry about how to pay for the bus ride!
One Day in Salzburg in December with Kids
Ok, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Let’s talk about things to do in Salzburg with kids! Honestly, just exploring the city feels like you stepped right into a real-life fairytale.
Here’s an easy one-day in Salzburg itinerary:
Hohensalzburg Fortress
You can’t miss the Hohensalzburg Fortress, as it sits high above the rooftops of Old Town below. It was built in 1077 and is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. Its resume is pretty impressive, too. This Salzburg fortress was initially built to protect the princes and archbishops, and it was never once captured by foreign troops.
Start your day by heading to the fortress. On your way, take in all the beautiful architecture and quaint streets. It really does feel like you stepped into a fairytale! We even got to wander through a couple of Christmas markets before they opened for the day.
Once you make it up to the fortress, it’s time to explore! Although several museums are located within the fortress walls, we honestly just loved checking out all the corridors. The boys’ imaginations really came to life walking around the fortress (there’s just something so special about seeing places like this through their eyes!). Plus it was decorated for Christmas, so it was extra festive!
As I mentioned above, the snowy weather the day we visited Hohensalzburg Fortress, unfortunately, didn’t allow us to see the incredible views that I’ve seen in other photos. But we were still very happy we checked it out.
What Time Should You Go to the Hohensalzburg Fortress?
Plan to get to the fortress early in the morning to avoid large crowds. We arrived right at opening and basically had the fortress to ourselves! This allowed our kiddos to explore without us having to be so stressed out about having lots of people around.
Getting up to the Fortress (and Back Down Again)
While you can walk up the steep hill to the fortress, I highly recommend taking the Festungsbahn funicular to reach the top. Not only is it a lot easier to manage with little ones, but it’s also a lot of fun!
You can purchase your tickets at the funicular or in advance online. Admission to the funicular and fortress are also included in the Salzburg Card if you decide to purchase that.
Café Tomaselli
After visiting Hohensalzburg Fortress, make your way back down into the city and find a cozy spot at Café Tomaselli. Being the oldest coffeehouse in Austria, you can only imagine the history of this place. It’s even been said that Mozart frequented this coffeehouse!
While you’re warming up with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, don’t forget to check out the delicious pastries. Of course, I had to try the sachertorte, a classic (and famous!) chocolate cake that originated in Austria.
Mozart’s Birthplace
Once we were filled up with caffeine and sweets, we headed back out to the city to see some more sights. Along our walk, we came across Mozart’s birthplace.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a famous composer, was born here in 1756. The Mozart family actually lived on the third floor of the building. And it is now one of the most visited museums in Austria.
We didn’t take the time to go into the museum, but I grabbed a quick photo of the outside of the building. It was pretty neat to think that we were walking the streets that Mozart once walked as well.
Marko-Feingold-Steg (Pedestrian Bridge)
As we continued our walk, we made our way to the Marko-Feingold-Steg. This pedestrian bridge is also known as the Love Lock Bridge in Salzburg…and for good reason! The entire bridge is covered in locks, each inscribed with the initials of lovers who attached their lock to the bridge to symbolize the strong love they have for each other.
The boys loved looking at all the different colored locks (plus is made for some cute photos!). You can also get a great view of the city from this bridge, complete with the Salzach River, Hohnsalzburg Fortress, and Austrian Alps.
Mirabell Gardens
After crossing over the bridge, you’ll find Mirabell Palace and Mirabell Gardens. The complex was originally created for the Archbishop of Salzburg in the 1600s. But in the 1800s, it became open to the public. The complex is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and entry is free.
If you’re a fan of The Sound of Music, you might recognize Mirabell Gardens, as these were the gardens where the von Trapp family sang “Do-Re-Mi.”
Although I’m sure the gardens are much more colorful in the summer months, the gardens were still well maintained, and it was nice to walk through them on the way back to our hotel.
At this point in the day, it was time for the boys’ nap time, so we were happy to be less than 5 minutes away from our hotel. That midday break really helped prevent everyone from being overtired, plus it was nice to get out of the cold for a bit.
Salzburg’s Christmas Markets
Although we saw a few Christmas markets during the day as we walked through the city, we couldn’t leave Salzburg without checking out the Christmas markets at night! I mean, seeing the Christmas lights aglow, listening to Christmas music, and drinking Glühwein (mulled wine) really puts you in the festive spirit.
One nice thing about Salzburg being so small compared to the other bigger cities we visited on this trip was that we came across Christmas markets and celebrations often as we walked through the city since everything was so close together.
Salzburg Christkindlmarkt
We spent most of our time at the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz. This Christmas market is one of the oldest Advent markets in the world, dating back to the 15th century.
The market has a huge Christmas tree, lights hung over the walkways, model train sets, and about 100 vendors. We were also lucky enough to be able to listen to a concert of traditional wind music the night we were there.
At the end of the night, our oldest son played a game at one of the vendor booths where he won a Christmas ornament. We came home with a LOT of souvenirs from that trip. But that Christmas ornament is one of my favorites because of the memory of how much fun he had winning it!
Christmas Market on Mirabellplatz
This Christmas market was much smaller than the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt. But we came to find out that we personally loved the smaller, more intimate markets than the big ones.
This market is located right next to Mirabell Palace and Mirabell Gardens, which worked out perfectly for us since our hotel was so close to that area. You’ll still find all of the Christmas food, drinks, and vendors here…just on a smaller scale.
For a full list of the Salzburg Christmas market, check out the Salzburg city website.
Is one day enough in Salzburg?
Wondering if you should go if you only have time for 24 hours in Salzburg? It’s totally worth the visit. Heck, even a day trip to Salzburg would be worth it in my opinion…yes, I really think it was that great! This Salzburg itinerary shows that you can see a decent amount in one day thanks to the attractions being just a short walk from each other. But is it enough?
Although we were able to do quite a bit during our one day in Salzburg, we agreed that we wish we would’ve had more time. So much so that I actually made a slight change in our full trip itinerary when I posted it on the blog to allow for one extra day in Salzburg!
(You live and you learn! Hindsight is 20/20, and that’s why I write this blog…so you get an even better version of what we got!)
The quaint city was a nice change of pace from the rest of the Christmas market itinerary. I’d say it’s definitely worth it to stay in Salzburg for at least two days.
Recap
If you’re heading to Europe in December, you won’t be disappointed if you visit Salzburg. There are plenty of things to do in Salzburg with kids. Plus visiting Salzburg in winter adds a whole other level of charm to this already beautiful city.
From walking the same streets Mozart did in Old Town to exploring one of Europe’s largest medieval castles…from checking out areas where The Sound of Music was filmed to gazing at the view of the Alps…this Austrian city shouldn’t be missed.
And if you’re looking for another fairytale-like town in Europe, you have to check out this one.
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Well, let’s just say I’m a little obsessed with the Light & Airy Photographer photo editing presets.
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