© SalzburgerLand Tourismus, Michael Groessinger Fotografie - SalzburgerLand Card
SalzburgerLand has many faces and each one actually lends itself to a little holiday highlight. Water lovers can refresh themselves in the lakes and thermal baths. We have gorges, hikes through Alpine pastures and proper mountain tours up our sleeves for sports enthusiasts. The city of Salzburg will strike a chord with all culture vultures. And what does SalzburgerLand have to offer those who like to take a stroll through the past? Plenty of castles and museums – not to mention a little touch of yesteryear, which can be found whilst walking through the picturesque alleyways of Mozart City. It is this diversity that defines summer in SalzburgerLand. And all those moments of happiness that come with it are what we live for.
EENY, MEENY, MINY, MOE
It is possible to experience all of these things in the summer with the SalzburgerLand Card. With the card in your luggage (or on your smartphone), there is actually only one thing that you’ll need to decide in advance. Are you going to explore the city or strike out into the countryside? You can use the SalzburgerLand Card to either explore the city of Salzburg for 24 hours (including all its attractions) or to take a trip on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. Both of these options form part of the SalzburgerLand Card.
And then you can set off on your voyage of discovery through SalzburgerLand. Are you in need of some inspiration?
# 1 SEEHAM BEACH IN SALZBURGER SEENLAND
With a 40 m water slide, the new and fun Aqua Jump, kiddy pool, beach volleyball court, modern changing rooms and sanitary facilities, café and broad sunbathing area, this lakeshore attraction is a true aquatic paradise. Seeham is surrounded by fabulous hills and situated directly at the lake. The harmonious symbiosis of nature, culture and tradition is ever present here, and with over 80 percent of farming being organic, Seeham is a true organic paradise.
In the Organic Village of Seeham, part of the Salzburg Lake District, sustainability has been lived mindfully for many years. Since summer 2022, the new BioArt Campus, featuring an organic shop, café, workshops and think tank, has enhanced the region’s organic offerings, acting as a national flagship project. www.bioart.at
Unlimited free admission with the SalzburgerLand Card
© Salzburger Seenland – Seeham
#2 WATER GOOD CHOICE – SPLASH ABOUT IN THE THERMAL SWIMMING LAKES
Bali or the Maldives, who needs them? Warm, sparkling turquoise water can be found in many areas of SalzburgerLand as well. Our tip: make your way to the Gastein Valley! There you will find Austria’s first thermal swimming lakes, laid out like two lagoons in the Alpentherme Bad Hofgastein. “Thermal swimming lake” may sound strange at first, but it isn’t. This is what happens when you give nature free rein. Every day 150 m³ of fresh thermal water from the Hohe Tauern mountains is washed into the two lakes here. Swimmers and stand-up paddlers (yes, that’s possible too) are drawn to the Gastein lagoon, not least because Bad Hofgastein can be reached quickly and easily by train from Salzburg. Do you want to get an idea of what the bathing lakes are like? Click here to be transported to the Alpentherme Gastein.
Single free entry (4 hours) with the SalzburgerLand Card
# 3 INTO THE ICE AGE – LOOK TO COOL OFF IN THE GORGE
You’ve experienced lakes and thermal spas, but perhaps we can wow you with another type of water? In many places, SalzburgerLand is home to impressive gorges that keep you cool. It’s well worth the effort to take a detour to the Seisenberg Gorge in Salzburg’s Saalach Valley even if only for the fact that it took 12,000 years to carve its way through the hard limestone. You won’t find dinosaurs and mammoths here, but you will find high levels of humidity and special plants that give your trip a taste of jungle adventure. Watch out for the gorge spirit that lurks between narrow rock walls and the roaring water. If you meet him, you needn’t worry. He means well and will impart interesting facts about nature and the environment at several stations along the way.
Free entry as often as you like with the SalzburgerLand Card
© SalzburgerLand Tourism, Chris Perkles – Seisenberg Gorge in the Salzburger Saalachtal
#4 OF FOSSILS AND EXPLORERS – GO ON THE TRAIL OF THE NEANDERTHALS
If the rocky walls at the Salzachöfen Gorge in Golling could speak, they would have just as many exciting stories to tell. Because just like the Seisenberg Gorge, they were washed out of the rocks many thousands of years ago. It is somewhat astonishing to think that 400,000 years ago Neanderthals lived in the caves here. Or that if you go on a tour through the Salzachöfen you’ll by all intents and purposes be touching 200 million-year-old fossils. If you want to explore the gorge you can do so as part of a guided tour that has a sense of adventure and still marvel at the thunderous force of the water from a safe distance.
Free entry as often as you like with the SalzburgerLand Card
©TEAMSPIRITaustria – Salzachöfen “adventure gorge”
#5 COLOURFUL MINERALS AND LOTS OF COPPER – VENTURE INTO THE KUPFERZECHE SHOW MINE IN HÜTTAU!
We are now going one step further from ragged gorges – right inside a mountain. From the outside, the Kupferzeche copper show mine in Hüttau admittedly looks a little unremarkable, but appearances can be deceptive. A small entrance constructed from wooden posts leads directly into the Georg Tunnel, where it narrows off before getting dark. Well, almost. It goes without saying that once you’re inside the show mine, there is appropriate lighting. This allows us to see the dripping caves and colourful minerals, and encourages us to penetrate deeper and deeper into the mountain on wooden stairs. By the way, you should try and put all thoughts of claustrophobia aside here as a number of delightful highlights await, such as the wooden ore chute and the “Ersoffene Gesenk”, the deepest point in the mountain.
Free entry as often as you like with the SalzburgerLand Card
#6 SENSE-ATIONAL EXPERIENCE – VISIT THE “MOUNTAIN OF THE SENSES” IN LEOGANG
We are now moving on from inside a mountain, almost to the top of a peak. We are talking about the Asitz in Leogang, which can be reached comfortably by cable car. Once you’ve reached the top, you’ll immediately see why the Asitz more than lives up to its byname of “Mountain of the Senses”. The Cinema of Nature, with its wooden loungers and hammocks, frames the Steienere Meer and Leoganger Steinberge so beautifully that you won’t be able to get enough of the views – a real SIGHT for sore eyes. Perhaps you’ve picked up on the scent of herbs in the meantime? If not, you can SMELL them on the Herbs- & Alpine Plants Path and be inspired by their aromas. *Gooong* – what was that? Most likely a singing bowl whose notes you’re not only able to HEAR, but also perceive. Or maybe it was the Sound Toboggan Run, where bells and musical features are activated whilst you toboggan. The Barefoot Trail will tickle your toes and your fancy. Walk through it with your eyes closed to activate your sense of TOUCH. And, of course, there’s also something for the sense of TASTE at the Asitz. Namely, a flatbread that you can bake yourself.
A single free ascent and descent with the SalzburgerLand Card
© SalzburgerLand Tourismus, Chris Perkles – Cinema on the Asitz
#7 MITTERSILL NATIONAL PARK CENTRE – IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE LARGEST PROTECTED AREA IN THE ALPS
The offerings in the Mittersill National Park Centre are as diverse as on the Mountain of the Senses. What does it look like inside a marmot burrow? What happens to glaciers when you turn the wheel of time? And what does the landscape look like from an eagle’s perspective? These questions and many more will be answered during a visit to the National Park Centre. Here ten experience stations, from “Alpine Life” to the Avalanche Dome, provide an insight and overview of the diverse fauna and flora in the Hohe Tauern National Park. One definitive highlight is the 360-degree Panoramic World, 16 metres in diameter, in which you can immerse yourself in a whole new world thanks to state-of-the-art projection technology.
Free entry as often as you like with the SalzburgerLand Card
You can activate the display of this element via the button. By activating the integration, the browser exchanges data with the respective providers. The current page has no access or influence on the content, type, storage and processing of this data. By clicking on the button, you allow the cookie agreedtoyoutube, you can revoke this cookie under the privacy settings.
#8 LOOK AT VINTAGE CARS – TAKE A NOSTALGIC TRIP BACK THROUGH TIME AT THE OLDTIMER MUSEUM KAPRUN
A museum of a different kind awaits you in Zell am See-Kaprun. Instead of fossils or sacred treasures, you will find trundling witnesses of the past, by which we mean vintage vehicles. The 200 or so exhibits have been curated by Helmuth Vötter, who dismantled motor cars as a teenager in order to make them roadworthy again. Until the passion for collecting finally took hold of him. The first piece in his collection, a BMW Isetta, can be found in the Oldtimer Museum Kaprun, just like other cars, motorbikes, and tractors from the 1950s, 1970s and even older. And even if you’re not so familiar with the subject, rarities such as the largest convertible in the world (a 23-seater), a parachute car, or the original No. 4 wagon from the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel are sure to knock your socks off.
Free entry as often as you like with the SalzburgerLand Card
#9 TACKA-TACK, TACKA-TACK – TAKE A RIDE ON THE TAURACH RAILWAY
Out with the vintage car, and in with the next nostalgic vehicle: the Taurach Railway train. As soon as the locomotive starts puffing away, you see the steam rising and hear the train whistle, you know that Austria’s highest narrow-gauge railway is in motion. The steam engine moves slowly along the old tracks between Mauterndorf and St. Andrä while you listen to the steady tacka-tack sound of the train. Once you have made yourself comfortable in the nostalgic carriages of the train, which was built in 1894, it’s best to take a look at the Taurach river and the magnificent mountains of the Salzburg Lungau region. What’s more, you can also explore them right away. Thanks to the free bicycle and pram transport on the Taurach Railway, nothing stands in the way of an extensive tour through the Taurach Valley.
One free ride per week with the SalzburgerLand Card
© TVB Salzburger Lungau – The Taurachbahn train in motion
#10 FROM THE CATACOMBS TO THE FORTRESS – EXPLORE SALZBURG FROM THE BOTTOM UP
The Getreidegasse, Mozart’s Birthplace, the Salzburg Festival. A day trip to Salzburg has to be well planned so that between the hidden courtyards and small alleyways you don’t miss any of the sights – and there are plenty of these in the UNESCO World Heritage Old Town alone. If you’re interested in historic Salzburg, you should start your tour at St. Peter’s Cemetery. As soon as you enter the cemetery, you can immediately sense the unique history of this place, far removed from the rest of the world. The highlight is definitely the catacombs, which are carved into the Mönchsberg mountain. However, their name is deceptive, as they are not tombs but ancient hermitages in the rock face. Perhaps you recognise the cemetery from “The Sound of Music”, when the Trapp family hides behind one of the graves during their escape? Click here for a virtual walk through the cemetery.
The path from St Peter’s Cemetery leads directly up to Hohensalzburg Fortress. Salzburg’s landmark has never been conquered in its almost thousand-year history, so it still towers over the city of Mozart in all its glory. You can either take a comfortable ride up to the top on the fortress train. Or, you can do as the real Salzburgians do and tackle the path on foot. A guided tour takes you through the magnificent stately rooms, various museums, and up the Reckturm tower, where you are rewarded with a view of the surrounding mountains. Incidentally, new attractions have recently been added for your obligatory visit to the fortress museum: a replica of the city of Salzburg built entirely of salt, and insights into the striking work of the Salzburg Bull Organ.
Hohensalzburg Fortress and Catacombs: Single free admission to each of these with the SalzburgerLand Card. Admission to each is also included in the 24 hours in the city of Salzburg option.
As mentioned above, the SalzburgerLand Card is digital – you can download the digital version of the card onto your mobile phone before the start of your holiday. Very simple and uncomplicated.
