Hotels near Salzach River and Kapuzinerberg Viewpoint

The Salzach River gave Salzburg both its name (salt fortress) and its wealth, since the Prince-Archbishops taxed every barge of Hallein salt that passed under the city. Today the wide, glacial-green river splits the Old Town from the newer Right Bank, crossed by pedestrian bridges including the padlock-covered Makartsteg. Walk north along the Elisabethkai promenade for the postcard view of the Old Town skyline stacked beneath Hohensalzburg Fortress. For the best free panorama in the city, cross the Staatsbrucke and climb the Kapuzinerberg, a 640-metre wooded hill on the Right Bank. The 15-minute climb up from Linzer Gasse via the old Way of the Cross brings you to the Capuchin Monastery (Kapuzinerkloster) built in 1599, and further paths lead to the Franziskischlossl viewpoint tavern and, at the eastern edge, the villa where Stefan Zweig lived from 1919 to 1934 before fleeing the Nazis. From various clearings you can see the Old Town, the fortress, and the plain toward Bavaria all at once, without a ticket. Pro Tip: Go up in late afternoon for warm light on the fortress, and reward yourself with a beer at the Franziskischlossl tavern (open May to October) before the easy descent back to Steingasse.