What I liked best about Salzburg, aside from its cultural and historical heritage, was that the city existed vertically, as well as horizontally. There are four small mountains (large hills, really) in downtown Salzburg, and I was able to go up three of them. The most important is Festungsberg (Fortress Mountain), on top of which is the Hohensalzburg Fortress. This fortress, started in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard von Helfenstein, is what has kept the city from invasion for hundreds of years. Immediately next to Festungsberg is Mönchsberg, which houses the new Museum of Modern Art, as well as a very beautiful wooded area with great views of the city. Across the river Salzach is Kapuzinerberg, which is the home to an old Franciscan monastery. While I was able to take an elevator or funicular to the top of the other mountains, I had walk up Kapuzinerberg. It was a lot of fun, and I got a great panorama of Altstat (Old Town). Old Town Salzburg, like many other cities, has wonderful churches, museums, and plazas. As a Roman Catholic diocese, Salzburg has many beautiful, ornamented, catholic churches. Salzburg is also the birthplace of W.A. Mozart, and no one could visit the city without being reminded of that fact everywhere they looked. There are Mozart candies, concerts, and albums absolutely everywhere, and you are also able to visit his birth-home as well as his residence. Salzburg was just the right size to visit for a few days, and although it was fairly touristy, I liked it quite a lot.
