Original Sound of Music Tour Salzburg

Leopoldskron Palace and the Gazebo at Hellbrunn

Leopoldskron is a Rococo palace built in 1736 for Prince-Archbishop Leopold Firmian on the shore of a small lake south of the old town. Its lakeside terrace and gate were used as the exterior of the Trapp villa, where the children tumble out of the rowing boat into the water; the interiors were filmed in a studio.

The next stop is Hellbrunn Palace park, where the glass gazebo from Sixteen Going on Seventeen now stands after being moved from its original filming spot. On this Sound of Music tour in Salzburg you take photos at both places from the outside, with your guide pointing out exactly which scenes were shot where and how the film differs from the real story.

Nonnberg Abbey, Maria's Convent

Founded around 714 by Saint Rupert, Nonnberg Abbey is the oldest continuously existing nunnery in the German-speaking world, perched on the hill below the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The real Maria Kutschera was a novice here before she became governess to the von Trapp children, and she married Georg von Trapp in the abbey church in 1927.

In the film, the gate where the nuns sing about how to solve a problem like Maria was shot at the abbey. Nonnberg is still a living convent of Benedictine nuns, so visits are quiet and respectful; the church can often be visited, but the cloister is closed. Among Sound of Music filming locations, this is the one most closely linked to the real family.

Lake Fuschl, St Gilgen and the Salzkammergut

Leaving the city, the coach climbs into the Salzkammergut, the lake district east of Salzburg. The sweeping aerial scenes at the start of the film were shot over these lakes and mountains, and you pass the dark-green Lake Fuschl before viewing St Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee, the village where Mozart's mother was born.

This part of the tour is pure scenery: meadows, onion-domed churches and lakes framed by limestone peaks, with the soundtrack playing on board. Many travellers say it is the reason the Sound of Music tour is worth it even if they only half remember the film, because it shows landscapes a city visit alone would miss.

Mondsee and the Wedding Church

The last stop is the market town of Mondsee on the lake of the same name. Its Basilica of St Michael, with a yellow-and-white Baroque façade and a Gothic core from the 15th century, is where Maria walked down the long aisle to meet the captain in the film's wedding scene.

You have free time in Mondsee to step inside the church, walk the square and see the lakeshore before the drive back to Salzburg. The tour ends near Mirabell Gardens, where Maria and the children danced around the Pegasus fountain singing Do-Re-Mi, so you can finish your own Sound of Music day with a stroll there.