The Sound of Music is one of the most iconic musical movies of all time. A fictional retelling of the Von Trapp family’s life in Austria during the Nazi's rise to power, the movie was filmed in and around the city of Salzburg. Here is my guided tour of filming locations to visit from the movie!
The Sound of Music was one of my favorite movies growing up, so when I was traveling around Austria with my cousin in April 2022, visiting Salzburg and going to the iconic filming locations was a no-brainer.
Initially, we were going to go on a guided Sound of Music bus tour, but the prices were quite expensive. Tours ranged from $70-$120, which we didn’t want to pay. Instead, we decided to do our own walking tour ourselves, and grab local buses to get to locations outside of Salzburg. This worked in our favor, as we got to take everything at our own pace and weren't shepherded around quickly on a bus (and it was much cheaper).
This was such a fun experience, seeing where Julie Andrews and the rest of the cast once stood. Freya isn’t the biggest Sound of Music fan, but even she enjoyed visiting all of the sites. This ended up giving us a great walking tour of Salzburg itself as we went between the different locations.
Below, you will find five places to visit that are highlighted within the movie!
Mirabell Palace and Gardens
The Mirabell Palace and Gardens are in the musical number, ‘Do-Re-Mi’. There are two iconic parts to the gardens, the Angel Staircase and the Pegasus Fountain. Maria and the seven children dance around the fountain and they hop up and down the stairs at the very end of the song.
The Gardens are free to walk around and absolutely beautiful! Although we were there in April and it lightly snowed throughout the day, there were still lovely flowers planted around. Photos of the Gardens in the summer show the area in full bloom, with lots of colorful flowers everywhere.
We made sure to get our pictures on the Angel Staircase, which was hard with other tourists constantly standing at the top. I even had my own ‘Do-Re-Mi’ moment where I hopped up and down the steps (I couldn't help myself).
Schloss Hellbrunn
Schloss Hellbrunn was the only part of this tour where we had to pay to visit. In theory, you could take the bus to just take pictures of the house, but to go inside or have a wander through the gardens, you must have a ticket. We took the No.25 bus to get to the house from the center of Salzburg.
Schloss Hellbrunn was used as inspiration for the Von Trapp house in the movie and also has the glass pavilion on its grounds from ‘Sixteen Going On Seventeen’ and ‘Something Good’. To find the pavilion, you do have to walk a bit away from the house, down the walled path, and it will be on your right.
While the inside of the house isn’t anything to write home about, the real gem of Schloss Hellbrunn is the Trick Fountains. They are very quirky and very beautiful! They were designed by Markus Sittikus, the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, in the 1600s to entertain guests and be used as a status symbol.
As you walk around the gardens where they’re housed, you will use an audio guide to learn more about each piece. My favorites were the Neptune Grotto, the Shell Grotto, and the Mechanical Theatre.
Schloss Leopoldskron
Schloss Leopoldskron is a famous (and expensive) hotel that is located just outside of the Old City. We took the bus from Schloss Hellbrunn to the hotel, and it was a very easy journey.
Leopoldskron was used as the back of the Von Trapp house in the movie, with its lake in the scene where Maria and the children fall off the boat and into the water when the Captain and the Baroness arrive.
At the time of filming, the pavilion (now at Schloss Hellbrunn) stood in the hotel’s park. Due to the increase in tourists after the release of The Sound of Music, the pavilion was moved to Schloss Hellbrunn in order to reduce the congestion at Schloss Leopoldskron.
One of the main rooms of the hotel, the Venetian Salon, was completely replicated in order to be used in the film. Its beautiful, handcrafted interior served as a model for the ballroom in the Von Trapp house and was also where the performance with the marionette theater occurred.
If you are not a paying guest of the hotel, you won’t be able to get onto the property. However, the majority of the lake is in a public park, so you will be able to walk around and see the back of the hotel from a distance.
Nonnberg Abbey
Maria Von Trapp was a novice and governess at the Nonnberg Abbey. It can be found at the foot of the Festungsberg mountain beneath the Salzburg Fortress. You will have to walk up the Nonnberg Stairs to get to the top. It is pretty steep uphill, so it won’t be accessible for those who can’t take the stairs.
In the movie, filming took place in the cemetery and in front of the abbey. In real life, Maria and Georg Von Trapp were married at the abbey, however in the movie, they were married in a church in Mondsee.
One of the highlights of the movie was the nuns singing, including the songs ‘Maria’ and ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’. The nuns still sing today, with Gregorian chants every morning at 6:45 AM in the abbey church.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to gain access on our visit, but we were able to walk around a bit of the perimeter. The abbey itself where the nuns live cannot be visited, but the church and cemetery are open to the public. Despite not going in, it was worth the climb as there are beautiful views over Salzburg from its location on the mountain.
Residenzplatz
The Residenzplatz is located in Salzburg’s Old City. It is a large, open square in one of the most historic areas. In the center of the square is a large fountain with four horses, one on each side.
In the movie, Maria is singing ‘I Have Confidence’ as she travels from the convent to the Von Trapp house.
As she enters the Residenzplatz, she walks under one of four archways. A fun fact about this clip in the movie, you can see three women walk behind Maria beneath the arches, and one of them is the real-life Maria Von Trapp! She is the one who first steps into the frame with the white hair and gray skirt.
Maria is then in front of the horse statue and does a very zealous splash in the fountain. This is the turning point in the song where she finds confidence in herself and plans to show the Von Trapp family that she is worthy and, more importantly, show it to herself.
This area is full of culture and other places to visit, including the Salzburg Residence, the Domplatz, the Kapitelschwemme, and the Dommuseum Salzburg.
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