The Sound of Music Film Tour - Rachel.ie - Climb every mountain (in Salzburg)

Four weeks after its release, The Sound of Music became the number-one box office movie in all of America. It would hold that position for the next ten months. It was the highest-grossing film of 1965 and broke box-office records in almost thirty countries. A family favourite, many of the locations in The Sound of Music still exist today – and many companies offer a The Sound of Music film tour for its fans.

But if you don’t want to pay large amounts to get on a bus with forty other people, or if you prefer to see the sights at your own pace, then there is a better option! This self-guided The Sound of Music film tour of the movie’s movie scenes takes one hour and forty minutes of walking, or just over thirty minutes by public transport. It covers the scenic Austrian town of Salzburg, moving through the streets where Mozart once roamed and past the smallest house in the world. It even goes beyond Frohnburg Palace, whose iron gates are what Maria first sees when she arrives at Von Trapp Villa.

The hills are alive with the sound of music… and now you can be too!

Table of Contents hide

1 Salzburg Residence Square

2 Hellbrunn Palace

3 Mirabell Palace and Gardens

4 Leopoldskron Palace

Salzburg Residence Square

“It could be so exciting, to be out in the world, to be free!”
I Have Confidence

Salzburg Residence Square is where Maria first decides to look after the Von Trapp children. The horse fountain which she splashes through is the second-largest Baroque fountain in the world, a fitting metaphor for Maria as she tries to build up her confidence!

The Square is also used later on in the film as Nazi soldiers march through the town and raise a swastika flag above the doorway of the Residence Palace.

Salzburg Residence (The Sound of Music Film Tour)

Hellbrunn Palace

“You wait, little girl, on an empty stage, for fate to turn the light on.”
Sixteen Going on Seventeen

This famous gazebo which became known as a symbol of romance was originally located on the grounds of Leopoldskron Castle. Due to trespassing, however, it was dismantled and completely rebuilt in Hellbrunn Palace.

Visitors are not allowed into the gazebo itself in order to protect the place where both Liesl and Rolf, and Maria and the Captain fell in love.

Mirabell Palace and Gardens

“Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.”
Do-Re-Mi

Mirabell Palace and Gardens was the setting for many scenes in The Sound of Music. It’s an extraordinary world of vividly coloured flowers and baroque marble statues. It’s free to visit and has spectacular views of Austria.

This location’s best-known scene is situated at the Pegasus Fountain, where Maria and the children sang ‘Do-Re-Mi’. The stairs which they jump up and down on is also nearby, as well as the dark hedges the Von Trapp family later run through.

Mirabell Palace & Gardens (The Sound of Music Film Tour)

Leopoldskron Palace

“My heart wants to beat, like the wings of the birds, that rise from the lake to the trees.”
The Hills Are Alive

Leopoldskron Palace formed the back of the Von Trapp family home. Its steps lead down to the water where the Baroness and Uncle Max sat sipping lemonade and Maria and the children famously fell into the lake. It’s also the first time the Captain hears his children sing.

Although today the Palace is used as a hotel, visitors can still admire the building from the west side of the lake. From there you can re-imagine Maria and the Captain dancing on the balcony, as well as catching a glimpse of the original golden ballroom.

Nonnberg Abbey

“Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?”
Maria

Nonnberg Abbey is one of the oldest convents in Europe and the nunnery in which Maria was a novice. This is also the Abbey which the real Maria Von Trapp joined when she was just nineteen years old.

It’s a key part of the opening scene where the nuns sing ‘Maria’ while she rushes down from the mountains. It’s later used as a backdrop for when the Von Trapp family flee Austria, two of the nuns having previously removed gears from the Nazi soldier’s cars.