Kapuzinerberg: The Best View in Salzburg is Completely Free
If you find yourself in Salzburg and enjoy hiking, or you like spectacular views, you’ll want to add Kapuzinerberg to your itinerary. With so many things to do in the Salzburg area, a lot of which cost money and therefore pay for you to notice them, some of the best free things, like hiking Kapuzinerberg, can go unnoticed and might not show up on many “must see” or “must do” lists.
But let me tell you, experiencing the behemoth that is Kapuzinerberg deserves to be on your list. My son and I love hiking. I started taking him on hiking trails as soon as he could walk. For us, conquering Kapuzinerberg was a Day 1 activity.
What Is Kapuzinerberg?
So what is Kapuzinerberg? Well, it is a mountain that sits on the eastern bank of the Salzach River and is 640 meters (2,100 ft) tall, with a prominence of 676 feet. It is the highest point in the Salzburg city limits which means the views from it are absolutely amazing (assuming you go on a clear day. We did not. Whomp, whomp)! If you are a history buff, there are a lot of interesting historical facts about Kapuzinerberg, like the Bronze Age settlements that were found on its slopes dating from around 1,000 BCE. That’s old!
Which Way Up?
There are two main ways to begin your hike of Kapuzinerberg. One route can be found on the eastern tip. It is in the Linzer Gasse area, not too far from Mozart’s former house, and takes you through the Franziskuspforte gate, where you can see the Stations of the Cross, which were built in the early 1700s. The Kapuzinerkloster, an active Capuchin Monastery, dates back to around 1600 and was built on the site of a medieval fortification.
On the western tip, you can go up the Imbergstiege staircase. If you plan on hiking from one end to the other, I recommend using Imbergstiege staircase as your starting point. This way, after you finish your hike, you’ll be in a popular, walkable area with lots of restaurant choices and other options depending on your mood and remaining energy levels.
The Hike
As can be seen in our photos of our hike, it was rainy and foggy for much of our time on Kapuzinerberg. But we weren’t about to let a little rain and fog stop us. It basically rained the entire day, and was still raining during the Krampus run we attended that night. We checked the weather before we left for Austria and came prepared, which allowed us to enjoy ourselves despite the unfavorable weather. Make sure you do the same.
The full hike is about 3.4 miles with a 1,400 feet gain in elevation and took us about three hours to complete. We stopped to take plenty of pictures and do some light exploring along the way, so you can probably finish in 2.5 hours. It is a rated as a challenging trail, which is definitely accurate. If most of your past hikes have been leisurely nature walks, you might find all the stairs a bit daunting. According to our Fitbit, we climbed up 54 floors of stairs. This is a real hike. Totally worth it, but know what you are getting into.
My son, who was around 10-years-old at the time, handled the hike without any complaint and ran up all the stairs without missing a breath. I did not do quite as well and needed to stop every now and again for a breather. There is no shame in this and there are a few benches along the way, some with fantastic views.
The trail is forested and should be interesting enough to hold the attention of most kids. There is enough to discover during the hike, offering plenty of natural stops along the way, that it never felt like a grind.
Points of Interest on the Mountain
If you come from the Imbergstiege staircase entrance, one of the first things you’ll come across is the Franziskischlössl, a small fortress built in 1629. This marks the highest point of Kapuzinerberg. In 1849, the Franziskischlössl became a tavern. It isn’t open year-round, so if you have your heart set on eating on its panoramic terrace, make sure to check whether it will be open during your time in Salzburg.
There are plenty of lookout points and scenic spots, but one of the best is Hettwer Bastei. Built into the old defensive city walls, from this viewpoint you can see Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Old Town across the river. The city wall, built in the early 1600s, has several guard towers throughout its length. Some of them have signage that lists some factoids, and others are numbered, for self-guided audio walking tours. I learned that the guard towers are all within shouting distance from one another. This makes sense, but wasn’t something I thought about until reading it on one of the signs. Every trip is an educational learning experience!
Our Actual Experience (Yours Will Undoubtedly Be Better)
As we ascended Kapuzinerberg, it became more and more foggy. It never felt creepy while we were hiking, but looking back at the photos afterward, there could have been anything lurking in those woods. Once we got to the top, visibility was extremely limited. We were basically in a whiteout.
We didn’t let this dampen our spirits, though, and kind of laughed about the situation. As we sat on a cold bench, we looked out into the white nothingness. It was quite peaceful. That can be said about a lot of what we did in Salzburg. Many parts of the city were bustling with people and had the typical energy of a city, but I found so many places of calm, quiet, stillness. This is a very stark contrast to anywhere in Orlando (our home at the time).
Exiting on the western side, we found ourselves in a touristy part of town, with a lot of shopping areas and restaurants. This made it super easy to find a place to grab a well-deserved lunch. After lunch, we walked around the area a bit and stumbled into our first Christmas Market. For some, the Austrian Christmas Markets are the sole reason to visit in the winter. And I can’t blame them. Every Christmas Market we visited was a delight to each of our senses.
Where to Stay
A lot of how smoothly everything goes while in Salzburg boils down to where you stay. I suggest mapping out all your points of interest and finding something central to the majority of the things on that list. For example, if doing a Sound of Music tour is a focal point of your trip, that will probably put you in a different part of town than if you’re going to paraglide from Gaisberg. I wanted to do a little bit of everything, and price was also a factor, so I booked a room at the Meininger Hotel. This turned out to be an excellent choice for us. For starters, on the day of our Kapuzinerberg hike, we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel, packed our backpack full of snacks, and in less than two minutes from stepping outside, we were at the base of Kapuzinerberg.
Unless you rented a car, which I don’t really think is necessary in Salzburg, make sure your hotel is close to a bus stop. The bus system in Salzburg is probably my favorite public transit system I’ve used. It is very clean and very efficient, and cheap! Also, even though I don’t read or understand German, I found public transportation in Salzburg easier to navigate than some places where all the signs are in English. I had a difficult time getting around Ireland using their public transportation, for example. And I’ve got turned around a few times in places in the States, like St. Louis. But navigating Salzburg, super easy and no stress. Salzburg is also very walkable, so taking a bus to anywhere in Old Town will allow you to talk to anywhere else in that area. And there is a lot to see in the area. From St Peter’s to Festung Hohensalzburg to whatever event is happening at Residenzplatz, you could spend your entire Salzburg vacation in Old Town (Okay, Mirabell Gardens is worth a visit and it is outside Old Town. But it is just across the river, and you can certainly walk there from Old Town).
We did plenty of things outside of Salzburg and found the public busses between cities to be more than adequate. We took the bus to Hallstatt and then back to Salzburg and had a great time seeing the winter wonderland from our bus window.
A Few Tips Before You Go
Timing. We went in the winter, we wanted to catch some Krampus parades and enjoy the Christmas Markets, and it was rainy all day, and foggy most of the day. This meant we had close to zero visibility for some of the would-be amazing view spots. This didn’t dampen our spirits any as we’re accustom to rolling with the punches. For us, it made it all the more magical, but you may feel differently.
Shoes. Hiking shoes are recommended, and if you are going during the winter like we did, insulated hiking shoes are a must. Preferably waterproof also.
Hydration. Bring a water bottle and some snacks. We were on the mountain for three hours.
The Salzburg Card. This pays for itself over and over. You can get one that works for multiple days and covers 100% of your public transportation costs, as well as grants free entry to many attractions around the city, most of which cost more than the price of the Salzburg Card. This is one thing you’ll be glad you got.