The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Music: A Weekend in Salzburg with IES Abroad Vienna

As part of the IES Abroad experience, the program center offers field trips to help explore your host country. For the spring 2025 semester, IES Abroad Vienna offered trips for skiing, to Salzburg, to Wachau, and to Styria for an additional cost. We signed up for a chance at a spot on these trips about two months before the program started, well before I really knew anyone else also going to Vienna (there are three people including me here from my home school). I was a little nervous, but the Salzburg trip really interested me because of how much was included!

We started the first day visiting Hallstatt, a very popular tourist destination that is claimed to be one of the most Instagrammable places in the world. It has sadly been overrun with tourism and has had to undergo management of the number of tourists due to preservation of the area and the damage the high level of tourism was causing to the town. We took a boat tour and had a lovely lunch before getting some free time to roam around. I bought some soap that is shaped like a pickle and some postcards!

After the wander around we got back on our bus (way nicer than any American coach bus I have been on (which is a lot because I was a varsity athlete for two years)) and headed to Salzburg. Once we got to Salzburg and checked into our hotel we had the evening free to ourselves. My friends and I got dinner at a Peruvian restaurant that was very good called Lazarte and then a sweet treat (ice cream) at a Gelateria that was so good we went back on Saturday too.

After a morning walking tour, we had most of the day in Salzburg to ourselves. As part of the trip we all got Salzburg cards which gave us free or discounted access to many of the most popular Salzburg tourist attractions. After a pizza pretzel the size of my head, the aforementioned ice cream round two, and some shopping, my friends and I visited the Salzburg fortress. I highly recommend visiting the Fortress, less so because of the military history (still moderately interesting, although military history is notably not my concentration for my history major) and more so because of the amazing views of the city from the top. I loved it up there, enjoying a snack and an iced tea at a restaurant up top with the sun beating down and a beautiful view. I could have spent all day at the table. Eventually we did get up, going to Mozart’s residence. It was a short and okay museum although I am not a big Mozart fan (if I am going to talk about someone from Mozart’s time period it is going to be Maria Theresia von Paradis (sorry not sorry)). 

We then had dinner provided as part of the trip that was so filling everyone was standing outside afterwards talking about how full they felt. In the morning, we had breakfast and loaded out to tour a salt mine.

Now I know what you’re thinking, a salt mine? That sounds weird… and you’re right, touring a salt mine is probably not high on your list of things to do in Austria, but let me tell you this is no ordinary tour. It featured TWO slides, a boat ride, a cool train ride situation, and a free thing of salt at the end as a souvenir. I had a great time (way more than I expected).

Overall, I had a great time on the trip to Salzburg. I highly recommend it if it is offered during your IES Abroad Vienna experience and if it’s not or you’re reading this and studying elsewhere, Salzburg is a great place to spend a few days!