Mirabell Palace and gardens

Gardens, music, and a famous staircase

Mirabell Palace sits on the right bank of the Salzach about ten minutes’ walk from the Altstadt, and it offers something rare in Salzburg’s tourist landscape: a genuine centrepiece that is entirely free to enjoy. The Baroque gardens are open throughout daylight hours at no cost, the Sound of Music staircase is just inside the garden gates, and the view back toward Hohensalzburg Fortress from the garden’s centre is one of the most photographed in Austria.

The palace building itself is mostly a working administrative facility — the Salzburg city council has its offices here — and public access to the interior is limited to the Marble Hall, which is used for concerts. But the gardens are the main event, and they reward both a quick 20-minute stroll and a slower hour-long exploration that takes in the dwarf garden, the hedge theatre, and the quieter northern corners away from the main tour groups.

Archbishop, mistress, and a troubled history

The original palace on this site was built between 1606 and 1619 by Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau for his mistress, Salome Alt, with whom he had at least 10 children. Wolf Dietrich named it Altenau in her honour. This domestic arrangement was considered scandalous by the standards of an archbishop even in Counter-Reformation Europe, and it contributed to his eventual downfall — he was deposed by his own cousin and died in Hohensalzburg Fortress (then used as a prison) in 1617.

His successor, Archbishop Markus Sittikus, renamed the palace Mirabell — “beautiful view” in Italian — and began reshaping both the building and the gardens. Over the following century the palace was rebuilt several times, most significantly after a fire in 1818 destroyed much of the structure. The architect Peter von Nobile rebuilt the main building in a restrained neoclassical style; the Marble Hall, which survived the fire, retains its original early 18th-century character.

The gardens were redesigned in Baroque formal style in the early 18th century by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, the same architect responsible for Vienna’s Belvedere. His layout — central parterre, cross axes, flanking hedged rooms, and sculptural programme — survives largely intact and forms the basis of what you see today.

The gardens — layout and what to look for

The main garden is organised around a central oval parterre with four large floral beds, four allegorical sculptural groups (Earth, Fire, Water, Air, executed by Ottavio Mosto around 1690), and the central Pegasus fountain. The geometry is classic Baroque: precise, symmetrical, designed to be read as much as experienced. The flower beds are replanted seasonally and are at their most spectacular in May–June and again in September.

Looking south from the centre of the parterre, the view aligns perfectly with Hohensalzburg Fortress on its hill above the Altstadt — the composition was deliberate. This is the view that appears on the covers of approximately half the Salzburg guidebooks published since 1950, and seeing it in person is one of those moments where the reality matches the image.

The dwarf garden is one of the most distinctive features and also one of the least expected. Tucked into the northwest corner of the main garden, it contains 28 grotesque stone dwarf figures, carved in the early 18th century. They are strange, humorous, and faintly unsettling — court jesters, musicians, soldiers, and fantastical characters in various degrees of exaggeration. Children find them fascinating; most adults find them memorable for completely different reasons. The original figures are displayed in the Baroque Museum; the garden contains period copies.

The hedge theatre in the garden’s western section is a formal open-air theatre space defined by tall clipped hedges, with a central stage area and stone seating. It was used for theatrical performances in the 18th century and occasionally hosts small outdoor events today. It is easy to miss if you are following the main tourist path.

The rose garden occupies the northern terrace above the main parterre. It is quieter than the central garden, the rose varieties are extensive and labelled, and the elevated position gives a slightly different perspective toward the fortress. Early morning in late May or June, when the roses are fully open, is when this part of the garden is at its best.

The Sound of Music staircase — exact location and what to expect

The “Do-Re-Mi” sequence in the 1965 film was shot across several Salzburg locations, and the Mirabell Gardens feature prominently. The most recognisable element — the pegasus fountain scene and the steps where Julie Andrews and the children run down from the upper terrace to the lower garden — corresponds to the south-facing staircase descending from the terrace level to the main parterre.

The staircase is real, it is accessible, and it is exactly where you think it is. It is also, in summer, perpetually occupied by people recreating the scene with varying degrees of enthusiasm. The fountain itself — the Pegasus — is visible behind them in the film.

Other Mirabell Gardens shots in the film include the dwarf garden (the children run along the path) and the hedge areas on the western side. For a complete map of which scenes were filmed exactly where, see our guide to Sound of Music filming locations.

The gardens also appear prominently in the original Sound of Music tours that depart from Salzburg — most tours stop here early in the route.

The Marble Hall — Mozart concerts in a real palace

The Marble Hall (Marmorsaal) on the piano nobile of the palace is the most significant surviving 18th-century interior in the building. It is a long, high-ceilinged room with veined marble pilasters, elaborate stucco work above the windows, and a sculptural programme over the doorways. The proportions are excellent for chamber music — the room seats approximately 150 in concert configuration, and the acoustics are warm and resonant.

Mozart performed here. The young Wolfgang and his father Leopold gave concerts at the Salzburg court multiple times during the 1760s and 1770s, and the Marble Hall was one of the venues. Whether the specific piano still in the room is the one Mozart played is a question that guides answer with varying degrees of certainty — take such claims with some salt — but the historical connection is genuine.

The concerts currently presented in the Marble Hall are typically 60-minute programmes of Mozart chamber works and operatic arias, performed by small ensembles in period costume. The setting is genuinely beautiful and the acoustics reward the chamber repertoire well. Tickets run approximately €35–55 depending on concert type and seat category.

Mozart concert at Mirabell Palace — book tickets

The dinner-and-concert option pairs the Marble Hall concert with a pre-concert dinner at a partnering restaurant. This works well as a standalone evening and is a popular choice for couples. The dinner quality varies by restaurant; read recent reviews before booking.

Dinner and classical concert at Mirabell Palace

For a comparison of the Mirabell concert with the Hohensalzburg Fortress concert and other Salzburg music options, see our guide to the best Mozart concerts in Salzburg.

What is and is not accessible in the palace

The palace building is almost entirely occupied by Salzburg city council offices and is not open for general tourism. The main staircase (Engelstreppe — the Angel Staircase) is occasionally cited in older guidebooks as accessible to visitors; in practice, it is within the administrative section and public access is inconsistent. The Marble Hall is accessible during concert events and on certain open-house days.

The gardens are the main offering and they are free. The Baroque Museum adjacent to the garden, housed in the Orangery, displays original sculptures from the garden and Baroque paintings from the Residenz collection. It is a calm, relatively uncrowded museum that pairs well with the garden visit.

Timing the gardens

Early morning (7–9am): The gardens open at 6am in summer. This is when the light on the Baroque sculptures and the fountain is at its most beautiful, the tour groups have not yet arrived, and the gardeners are often at work. Photographers especially should consider this timing.

Midday: The gardens are busiest between 10am and 2pm in July and August. The main parterre in particular becomes crowded with tour groups. If you are visiting in summer, either come early or in the late afternoon.

Late afternoon and evening (5–7pm): The light from the west hits the garden from behind the palace, creating a different but equally photogenic quality. The crowds have typically thinned. If you are attending an evening concert in the Marble Hall, arriving early for 30–45 minutes in the gardens beforehand is a pleasant combination.

Winter: The gardens take on a different character in November to February — bare-branched, frost-touched, much quieter. The layout is easier to read without the foliage, and the fortress view to the south is unobstructed. The garden café closes in winter.

The surrounding neighbourhood

The area around Mirabell — the right bank neighbourhood centred on Linzer Gasse — is worth exploring beyond the palace. Linzer Gasse itself is a lively, genuine local shopping street, less touristy than Getreidegasse on the opposite bank and with a better range of cafés and smaller restaurants. Makartplatz, a few minutes east, is where Mozart’s Wohnhaus (residence) is located — a natural combination with a Mirabell visit.

The Salzach riverside path north of the Staatsbrücke runs past the palace’s eastern garden wall. Walking north along it, you quickly leave the main tourist circuit and enter a quieter residential stretch with good views back toward the Kapuzinerberg.

The Baroque Museum and the Orangery

The Orangery building in the northern garden section houses the Baroque Museum, which displays original artworks from the Salzburg court collection alongside the genuine garden sculptures (the garden itself contains period copies). The museum is small and rarely crowded — it tends to be overlooked by visitors focused on the main garden — but it contains some fine examples of Austrian and South German Baroque painting and gives context to the artistic culture that surrounded the palace during its period of greatest splendour.

The Orangery building itself is architecturally interesting: the long glass-and-masonry structure designed for overwintering tender plants was a standard feature of Baroque palace gardens, and Salzburg’s example is one of the better-preserved in the region. The museum admission is modest and the Salzburg Card does not always include it — check current terms when you arrive.

The Salzach walk connecting Mirabell to the Altstadt

The most pleasant route between Mirabell and the Salzburg Altstadt is not directly across the Staatsbrücke bridge but along the Salzach embankment. Walking south from the palace gardens along the right bank, past the Makartsteg footbridge, gives a sustained riverside view of the old town facades and the fortress above — the visual composition that defines Salzburg in photographs from this angle is experienced at length rather than glimpsed from a bridge.

The embankment path is also the departure point for the seasonal boat service to Hellbrunn Palace. In summer, kayaks and small boats are often visible on the river, and the tree-lined path makes for a pleasant contrast to the paved streets of the old town. Allow 10–15 minutes from the palace gardens to the Staatsbrücke walking this route.

Photography notes

The classic Mirabell photograph — Pegasus fountain in the foreground, fortress visible over the garden to the south — is best shot in the late afternoon when the light comes from behind the photographer and illuminates the garden without the harsh midday shadows. The angle works from multiple positions on the main parterre axis; standing at the northern end of the central alley gives the maximum depth.

For the Sound of Music staircase shots, the light is better in the morning (the staircase faces east and south-east). The crowds, however, are heaviest from mid-morning onward. The compromise that works best is arriving at garden opening time (6am) on a summer morning: the light is already good, the garden is empty, and the staircase is unoccupied.

Combining Mirabell with other sights

Mirabell fits naturally into almost any Salzburg day. The logical sequence for a full day is: start at Mirabell Gardens in the morning (before the groups arrive), cross the Salzach to the Salzburg Altstadt by mid-morning, climb to Hohensalzburg Fortress for the panoramic views before lunch, and return for an evening Marble Hall concert. This works well as a one-day programme and is the basis of our 1-day Salzburg itinerary.

For the Sound of Music focus, Mirabell is the starting point — the gardens appear early in most tours — and Hellbrunn Palace and its “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” gazebo make the natural afternoon continuation. See our Sound of Music 2-day itinerary for the full sequence.

What to do nearby after the gardens

The Mirabell neighbourhood on the right bank rewards an hour or two of unhurried exploration after the gardens. Mozart’s Wohnhaus (residence) on Makartplatz is a five-minute walk east from the palace entrance — the family lived here from 1773 and the museum has a more complete account of the composer’s Salzburg years and working methods than the more visited birthplace on Getreidegasse. It also tends to have shorter queues. Our Mozart birthplace vs residence guide helps you decide which to prioritise.

Linzer Gasse, the main right-bank shopping street running north from the Staatsbrücke, has a more authentic local character than anything in the Altstadt — neighbourhood bakeries, coffee bars, and small independent shops at everyday prices. The cafés on Linzer Gasse are a good option for lunch after the gardens, significantly cheaper than anything near Residenzplatz.

If time allows, the walk up Kapuzinerberg from the Steingasse entrance (5 minutes from the palace) reaches a viewpoint at the Franziskischlössl that looks back over the Altstadt and fortress in a way that no other position in the city quite matches. It takes about 25 minutes from the gardens and involves a moderate but not demanding ascent through woodland.

Frequently asked questions

Are the Mirabell Gardens free? Yes. The gardens are open daily from 6am until dusk (generally 8pm in summer) at no charge. The Baroque Museum in the Orangery has a small admission fee. Concerts in the Marble Hall require a ticket.

What time are the Sound of Music scenes filmed at Mirabell? The “Do-Re-Mi” sequence was filmed on the main staircase descending from the upper terrace, around the Pegasus fountain, in the dwarf garden, and along the hedge paths. All of these locations are in the main public garden and free to visit.

How do the Mirabell concerts compare to the fortress concerts? The Marble Hall is more intimate (around 150 seats versus the fortress venue’s larger capacity) and arguably more atmospheric for chamber music specifically. The fortress concert has the added dimension of the medieval setting and the city view at night. Both are good; the choice depends on which atmosphere appeals more. Our best Mozart concerts guide compares them directly.

Can I visit the palace interior? The palace interior is predominantly occupied by city council offices. Public access is limited to the Marble Hall during concert events. The main Baroque staircase and grand reception rooms are not routinely open to tourists.

Is Mirabell worth visiting without the Sound of Music connection? Completely. The gardens are among the finest Baroque gardens in Austria and the Pegasus fountain framed by the fortress is one of the genuinely great urban compositions in Central Europe. The Mozart concert connection is independent of the film entirely.