The Salzburg Card: What’s Included & Is It Worth It

Our Opinion: When the Salzburg Card Is Worth It

For a first visit of 2 or 3 days, yes. The Salzburg Card pays off as soon as you plan the big paid sights: Hohensalzburg Fortress, Mozart's Birthplace and the DomQuartier together cost more at the ticket desk than a 24-hour card, and the Untersberg cable car alone costs almost as much as one. The longer versions are the better deal, because going from 24 to 72 hours costs less than one more ticket to the fortress or a Mozart house.

Public transport counts for less than it used to. Since May 2025, anyone staying overnight in the province of Salzburg gets the Guest Mobility Ticket from their accommodation at check-in, and it covers buses and trains across the province for the whole stay. If you sleep in town, the Salzburg Card is worth it for the admissions; the free buses mainly matter if you come in for the day.

The card makes less sense for a slow Salzburg of cafés, churches and gardens. The Mirabell Gardens are free to enter anyway, and Salzburg Cathedral only gives card holders a discount. If you only want one museum, or two of the smaller ones, single tickets are the simpler choice. Winter gets you less out of it too: the card is cheaper then, but the Hellbrunn trick fountains and the Salzach boats only run from spring to autumn.

How we'd use it: start the clock in the morning with a big sight, because the card runs in hours from its first use, not in calendar days. Put Hellbrunn and the Untersberg on the same day, since bus 25 stops at both, and keep the fortress and the Mozart houses for another. On the fortress funicular, the Mönchsberg Lift and the Untersberg cable car, the ride down is scanned separately, so start down before your hours run out.

Quick Infos & FAQ

The Salzburg Card

How the hours are counted

The card starts with its first use and then runs for 24, 48 or 72 hours straight, to the minute; it can't be paused or split across days that aren't back to back. If your hours run out while you're inside a museum, you can stay, because the card only counts at the entrance. On the bus there's nothing to scan; you show the card if an inspector asks. A digital card already works on the bus from the start of the day you booked it for, so you can ride out to your first sight; its hours begin when you use it there.

Where to buy the Salzburg Card

The simplest option is the digital Salzburg Card, bought online and used on your phone straight away. Up to five cards fit in one order, and each one arrives as its own link that you can forward to the rest of your group. The start date of a digital card can be changed, and unused cards can be canceled free of charge.

The physical card, in bank-card format, is sold at most hotel receptions, at the tourist information offices on Mozartplatz and at the main station, at ticket offices and at the airport. You fill in your name, start date and start time yourself, and the card can't be passed on to someone else. You can also buy the card online through GetYourGuide, which shows the current prices.

Discounts on top of the free entries

The card also brings a long list of discounts: concerts, theaters, excursions into the countryside around Salzburg, the 24-hour hop-on hop-off bus ticket, the Salzburg Salt Mines and admission to Salzburg Cathedral. For a concert discount, reserve with the organizer in advance by email or phone and mention the card; online bookings don't qualify.