Updated June 12th, 2019

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“How do you feel about biking?”, I asked my mom before our Austrian trip. Other than knowing that we were going to Austria, the whole trip was going to be a surprise. I was feeling her out on a couple of ideas I had. Her apprehensive response about biking wasn’t very reassuring to my idea of doing a Salzburg Sound of Music Bicycle Tour.

Years ago I remember someone talking about how much fun they had on a Sound of Music tour. I hate to admit it but prior to planning this trip if someone would have asked me where the movie took place I don’t think I would have been able to say Salzburg. Regardless I knew we had to do some sort of tour and I really wanted to avoid the big bus tours so I signed us up for Fräulein Maria’s Bicycle Tours despite my mom’s apprehension.

We had a little time to practice our skills before the tour and immediately after getting on my bicycle, named Gretel, I thought, “What have I gotten us into? I don’t know how to ride a bike!”. The handlebars seemed so wide apart and I was terrified to attempt turning while riding on the bicycle so I kept getting off to walk my bike around corners. That would not be a sustainable solution for long! Soon we unsteadily set off to test our fates as bicyclists and to see the sights of the city related to the film.

Horse Pond – Pferdeschwemme

Maria and the children happily sing through this area in the film.

Residence Square – Residenz Platz and Residence Fountain

I loved how our guide referred to this square as the place where Maria did “splashy splashy” in the fountain as she sang “I have Confidence.” During the film a Nazi flag was hung from Residence palace in the square. Austrians woke up terrified that the Nazis’ were back again. Fortunately it was just for filming, but they still were not too pleased about the whole ordeal. 

St. Peter’s Cemetery

Used as inspiration for the cemetery in the film.

The Nonnberg Abbey

The real Abbey used in the movie. Beautiful lookout point to the rest of the city and the alps in the distance.

Lost in the Beautiful Fields of Austria

No, this isn’t the name of another film location. When leaving the abbey there was a very steep hill that we had to go down. Hills and especially turning corners when going down hill still seemed terrifying to me at this point. My mom and I were the last ones in our group to head out and we took it much slower so we got a bit behind the group.

Even though I couldn’t see anyone I automatically turned left at the first intersection because it continued down the hill. At the next intersection I made a guess and turned right. At this point I had not only lost the group, but also my mom behind me. I asked a passerby if he saw bicycles in the direction I was heading, he did so I continued my journey. Later on I realized the guy probably thought I was asking if a bike could go on the path. The next intersection I came to had even more options so I sat a bit to think what to do. Meanwhile my mother actually made all the exact same wrong turns as I did so she caught up with me! As we were pondering our predicament, guess who came up next!? Our faithful tour guide! She had come to find us and bring us back to the group.

Schloss Leopoldskron – Leopoldskron Palace & Lake

Many scenes were shot here, including when Maria and the children went out on the lake. We learned that the actress that played Gretel didn’t actually know how to swim so when she fell into the lake she genuinely needed to be rescued. During the 2nd take Maria fell off the boat the wrong way and wasn’t able to save her as planned and a cameraman had to jump in to save the day. Ironically I was riding the Gretel bicycle and also needed to be ‘saved’. 

Frohnburg Palace

Several scenes were filmed here as well. As Maria sings “I have Confidence” she does her little heel clicks here.

Our guide brought a speaker and gave different people turns to blast the music from their bicycles as we were riding, so the hills were indeed alive with the Sound of Music!

Gazebo

The gazebo isn’t actually the original gazebo and it isn’t even in the same spot, but a replica was made and put in Hellbrunn Gardens. You can’t go inside the gazebo either because too many eager tourists slipped and hurt themselves when trying to reenact the dance scene. 

Mirabell Gardens

These are beautiful gardens that are free to explore. Maria and the children sang “Do-Re-Mi” as they danced around this fountain…

…into this tunnel

….through these statues

….around this fountain

….and up these stairs to hit the final note and pose!

By the end of the tour my biking skills had significantly improved, I loved Salzburg and couldn’t wait to watch the movie! Check out the movie for yourself and see how my poses line up with those of Maria!

**A few of the pictures were taken at later times when we came back to explore the area more. Except for Mirabell Gardens, which you don’t fully walk or bike through on the tour, there is enough time for pictures at all of the stops. 

Visiting Information

Company

Fräulein Maria’s Bicycle Tours 

Location    

Tour begins and ends at Mirabell Gardens.                                                                                                                                         

Review

Our tour guide (Sharon?) was amazing. She knew the film very well and presented all the information in a humorous and entertaining manner. Our tour group could have been better though, they didn’t seem too interested in the film. I think it would have been a lot more fun with a group who was more into acting out the scenes or at least being enthusiastic about the whole experience. Considering our group had bikers who wanted to go faster and bikers like us that were slow, our guide did an excellent job. I wish I felt a little more confident about biking and could have enjoyed the sights a bit more, but overall I am really glad we did the tour and would recommend the tour for anyone who also wants to be a bit more active and have more of a small group tour experience. It’s eco-friendly too! 

FYI   

Most adults do not wear a helmet on the tour, but you can ask for one. There are two scheduled bathroom breaks throughout the tour, the first one has a charge. The first stop is really the only chance to buy food or water. There is a pretzel stand with amazing pretzels that we went back to later in our trip….two times!

Fitness level wasn’t a problem for either of us, it seemed like biking skills were more needed then being physically fit.If the biking sounds too intimaditing try the original Sound of Music Tour by bus. 

Where to Stay in Salzburg

Altstadt Hotel Hofwirt Salzburg was one of our favorite hotels on our Austrian Itinerary. It is located in the New town of Salzburg and close to the main shopping and restaurant area.  It is about a 10 minute walk to Mirabel Gardens, the starting point of the bicycle tour.

More about Austria

• A full Austria Itinerary
• Which Cities & Towns to Visit and What to Do
  • Salzburg: Untersberg, Hellbrunn Palace, Salzburg Christmas Museum
  • Gmunden (in the Salzburg Lakes District)
  • Seefeld (in Tyrol)
  • Vienna: Sisi Museum & Schönbrunn Palace
• What and Where to Eat in Austria
  • Savory Foods
  • Sweet Treats

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