The Original Sound of Music Tour Salzburg — Attraction in Salzburg

Our family recently went on The Original Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg, and it was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable experiences of our entire trip. As longtime fans of the movie, we were excited to walk in the footsteps of the von Trapp family—and this tour exceeded all our expectations.

Booking the tour was simple and straightforward. We opted for the half-day tour which lasted about 4 hours, and the bus was comfortable and air-conditioned—perfect for families. The staff was well-organized and ensured everything ran smoothly from start to finish.

Our tour guide was a highlight in themselves—knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and entertaining. They balanced historical facts with fun trivia, stories from the movie’s production, and plenty of laughs. Their passion was infectious, and they kept everyone engaged, from kids to grandparents.

The tour took us to all the iconic filming locations: • Mirabell Gardens – where Maria and the children sang “Do-Re-Mi”. Walking through those perfectly manicured gardens felt surreal. • Leopoldskron Palace – the lakeside view from the back of the von Trapp home. We didn’t go inside, but the exterior and lake were stunning. • Hellbrunn Palace Gazebo – yes, the “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” gazebo! It’s now fenced for safety, but still a magical spot to visit. • Nonnberg Abbey – the real abbey where Maria was a novice. We couldn’t go inside, but the view from above Salzburg was worth the stop. • Mondsee Cathedral – where the wedding scene was filmed. A gorgeous little town and the perfect place for a coffee break.

We also enjoyed the scenic drive through the Salzkammergut Lake District, with breathtaking views that offered a break from the movie-focused part of the tour and showed off Austria’s natural beauty.

What made the tour so special was how family-friendly it was. Our group had people of all ages, and everyone seemed to have a great time. The guide played songs from the movie on the bus, and a spontaneous sing-along broke out—cheesy in the best way! Even those in our family who weren’t major fans of the film ended up loving the experience.

Whether you’re a die-hard Sound of Music fan or just want to enjoy the beautiful Austrian countryside and a bit of movie history, this tour is an absolute must-do. It was informative, fun, picturesque, and perfectly paced for families. We left with smiles, songs in our heads, and plenty of unforgettable memories.

Highly recommended—bring your camera, your sense of wonder, and maybe even brush up on...

My wife and I booked tickets for the tour which ran in February (Winter). The Sound of Music is one of my wife's favourite movies so it's safe to say she was extremely excited to be on the tour. We had just one day in Saltzburg and the tour was to be the highlight.

We commenced from St Andrews Church and the tour guide was enthusiastic and encouraged everyone to sing along with the sound track. This was fine but would have worked better if they had organised lyrics to play on the screens within the bus. This way, people who were not familiar with the music could also part take.

We drove around to key sights but many were not open to the public as they were private property. I understood this. Many sights were not visited at all e.g. The Abbey, The Hilltop (although the guide said we were heading there), the Fountain (although the tour actually started right next to the Fountain and all we had to do was walk 2 mins around to the location). The Fountain was closed but you could still see it and there was no reason to skip this. My wife found this extremely disappointing as these were some of the most important scenes in the movie that were either glazed over or completely missed altogether.

Our last stop of the tour was a stop over at Mondsee to see the church where the wedding took place. We stopped here for 50 minutes on a 4 hour trip which was completely unnecessary and it felt like a time filler to us. There was no need to spend more than 20 minutes here. We were also dropped off far from the location and then had to walk over despite there being roads right next to the church.

Overall, for the "Original Sound of Music Tour", this experience left a lot to be desired. For someone seeking a more in depth behind the scenes tour, I'd give this one a miss. It just felt like more of an entree than the main course unfortunately.

Hopefully this feedback is taken on board and used to improve the experience of future visitors rather than the same generic response given to the other low...

Went here on a tour recently on 12/03/24 chose the afternoon slot at 2pm as it suited my schedule and thought the tour was absolutely wonderful! I'm a big fan of The Sound of Music and Antonio our tour guide made it very enjoyable and was enthusiastic, friendly and kind sharing his knowledge and happy to take photos for us solo travellers Went to a few sights that Hollywood used in the film around Salzburg and Mondsee (the ones that are accessible as you can't visit the real life VonTrapp Villa as its private property now) wish we had more time to explore Hellsbrunn Palace (where the Pavillion is used in the scene "16 going on 17") and St Michael's Church in Mondsee (where Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married) but for the price it was worth it and I enjoyed this tour more than I could have hoped for I even preferred going on this one to the other Panorama tour I had booked for Hallstatt We spent 4 hours at many beautiful places used in the film/backdrop/exterior shots and on the way to Mondsee stopped by Lake Wolfgang for a photo op which was also breathtaking Thankyou Antonio for providing amazing customer service you are a fabulous tour guide This tour gave me insight to how Hollywood made changes to the real life story, how scenes were shot I was thrilled to hear how actresses such as Charmian Carr (played Liesl) and recently Nicole Kidman have used the tour company when they have visited Salzburg it was surreal walking in the footsteps of where the talented stars of the film once were in the past I would definitely recommend and will be returning when I come back to this gorgeous city again...