Sound of Music Tour Review

“the hills are alive with the sound of music “

A highlight for many visitors to Salzburg is taking a Sound of Music Tour.
The beloved 1965 Sound of Music musical by Rogers and Hammerstein starred Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as Georg von Trapp.

The musical was based on Maria von Trapp’s memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.

Yes! Maria and the von Trapps were real people. Maria lived as a novice at Nonnberg Abbey and was sent by her Mother Superior as a governess for the widow Baron Georg Ritter von Trapp.

If you are ready to explore if “the hills are alive with the sound of music” and see some of the movie sites, then make this one of your Bucket List Salzburg Tour.
Read our Sound of Music Tour Review so you know what to expect.

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It was after living in Austria for over 9 years that I finally went on a Sound of Music tour when a friend from Canada and her daughter came to Salzburg to visit.

**Austrians are not as fond of the Sound of Music as Australian, Canadian, American, and British fans. It is not a classic film for Austria, although they are aware of its fame, but they do appreciate the distorted story of the Von Trapp Family. So do not expect Austrians to share your love of the movie and your enthusiasm for breaking out in song.

We decided to take the Salzburg Panoramic Tour, which they market as the Original Sound of Music Tour. The bus tours occur twice a day in an air-conditioned bus.

Panorama Sound of Music Tour

Cost: 60€ for Adults and 30€ for children (4-12 years old)

We recommend prebooking the Panorama Sound of Music Tour

Tour Time: 9:15 am and 14:00 (2:00 pm)
It is advised to be at the bus stop 15 minutes before the tour departs

Duration: 4 hours

Bus Stop: The bus stop for the tour is near Mirabell Gardens.
There is a red kiosk on the corner of Mirabellplatz and Hubert-Sattler-Gasse. It is in the corner of the Mirabell Gardens parking lot at the Andräkriche (St. Andrä Church)

Book the Panorama Sound of Music Tour

Alternative Sound of Music Tours

There are a number of other Sound of Music Tours in Salzburg. Find out more Here

Summary of the Panorama Sound of Music Tour

The tour takes you through Salzburg to visit some of the major filming sites.
The tour concentrates on the movie locations outside the Altstadt (city centre).

The tour starts and ends at Mirabellplatz.

Picture of 2 hikers resting on a bench at Kitzsteinhorn

The first stop was Schloss Leopoldskron, a rococo castle built in 1736 and located about 6km south of Salzburg’s city centre.

Schloss Leopoldkron was used as the rear of the Von Trapp home. The most iconic outdoor scene filmed at Schloss Leopoldkron was when the children fell out of the boat into the lake. Schloss Leopoldkron’s extravagant Venetian Salon was used as the ballroom in “The Sound Of Music”

The bus tour takes you to a parking lot, where you take a short 5-minute walk along a lakeside footpath, from which you can see the lake and the back of Schloss Leopoldskron.
Schloss Leopoldskron used to be home of the gazebo, but that was moved to the next stop.

Schloss Leopoldskorn is now a luxury 5-star Rococo hotel. As a guest you can tour the interior and gardens Check prices and availability

If you are not staying at Schloss Leopoldkron, you can book a palace tour HERE

The tour continues along the Hellbrunner Allee, which connects Salzburg Altstadt with Schloss Hellbrunn. On the way, you pass Schloss Frohnburg, built in 1620 and now part of the Mozarteum University.
The yellow Schloss Frohnburg was used as the front of the Von Trapp villa. Maria arrives at the gates singing ‘I have Confidence’ before she meets Captain von Trapp and the children.

Our next stop was Hellbrunn Palace, where we stopped for ~20-minutes

At Hellbrunn Palace, we visited the I am Sixteen, going on Seventeen Gazebo.
You cannot go into the gazebo, but you have the opportunity to take many pictures.

After visiting the Gazebo, we got back on the bus. At this point, you could buy soft drinks, beer, and prosecco during the journey out of Salzburg.

Schloss Hellbrunn was built as a summer palace in 1613-1619.
You can visit the Palace, the Gardens with the Wasserspiele (trick water fountains), the Zoo and the children’s playground. During Advent, Schloss Hellbrunn has a famous Christmas Market.
Tickets, information and opening times can be found HERE

From Hellbrunn Palace, we travelled back toward the city, where we passed Nonnberg Abbey.
You can see Nonnberg Abbey, up on the hill from the bus, but we could not exit the bus to explore. Stift Nonnberg is a Benedictine nunnery founded in 714, and it was where the real-life Maria was a postulant (nun apprentice).

We now journeyed east from Salzburg to the Salzkammergut Lake region. Along the way, our guide provided more interesting commentary on the movie and led us in a sing-along.
The drive through the countryside took ~ 30 minutes, and we also passed Red Bull’s headquarters at Fuschlsee.

The bus stopped at a viewing platform overlooking Wolfgangsee (Lake Wolfgang), where you could take photos of the beautiful panorama. St Gilgen, a small town on Wolfgangsee, appeared in the movie at the beginning, filmed from a helicopter.

The next stop was at Mondsee, a lovely lakeside village approximately 30km from Salzburg.
Mondsee stars in the movie many times, including as the backdrop for the scenic bike ride Maria and the children take during the ‘Do Re Mi’ song.
But Mondsee is most famous as the site where The Captain marries Maria in the Sound of Music.
The real Captain von Trapp and Maria got married in the church at the Nonnberg Abbey.

The movie’s wedding scene was filmed at the Basilica of Mondsee (Basilika St. Michael), a beautiful yellow Gothic church built beginning in the 1400s.
The tour provides a ~30-minute stop in this location to visit the church and souvenir shop.

Then, we were back on the bus for more commentary, a documentary about the Sound of Music and singing as we returned to Salzburg.

The final stop was at Mirabell gardens. UNESCO-listed Mirabell Palace and its gardens are one of Salzburg’s most important sights as well as one of the most famous Sound of Music filming locations.

Maria and the children run through the ivy tunnel, climb on the fountains, and sing ‘Do Re Mi’ on the steps that become musical notes. The gardens are free so you are able to explore.

The tour ends in Mirabell Gardens. You are left to explore the gardens. Maria and the children sang and danced around the Pegasus Fountain, ran through the ivy tunnel, posed with the Greek statues at the southern end of the garden and sang in the Gnome garden. The most famous scene in Mirabell Gardens was the finale of ‘Do Re Mi’ when the children and Maria sang on the steps that became musical notes.

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Wanderlustria Review of the Panorama Sound of Music Bus Tour

Tour Company: Panorama

We had an excellent guide who explained all the movie scenes and provided a lot of information, including the true story of the Van Trapp family.
**Almost every review highlights how good the Panorama Sound of Music Bus tour guides are.

The buses were air-conditioned, comfortable and clean.
After the stop at Hellbrunn Palace, the driver sold drinks.

Pro:

The guide was a local who was English-speaking
The commentary was interesting, and the guide was excellent. I especially appreciate how he pointed out some other sights in Salzburg and explained the true story of Maria and Captain von Trapp.
It is an opportunity to see Salzburg’s sights by bus and Wolfgangsee and Mondsee of the Salzkammergut.
You can sing all your favourite Sound of Music Songs
The tour gives an opportunity to see the stunning Salzkammergut region.

Con:

The bus did not stop at any of the movie sights in Salzburg—other than Mirabell Gardens. So, you missed seeing Nonnberg Abbey, Residenzplatz, St Peter’s Abbey and Cemetery, Felsenreitschule, Horse Pond, Winkler Terrace, and others.

If you would like to visit these sights, you will need to do it on your own or book a walking tour.

The free time at the stops was limited.

The stop at Hellbrunn Palace is only ~20 minutes.
If you would like to visit the palace and its gardens, you will need to organise this separately. HERE

The stop in Mondsee is only ~ 30 minutes—just enough time to see the Basilica and the souvenir shop.

Overall

The guide was excellent, the commentary was great, the sing-along was fun.

The bus tour is a good choice if you want to get an overview of the movie scenes, with lots of background insider information, and see the locations outside Salzburg, such as the Salzkammergut region.

Both my friend and her daughter enjoyed the tour and said it was a highlight of their Salzburg trip.