Filming locations in Salzburg

Few cities carry a film as openly as Salzburg carries The Sound of Music. Robert Wise's 1965 musical turned the baroque heart of Mozart's birthplace into a stage, and six decades on the von Trapp trail is still walkable in a single, generous day.

Start in the Mirabell Gardens, where the children skip up the long stone steps and around the Pegasus fountain singing Do-Re-Mi. The parterre is a free public park, busiest mid-morning with tour groups, so come early and you can have the rose-covered pergola almost to yourself.

From there the geography sorts itself neatly. The lakeside terrace of Schloss Leopoldskron stood in for the family's grand home, and although the rococo palace is now a hotel, a public path along the water gives you the famous facade across the lake. Above the old town, the hilltop Nonnberg Abbey is the real convent where Maria takes her vows, its courtyard reached by a steep climb of steps behind the fortress.

Cluster-wise it could not be simpler. Mirabell sits just across the river from the old town, Nonnberg is a short uphill walk from the centre, and only Leopoldskron asks for a half-hour stroll or a quick bus south. Base yourself anywhere in the compact old town and the whole trail is on your doorstep.

A few practical notes. Nonnberg is a working Benedictine convent, so keep your voice down and stick to the church. The Hohensalzburg fortress towers right above the abbey and rewards the climb with rooftop views, and Mozart's residence is a couple of minutes from Mirabell. Salzburg also makes a natural gateway to the lakes and mountains of the Salzkammergut, the very hills the film opens on.