Salzburg, Austria

Up until 1816, SALZBURG led a separate life to the rest of Austria, existing as an independent city-state ruled by a sequence of powerful prince-archbishops. An ambitious and cultured bunch, they turned the city into the most Italianate city north of the Alps. Spread out below the brooding presence of the Hohensalzburg fortress, the churches, squares and alleyways of the compact Altstadt today recollect a long-disappeared Europe. For many, Salzburg is the quintessential Austria, offering the best of the country's Baroque architecture, subalpine scenery and a musical heritage largely provided by the city's most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose bright-eyed visage peers from every box of the ubiquitous chocolate delicacy, the Mozartkugel. Salzburg's captivation with Mozart is perhaps best reflected in the world-famous Salzburg Festival, a five-week celebration of opera, orchestral music and theatre that begins in late July, although there's a wide range of (not always Mozart-related) musical events on offer throughout the year. Souvenirs recalling the Salzburg-based musical The Sound of Music dangle round the city's neck like some bad-taste medallion, with coach tours and shows on the same theme providing an entertainingly lowbrow alternative to the more highbrow events.

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