Salzburg’s central sights sit on both sides of the Salzach, with Makartsteg linking the riverbanks. Getting around involves two separate choices: which journey you want to make, and which ticket covers it. Choose your travel entitlement before boarding, whether you are using accommodation-issued guest travel or buying a ticket.
Walking or taking transport
| Criterion | Walking | City buses | Local rail | Licensed taxis | Shared e-bikes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Useful journeys | Central sightseeing | Airport; city neighbourhoods | Neighbourhoods near stations | Late returns; direct drop-offs | Longer city rides |
| Luggage | Carry it yourself | Keep bags manageable | Carry bags aboard | Boot space | Light luggage only |
| Terrain | Central streets; uphill fortress | Road network | Station access on foot | Signed vehicle access | Pedal-assisted cycling |
| Payment basis | None | Ticket or travel entitlement | Service-specific entitlement | Metered ride | Timed hire |
Walking is the default for central sightseeing. From Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, Mirabell Palace brings you to the palace gardens. Makartsteg crosses the Salzach towards the Old Town’s pedestrian streets and Salzburg Cathedral’s squares. Airport trips and outlying neighbourhoods are separate journeys, rather than extensions of that sightseeing walk.
| Walk | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Main station → Mirabell Palace | about 900 metres | about 12 minutes |
| Mirabell Palace → Makartsteg | about 600 metres | about 8 minutes |
| Makartsteg → Cathedral | about 700 metres | about 9 minutes |
| Station → Cathedral via these stops, walking only | about 2.1 km | about 29 minutes |
| Cathedral → Hohensalzburg Fortress entrance | about 200 metres | about 3 minutes |
Leave time to enjoy Mirabell’s gardens and pause by the river along this walk. The Hohensalzburg Fortress approach climbs uphill, so consider the gradient if walking ability is limited.
Karl Gruber · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Trolleybuses and city buses
- Trolleybuses
- Obus
- City buses
- Albus
- Interchanges
- Salzburg Hauptbahnhof; Ferdinand-Hanusch-Platz
Obus trolleybuses and Albus buses serve journeys across the city. At Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, bus 2 uses platform C towards Obergnigl. Ferdinand-Hanusch-Platz gives you access to the Old Town shopping streets without taking luggage through them.
| Line | Board → alight | Direction / destination | Journey | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Salzburg Airport → Hauptbahnhof | Obergnigl / station | — | Monday–Friday; Saturday; Sunday/holidays |
| 2 | Hauptbahnhof, platform D → Salzburg Airport | Walserfeld / airport | — | Monday–Friday; Saturday; Sunday/holidays |
| 10 | Salzburg Airport (Terminal) → Ferdinand-Hanusch-Platz | Sam / centre | about 20 minutes | Monday–Friday: roughly every 10 minutes, 08:00–10:00; separate weekend schedules |
| 180 | Kröbenfeldstraße → Hauptbahnhof | Hauptbahnhof / station | about 23 minutes, airport connection | — |
For bus 2 at the airport, follow the public-bus signs and board towards Obergnigl. For the bus 180 airport connection, walk to Kröbenfeldstraße before boarding. It is a separate option from bus 2.
In the Salzburg Verkehr route planner, enter your origin, destination and departure time to select a stop-specific departure. Planning a journey does not buy or activate a ticket. Bus 10 follows a special timetable during the Neutor closure, so choose the direction as well as the line.
- Name
- Salzburg main station
- Location
- Südtiroler Platz, north of the Old Town Maps
- Essential fact
- Salzburg’s main railway station, with city bus connections on Südtiroler Platz.
- Name
- Ferdinand-Hanusch-Platz bus stops
- Location
- On the Old Town side of the Salzach Maps
- Essential fact
- A group of city bus stops beside the Salzach at the edge of the Old Town.
Obussalzburg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edited
Night buses and Bustaxi
| Service / routes | Operating nights | Departures |
|---|---|---|
| NachtStern 1, 3, 4–7, 10 | Friday, Saturday; before public holidays | 23:15, 23:50, 00:25, 01:00 |
| NachtStern 21 / 22 | Same nights | 23:52 / 23:22 |
| NachtStern 25 / 28 | Same nights | 23:52, 01:02 / 00:27 |
| Bustaxi, earlier group | All days; route exceptions | 00:05, 00:40, 01:15, 01:50 |
| Bustaxi, later group | Weekends/public holidays; route exceptions | 02:25, 03:00, 03:35, 04:10 |
NachtStern night buses follow daytime routes, with Südtiroler Platz outside Salzburg Hauptbahnhof a useful boarding node. Bustaxi is a shared taxi following a fixed route, not an individually booked cab. No advance Bustaxi booking is needed: board the route-marked vehicle at Makartplatz or Ferdinand-Hanusch-Platz and tell the driver your alighting bus stop.
Michael Burgholzer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Local trains
| Line | Board → alight | Direction | Area served | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S3 | Salzburg Hauptbahnhof → Salzburg Aigen | Golling-Abtenau | Aigen, south-east Salzburg | about 9 minutes |
Salzburg Aigen station puts you in a residential neighbourhood away from the Old Town. From Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, take S3 towards Golling-Abtenau for this direct journey. The station is your arrival point, rather than the cathedral quarter. Choose an entitlement that covers S3 before boarding, using the ticket rules below.
Eweht · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edited
Taxis and shared e-bikes
Licensed taxis
- Ranks
- City centre; airport; shopping malls
- Booking
- Taxi 8111: +43 662 8111; Das Salzburger Taxi app; online
- Old Town access
- Permitted signed routes and bollard controls only
Licensed taxis can take you to permitted Old Town drop-offs, not every pedestrian street. Allow roughly €15–€30 for a typical city ride, depending on distance and waiting. Phone and app booking are alternatives to joining a rank.
S-Bike shared e-bikes
S-Bike is Salzburg’s shared pedal-assist bicycle scheme, hired through wegfinder. Download the app before your first ride. Once you start the rental, the bicycle unlocks automatically.
Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Tickets, day passes and guest travel
| Product | Price / contribution | Validity / coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Adult city single, advance | €2.50; five-pack €12.50 | One-way; uninterrupted transfers |
| Adult city single, aboard eligible services | €3 | One-way; uninterrupted transfers |
| City day ticket | — | 24 hours from validation; finish final trip before expiry |
| Guest Mobility Ticket | €0.50/person/night; €1.10 from 1 May 2027 | Stay, including arrival/departure; province-wide public transport |
| Salzburg Card | — | 24, 48 or 72 hours from first use; selected transport |
| Bustaxi | €4.50/person | Flat fare, any distance |
| S-Bike standard | €3 first 30 minutes; €3 each further 30 minutes | Timed hire |
| S-Bike with KlimaTicket Salzburg/Austria | First 30 minutes free; €1.50 each further 30 minutes | Per ride; valid KlimaTicket required |
You can buy a city day ticket. Public transport is not universally free. Ordinary city tickets cover the city limits, including Salzburg Airport without a supplement. They cover city buses, trolleybuses and Salzburger Lokalbahn, but not other trains.
The Guest Mobility Ticket is for all overnight guests in the Province of Salzburg. Accommodation issues it at check-in as a digital ticket, printable PDF or wallet pass, and pre-check-in can enable advance issuance for arrival. Its contribution applies from age 15 to guests liable for accommodation tax, in addition to that tax. Province-wide coverage includes city and regional buses, S-Bahn, regional and long-distance trains, and on-demand public transport.
The Salzburg Card is a sightseeing product, not the ordinary day ticket. Transport includes trolleybuses 1–14, Albus 20–28, 31, 34–36 and 151, S1 to Acharting, selected Postbus routes, the fortress funicular and Untersberg cable car. It excludes ÖBB S-Bahn and long-distance trains.
Advance singles are sold only in packs, not at machines, online or in apps. Aboard sales apply only to Salzburger Lokalbahn, regional buses and Albus 24, 35, 151, 181 and 840. Once validated, a single is personal and cannot be passed to another traveller.
Buying tickets and boarding
A bank card is not a tap-on bus ticket. You can pay by bank card at ticket machines, but you still need a valid travel document. If a Guest Mobility Ticket code scans as invalid, buy a ticket before travelling.
Do
- Buy the appropriate ticket before boarding.
- Stamp advance paper tickets in the vehicle on your first journey, before travelling.
- Present the Guest Mobility Ticket code for inspection.
- With 2GO, check in at a nearby stop before boarding; stay checked in through changes; check out after alighting at your final stop.
Don’t
- Treat bank-card payment as travel entitlement.
- Present only an accommodation guest card.
- Check in to 2GO during the journey or just before inspection.
- Board with a digital ticket you cannot display.
Salzburg Verkehr 2GO needs precise location, GPS, movement/fitness permissions and internet access to use and display the ticket. On iOS, allow location access at all times. Keep mobile data available throughout the journey.
Buy the digital Salzburg Card online for immediate smartphone use without pre-activation. Physical cards are sold at hotel receptions, tourist offices, ticket bureaus and the airport. Show the card on inspection, but it does not need registration on the bus.
Eweht · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Sources & fact-checking
Checks against the sources below cover: services and fares and charges.
- LTT_STA26 — Obus 2 timetable
- Obus 10 special timetable, Neutor closure
- Salzburg Airport Plan
- Obus 2: Obergnigl – Zentrum – Hauptbahnhof – Airport – Walserfeld
- Salzburg Airport
- Salzburger Verkehrsverbund (operational implementation); Lime GmbH (operator) — service
- Tourismus Salzburg GmbH — service
- City of Salzburg — service
- Salzburg Card
- Salzburg AG — service
- Salzburg Transport Association (Salzburger Verkehrsverbund) — service
- Salzburg Verkehr — service
- Tarifbestimmungen für den Salzburger Verkehrsverbund, Tarifjahr 2026
- 2GO-App
- General Terms and Conditions – Salzburger Verkehrsverbund GmbH
- Nightbus – Salzburger Verkehrsverbund GmbH
- Salzburg AG (Salzburg Linien) — service
- Salzburg AG für Energie, Verkehr & Telekommunikation — service
- Salzburg Guest Mobility Ticket : Arrival : salzburg.info
- Guest Mobility Ticket – Salzburger Verkehrsverbund GmbH
- Salzburg Card — service
- FAQs about the Salzburg Card
- Single Ride Ticket — Salzburg Verkehr verbindet
- TSG Tourismus Salzburg GmbH — fares and charges
- Dayticket
- SVV city and regional network map
- Nacht-S-Bahn, Nachtbus, NachtExpress, NachtStern & BusTaxi
