Summer Events in Salzburg 2025: Music Festivals, Outdoor Cinema, and more
Best Things to do in Salzburg Summer 2025
Salzburg shines in summer with a perfect blend of music, culture, and alpine majesty. From world-renowned festivals to open-air concerts and traditional Austrian celebrations, the city comes alive under the brilliant summertime sun. Read on for Insight Cities’ top recommendations for events and things to do in Salzburg this summer.
Take a tour with Insight Cities
Start off your Salzburg summer trip with Insight Cities’ Salzburg introduction tour. Our knowledgeable and personable guide will show you around the city of Mozart, including his own birthplace and residence, along with the great Baroque squares where the archbishops presided, bringing the stories embedded in this charming medieval Burgher town to life. Summer is our busiest season, so contact us and book your tour today!
Festivals
Whitsun Festival – June 6–9, 2025
As a bridge between the Easter and Salzburg Summer Festivals, the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, held each year around Pentecost, can help satiate your appetite for classical music and performances in Salzburg. This year celebrates Venetian music, with highlights including a performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers for the Blessed Virgin and La Traviata, and John Neumeier’s ballet Death in Venice, based on the novella by German author Thomas Mann.
Sommerszene Salzburg – June 10 to 21, 2025
A dynamic festival for contemporary performing arts, Sommerszene brings cutting-edge dance, theater, and multimedia productions to Salzburg. International artists push creative boundaries, offering thought-provoking performances in unique venues. This festival is well worth checking out for experimental and avant-garde art lovers. The program will be announced on May 7, so stay tuned!
Salzburg Summer Festival – July 18 to August 31, 2025
One of the world’s most prestigious performance festivals, the Salzburg Summer Festival spotlights top Classical acts, including opera, drama, and concerts. Masterpieces by Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner take place in historic venues like the Großes Festspielhaus and the Summer Riding School. The festival also hosts street performances and open-air concerts, making Salzburg a cultural epicenter each summer. With a plethora of performances of all types, the Salzburg Summer Festival is one of the top things to do in Salzburg in the summer. This year, the Vienna Philharmonic will give five performances around the theme of Fate, with a diverse program of composers celebrated. Opera performances include Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth and Vivialdi’s Hotel Metamorphosis.
Music
Salzburg Palace Concerts – various dates, all year round
Throughout the summer, elegant concerts take place in Salzburg’s magnificent Baroque palaces, including Hohensalzburg Fortress, with unique views, and Mirabell Palace, whose Marble Hall is considered one of the most beautiful and historically significant concert halls in Salzburg. Skilled musicians perform works by Classical greats such as Vivaldi, Schubert, and of course, Mozart, in candlelit halls with stunning historic decor. The intimate atmosphere and magnificent Baroque setting make for a transcendent musical experience.
Promenade and Light Fountain Concerts in Mirabell Gardens – Sundays and Wednesday, May through August 2025
As the days grow longer and the weather warms, concerts are brought into the open air, and Mirabell Gardens provide a picturesque and intimate atmosphere for traditional brass band concerts. Every Sunday morning, a brass band performs traditional Austrian folk music at the Mirabell Gardens Promenade, while Wednesday evenings include a light fountain show as the day darkens into night.
Golling Castle Festival (Burgfest Golling) – various dates, June through August 2025
Golling Castle, a medieval castle 30 kilometers south of Salzburg, plays host to a concert series showcasing contemporary artists in a broad variety of genres – from classical to jazz to swing and pop. The intimate setting, combined with candlelit performances, conjures a magical musical experience. This summer’s acts include several renowned singers, a brass band, and an Elvis tribute artist.
Arts & Culture
The Sound of Music at Salzburg Marionette Theater – various dates, May – August 2025
Based on the original Broadway musical, with some inspiration from the film, this marionette adaptation of The Sound of Music is a uniquely Salzburger way to experience the true story of ordinary Austrians that has become a musical-theatre legend across the English-speaking world, and one of the top things to do in Salzburg.
Star Cinema Salzburg at Kapitelplatz – June 20–29, 2025
Salzburg ushers in the early summer nights with an open-air setup in Kapitelplatz, with the Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooking as a backdrop. Austian and international films are screened over 10 days, with special family-friendly evenings, making it a popular event in Salzburg early in the summer.
Salzburg Street Theater (Salzburger Straßentheater) – July 10 to August 4, 2025
A beloved summer tradition, this free open-air theater presents special productions, both contemporary and classic, in Salzburg’s parks for a brief time before moving on to other cities in the region. This year’s featured play is an adaptation of the French comedy Russian Roulette, in which a therapist and his patient spar over whether the patient is, in fact, cured, after the patient declares he no longer needs the therapist’s services. Note that the plays are in German, with some French songs.
One Morning Turns into Eternity: Schoenberg and Mahler double feature – various dates, July and August 2025
As part of the Salzburg Summer Festival, the Summer Riding School hosts several productions, and this Schoenberg/Mahler double header is a top highlight. Arnold Schoenberg’s monodrama Expectation follows a woman who is looking for her lost lover in a forest, with a modern feminist and trauma-informed interpretation. Gustav Mahler’s The Farewell unfolds the story of a woman waiting to say a final good-bye to a dear friend. The works complement each other in their themes of anticipation, fear, and transcendence.
Live in Salzburg Summer Series – June through August, 2025
Featuring concerts, DJs, workshops, and a summer cinema, Live in Salzburg brings activities and events to Salzburg’s parks throughout the city so hardly a day goes by without something to occupy the long and warm summer days.
Exhibitions
Hitler’s Executive – The Austrian Police and National Socialism at Old Town Hall — closes July 25, 2025
In the days leading up to and after the Anschluss, Salzburg police helped enforce and maintain Nazi rule, basing their order and security on surveillance, repression, and terror. They played a role in reporting colleagues and sent many to their deaths – often not being held accountable after the war. This exhibition explores the role Austrian police played in upholding the Nazi regime, as well as a few stories of police members who displayed various perspectives on the regime.
Drindl Meets Hollywood at Salzburger Heimatwerk – Opens July 5, 2025
As the Sound of Music turns 60 this year, this exhibition serves as a preview of the soon-to-come Sound of Music Salzburg Museum. The result of a decades-long collaboration with the Trapp family, this exhibition features objects from the family, including drindls, drawings, and correspondences with Salzburger Heimatwerk. All explore the representation of Austrian culture in Hollywood, with a focus on the famous film.
Want to see all the famous sites from the film on your trip to Salzburg? Our Sound of Music tour takes you through all the top locations in Salzburg – including Mirabell Gardens and Schloss Leopoldskron – and farther afield to see Nonnberg Abbey, the wedding church at Mondsee, and the breathtaking Wolfgangsee. All along the way, your guide will tell the stories not just of the filmmaking, but also of the original story that inspired the musical, and the Austrian history and traditions that informed the telling. Summer is our busiest season, so don’t delay, book with us today!
Family Fun
Salzburger Dult – June 7 to 15, 2025
Each June, a carnival pops up in the Salzburg exhibition grounds, with rides, games, fast food, beer tents and live music. The sounds of children’s laughter and scents of fried treats permeate the air all around, with lively crowds and amiable attendants. With attractions both outdoors and indoors, this funfair is ready for all types of weather.
Hellbrunn Palace Park Trick Fountains and Night Fountain Shows – all summer long
Just a short distance from Salzburg’s center, Hellbrunn Palace Park is 60 hectares of gardens, fields, and ponds, with some interesting architectural sights scattered along the way. An especially unique draw are the playful trick fountains and water automats, which can surprise visitors with hidden water jets and whimsical water-powered displays. Evening shows add enchanting light and music, transforming the palace gardens into a magical spectacle. Kids will especially enjoy playing around with these fountains, with no others like it in the world.
Salzburg Summer Retreats
A short walk or ride outside Old Town, Volksgarten is a spacious park near the Salzach River, with lots of open grassy areas perfect for lounging, playing sports, or holding events. A duck pond with a fountain provides a tranquil atmosphere, while the outdoor pool is a popular spot for locals to cool off, so there are lots of things to do in the summer. All season long the Volksgarten plays host to concerts, theater, outdoor cinema, and other events, and the tables at the outdoor cafe are often full of people savoring food and drink in the summer weather.
For breathtaking city views, hike up Kapuzinerberg, a peaceful green oasis in Salzburg’s heart. The wooded trails lead to a 17th-century monastery and a scenic lookout over the old town and Alps. Deer may be seen feeding and frolicking along the way, and a quiet forest feel puts you far from the sounds of the city.
Just a 30-minute trip from Salzburg center, this small lake boasts scenic mountain surroundings and a filming location from the Sound of Music. Wander the gardens around Leopoldskron Palace and recreate shots of its reflection on the water, or just relax and drink in the scenery away from the city heat. Note that this lake is not for swimming, as it’s part of a protected nature reserve.
Salzachsee
Situated in the north of Salzburg, this swimming lake is one of the largest and most popular among Salzburgers. Take a dip in the fresh blue waters, and relax between swims with a mountain view. you’ll have all the amenities you need for a comfortable afternoon on the water, so just bring the basics for an afternoon in the Salzburg sun.
Looking to explore more of Salzburg’s storied history? Contact us to arrange your tour. We can give you an introduction to Salzburg’s most famous figures and landmarks, take you on a Sound of Music tour to see all the main locations and learn more about the real story behind the film, and see some scenic towns surrounding the city. The summer season is the hottest for tour guides, so don’t wait to get your guide and book today!