How to get to Hellbrunn from Salzburg

Bus 25

Bus 25 starts at the main station, calls at Mirabellplatz and runs along the old-town side of the river at Rudolfskai before heading south; the stop is “Schloss Hellbrunn” (the next one, “Hellbrunn Zoo”, also works). About 25 minutes from the station, about 24 from the centre. The Salzburg Card covers it, once the online voucher has been exchanged for the card at a Tourist Information office; on the unexchanged voucher the bus is not covered and there is a fine risk. The card, and the exchange step.

By bicycle down Hellbrunner Allee

The old princely avenue is the pleasant way to arrive, if the weather allows. Hellbrunner Allee is a straight, tree-lined gravel road of about five kilometres from the Nonntal (by the Unipark) to the palace gates, roughly half an hour at a sightseeing pace.

By car

There is a car park at the palace. It charges a few euros: a rate for the first two hours, a smaller one for each further hour, and a daily maximum. The figures are on the palace’s own hours-and-prices page and in the tariff table on the tickets page. The zoo shares the grounds and the car park.

By boat

The boat trip is the third way and the only one that includes the ticket. It boards at the old-town dock on Franz-Josef-Kai (the Marco-Feingold footbridge, boarding zone 2; the listing asks for ten minutes early), spends about 30 minutes on the Salzach to the Hellbrunn dock, and finishes the last stretch on a 1963 London-style double-decker bus in about ten minutes. Then priority entry to the trick fountains, the palace with the audio guide, and the bus back to the old town. Peter (Austria): “the bus ride on the old English double-decker bus was extraordinary, and Hellbrunn Palace is always worth a visit.” Two honest notes from the listing: at low water or in bad weather the whole trip may run by bus with no price reduction, and the ramp from boat to bus is steep, so wheelchairs are accommodated only to a limited extent. The boat trip, reviewed.

From the airport

Salzburg airport is on the west side of the city and Hellbrunn on the south, so a taxi is the direct route; no journey time is printed here because none has been verified.

When the boat or the card is the easier answer

For a half day with nothing to organise, the boat trip: one booking, the river, the bus, the ticket and priority entry, and back in the old town in two and a half hours. For two or three days in the city, the Salzburg Card: it covers the Hellbrunn admission, bus 25 there and back, the fortress, Mozart’s birthplace and the zoo next door, and reviewers say it pays for itself with two or three sights. Paola (Italy): “We spent a day in Salzburg and didn’t spend a penny on public transport or to visit the main museums, including the fortress, Hellbrunn Palace, and a one-hour trip on the Salzach River.” All five products, sorted by situation.

Book the boat trip that does the travelling

Old-town dock, the Salzach, the vintage double-decker, priority entry to the fountains and the palace, and the bus back. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Frequently asked questions