The Salzburg Card at Hellbrunn Palace
What the card covers
Included, per the listing
- Free one-time entry to Hellbrunn Palace & Trick Fountains
- Unlimited public transport in the city (bus 25 to Hellbrunn included)
- Hohensalzburg Fortress all-inclusive ticket and funicular
- Mozart's Birthplace and Residence, DomQuartier, Haus der Natur, Salzburg Zoo, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg Museum
- Salzach river boat (Tour I), Untersberg cable car, Moenchsberg lift, open-air museum
Not included, per the listing
- Anything not on the list; discounts only on concerts, hop-on hop-off bus (-20%), guided walking tours (-20%), salt mines (-10%)
Hellbrunn is one line on that list, and the line says one-time entry: the fountains, the palace exhibition and the folk museum on one day, the same as the ticket sold at the entrance. Salzburg Zoo, next door in the palace grounds and a five-minute walk from the palace, is on the list too, so the card turns Hellbrunn into a full day for a family. The discounts, at ten to twenty percent, are for concerts, the hop-on bus, walking tours and the salt mines.
The exchange step, in plain words
What you buy online is a voucher, not the card. You exchange it in person at a Tourist Information office: Mozartplatz, open daily from 09:00 to 18:00 from April to October, or the main station, open daily from 08:30 to 18:00 from June to September. Until it is exchanged it is not valid on the buses, and riding on the unexchanged voucher risks a fine. A mobile voucher needs a signature. The listing gives no exchange hours for the winter months, when the fountains are closed anyway. Bernd, from Austria: “A small drawback is that the card does not work online right away, but must first be picked up at the tourist information office.” That is the one recurring complaint in the ratings, and it is a ten-minute errand on the way to the bus. The full review.
Exchange the voucher before you board bus 25, not after. Mozartplatz is in the old town, a short walk from the Rudolfskai stop the bus leaves from, so the errand and the bus are the same outing.
24, 48 or 72 hours
The card runs from first use. The 24-hour version is around thirty-five euros; the listing sells the 48 and 72-hour versions at higher prices. Hellbrunn is a half day, about three hours door to door from the old town by bus including the park, so it sits inside a 24-hour card with the fortress in the same day or a 48-hour card with the old town on day one and Hellbrunn the next morning; the two-day shape is written out on its own page. Russell, from the United States: “I purchased the three day pass and it easily paid for itself.”
When it pays off
The ratings agree on the threshold. Amaresh, from Canada: “You can get complete value with 2 sight seeing.” Paola, from 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.” Rainer, from Canada: “If you are planning on entering a number of sites, museums, etc and using public transportation, this card is excellent value.” Russell adds the other thing the card does: “You often don’t have to wait in line for a ticket and can simply enter through a turnstile / security gate.” If Hellbrunn is the only thing on your list, the boat trip includes the ticket in a half day and needs no exchange; what the ticket buys and which products include it.
Using the card at Hellbrunn
Bus 25 leaves the main station, calls at Mirabellplatz and the old town at Rudolfskai, and reaches the stop “Schloss Hellbrunn” in about 25 minutes; the card covers it both ways, and the getting-there page has the other routes. At the entrance the card is your one-time entry. The fountains open at 09:30 daily from 28 March to 1 November, close between 17:30 and 19:00 depending on the month, and admit until an hour before closing; the hours, month by month. Give the fountains about 50 minutes and the palace about 30, and bring a light layer: you will catch at least a few drops. The zoo next door is on the card too.
Best valueAdmission includedSalzburg Card: Free Admission and Free Rides
Boat & busTicket includedSalzburg: Boat Ride to Hellbrunn and Palace Visit
The card and the boat trip are the two products that include Hellbrunn admission; all five, sorted by situation, are on the tours page.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Salzburg Card include the Hellbrunn trick fountains?
Yes. The listing’s inclusion list reads “free one-time entry to Hellbrunn Palace & Trick Fountains”: the fountains, the palace exhibition and the folk museum on one day, the same as the ticket sold at the entrance. Bus 25 to the palace is covered as city public transport.
Where do I pick up the Salzburg Card?
At a Tourist Information office, in person, with the voucher you bought online: Mozartplatz, daily 09:00 to 18:00 from April to October, or the main station, daily 08:30 to 18:00 from June to September. The voucher is not valid on the buses until it is exchanged, and a mobile voucher needs a signature.
Is the Salzburg Card worth it for Hellbrunn alone?
Reviewers say the card pays for itself with two or three sights, and Hellbrunn plus the bus there is one. Add the fortress with its funicular, or the zoo next door to the palace, and you are at the threshold they describe. For Hellbrunn alone in a half day, the boat trip includes the ticket and needs no exchange; the five products compared.
How long does Hellbrunn take with the card?
As long as you like inside the hours: about 50 minutes for the fountains with the audio guide, about 30 for the palace exhibition, the folk museum and the free park on top, and the zoo next door if the children want it. About three hours door to door from the old town by bus is a fair half day. How long each part takes, and how wet you will get.