Three markets, and time in between
Check in from 16:00, settle into your room or chalet and start with Berchtesgaden. Its Christmas market opens on 20 November, a day after the markets in Salzburg and Hellbrunn. If there’s still daylight, walk up to the Kirchleitn Chapel before returning to the stalls. Allow about an hour for the lantern walk, with more time for the view.
Give Salzburg the next day. Start with the fortress or a museum while they’re open, explore the lanes around Getreidegasse and return to Domplatz and Residenzplatz towards evening. On selected Thursdays and Saturdays, brass players perform from the towers at 18:30.
Salzburg, then Hellbrunn
Start your Salzburg Card in the afternoon and it will still be valid the following morning. Choose Mozart’s Birthplace or the Haus der Natur, then save Hellbrunn for dusk. Walk beyond the stalls into the illuminated palace gardens. Hellbrunn is closed on most Mondays and normally opens at 13:00 on Tuesdays to Fridays.
A day by the lake, an evening in the baths
Make another day a Berchtesgaden day. Take the boat to St Bartholomew on Königssee if conditions allow, or visit the salt mine. Later, your included evening admission to the Watzmann Therme starts at 19:00. Bathe in the saltwater indoors or outside; sauna admission is separate, as are the boat trip and salt mine.
Make the Salzburg Card work for your day
Your 24 hours begin with the first use. Start at 14:00 and the card runs until 13:59 the next day. That can leave time for the fortress one afternoon and a museum the next morning. Each included attraction can be visited once; covered city buses can be used repeatedly during the validity period.
Use the calculator below to choose the sights you’re interested in and compare their usual admission prices. You don’t need to fit everything in. Check opening times before activating the card.
The Untersberg cable car is expected to reopen on 14 December after maintenance. If you choose that trip, check weather and operations, and make sure your card is still valid for the journey down.
Included in the Advent package from four nights when booking directly. Your Card runs for 24 hours from first use, with one entry per attraction. Leave time for travelling between sights and the Christmas market. Child and family prices differ.
A little of the local Advent
On 5 and 6 December, masked Kramperl with bells appear in Berchtesgaden’s market by evening. On Saturday 5 December, St Nicholas and the straw-clad Buttnmandl join a procession from Strub barracks at 14:00. It’s an impressive tradition, but we’d choose another day for a quiet visit with small children.
From 17 to 24 December, the Weihnachtsschützen fire their hand-held saluting guns across the valley at 15:00 each day. There’s tower music, Advent singing and other events too. Our market guides have the dates, so you can choose an evening that suits you.
Weekday afternoons tend to be calmer than Saturdays. Have a look at the craft stalls before dusk and stay as the lights come on. We’re happy to help you work out which market fits which day.
What’s included in your break
For stays of four nights or more, each guest receives a 24-hour Salzburg Card and one evening admission to the Watzmann Therme from 19:00, without sauna. Breakfast every morning and a welcome drink are included too. The shorter Advent package includes the same breakfast, welcome drink and thermal-bath evening, without the Salzburg Card.
These packages are available when you book directly with us for arrivals from 19 November to 20 December 2026, subject to availability. Select your accommodation, dates and guests to see the total and the minimum stay for your choice. Local tourist tax is payable separately.
Before you book
Some markets stay open after our Advent package dates. If you’re travelling later, check accommodation availability and the market calendars separately.
Can we arrive on any day?
Is this available through Booking.com?
Do children under six need a Salzburg Card?
Updated 31 October 2026
