What to see in 2025

In Salzburg, Austria last spring, I skipped around the fountain outside Mirabell Palace.

Others did too.

Some 60 years earlier, Maria and the von Trapp children danced around the palace’s Pegasus Fountain, singing “Do-Re-Mi,” one of most famous songs from “The Sound of Music.”

The movie recounts the story of the von Trapp family, and the novice nun Maria who serves as governess of the seven children, and later (spoiler alert) marries their father only to have to flee the Nazi regime following the annexation of Austria.

The film, starring Julie Andrews, was released in March 1965. To commemorate the movie’s 60th anniversary, the city is celebrating with themed tours and events throughout the year.

Starting Feb. 6, the Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron (Leopoldskron Palace) will host an exhibition of items relating to the real von Trapp Family, as well as memorabilia and photos from the movie.

A new audio guide app, with stories of the filming told by Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich von Trapp in the movie, will guide visitors along a trail around the town of Werfen, where the picnic scene was filmed.

Throughout the year, the Salzburg Marionette theater will channel “The Lonely Goatherd,“ as performed by the children in the film, by putting on special shows.

If you love the dirndl dresses the women wore in the film, the Salzburger Heimatwerk, a traditional store at Residenzplatz 9, is designing a special anniversary outfit celebrating the film and will host a one-time exhibition.

On Oct. 23, an English-speaking symposium is scheduled to discuss the relevance and importance of “The Sound of Music” to Salzburg today, according to SalzburgerLand, the city’s tourism marketing organization. At the Felsenreitschule theater, the panel will include original cast members. In the evening, there will be a themed gala with original music and performances, and, again, cast members in attendance.

Later in the year, the Salzburg Theatre will perform “The Sound of Music” musical in German with English subtitles. Performances are scheduled on select dates in November and December.

Restaurants, such as the Stiftskulinarium St. Peter — which claims to be Europe’s oldest restaurant — will offer special movie-themed menus, featuring regional specialties.

A little late to the party, “The Sound of Music Museum” is set to open in Salzburg in 2026.

The Mirabell Gardens are one of many filming locations tourists can see in Salzburg. Just past the Pegasus Fountain is the somewhat bizarre Dwarf Garden, with sculptures of 320-year-old mischievous-looking dwarves, which had a cameo appearance in the film.

To follow the film from the start, head up to the ancient Benedictine Nonnberg Abbey dating to 714, where Maria struggled to become a nun. The cloister lies just below the Hohensalzburg Palace which towers over Salzburg. The views are stunning.

Follow Maria’s path from the abbey and enter the Old Town through the arches past the Salzburg Cathedral to the Residenzplatz, where she splashed in the fountain before boarding a bus to go to the von Trapp’s house, outside of Salzburg.

Other locations within Salzburg include the Mozartsteg, the small footbridge Maria and the children cross while singing “My Favorite Things,” the market they visit at Kajetanerplatz, which still hosts a weekly Farmers’ Market every Friday.

One of the locations featured later in the film is the truly stunning Felsenreitschule, the theater where the von Trapps sing during the Salzburg Music Festival, and which is a venue for the annual festival to this day.

After their performance, the family flee into a cemetery. St. Peter’s Abbey is listed as a shooting location in the film, but scenes depicting its picturesque St. Peter’s Cemetery were mostly filmed on a recreated Hollywood set.

For a special treat, stay at the Hotel Sacher Salzburg, where Julie Andrews stayed while filming the movie.

The hill that is alive with music — and which features in the opening scenes of the film — is in Germany, just across the border from Austria. The actual spot is on private land, and the owner is reportedly not keen on tourists. That said, there are public paths which lead along the meadow, and, if you are determined to see it, it is worth following the mountain trail to catch a glimpse.

Easier to reach is the Untersberg, where Maria and the children picnicked, and which offers amazing views over the mountains and across Salzburg. It is often included on “The Sound of Music” tours, but if you want to go it alone, it’s a short 20-minute ride by taxi.

And what about the von Trapp house? The original family villa stands in a secluded park on Traunstrasse 34. Once the real von Trapp’s family’s actual home, it was later turned into a hotel which sadly has since shut down, with the gardens also closed to the public. But you can walk around the outside of the grounds and catch a glimpse of the real Villa Trapp.

In the film, the house was much grander, indeed a palace: The Leopoldskron Palace on the shores of the lake going by the same name. The house is shown in the opening credits and extensively throughout the film.

Remember when Maria and all the children capsized their boat? The grand palace, dating to 1736, starred together with the Frohnburg Palace (now part of Mozarteum University Salzburg), for exterior and interior shots. And, as an added bonus, the Leopoldskron Palace has been turned into a luxury hotel, so guests might recognize some of interior nooks from the film.

Incidentally, the original white music gazebo which stars frequent in the film was moved to Hellbrunn Palace.

And finally, the wedding venue. Maria and Captain von Trapp tied the knot at the lovely Basilica St. Michael in Mondsee, which translates to Moon Lake. Mondsee is 18 miles from Salzburg, and can be reached by bus line 140 in 40 minutes.

The charming small town is a great location to wrap up your trip and stay a day or two. The lake’s mountain setting is perfect to settle down with “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers,” written by Maria von Trapp.

When the von Trapp family fled war-torn Europe, they settled in Vermont. Today, the farmstead has been expanded and you can stay in the original von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. The hotel whose setting and décor is the next best thing to visiting Austria is also full of the real family’s history.

The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., is only one of many theaters in the U.S. performing “The Sound of Music” in 2025. The musical starts in September, and goes on tour in December.