Checking-in to The Sacher Hotel, Salzburg

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From Sacher With Love: Austria off season is one of Europe's best kept secrets, finds Sophie Goodwin. She visits Salzburg for the first time, and checks-in to a real Salzburg icon - the Sacher Hotel, built in the 1860s by Carl Freiherr von Schwarz.

BY SOPHIE GOODWIN | CABANA TRAVEL | 14 OCTOBER 2024

Hotel Sacher, Salzburg, © Heldentheater Siegl & Urschler OG.

The Hotel Sacher in Vienna is second to none, so a trip to their second holding in Salzburg was top of my mind when planning a trip to the city. Built in the 1860s by Carl Freiherr von Schwarz in the founding epoch architectural style, Hotel Sacher is artfully managed today by charming co-owners Alexandra Winkler and her brother, Georg Gürtler. A true aesthete, Alexandra personally designed each of the 110 rooms with French interior designer, Pierre-Yves Rochon.

Full of old-fashioned family values, offset with modern flair, the hotel is perfectly positioned for guests attending the infamous Salzburg Festival, created over a century ago and running for a period of six weeks during July and August. At this time the city adopts a new lease of life, with energetic bursts of traditional Austrian glamour. Opera goers take the huge range of performances very seriously, buying tickets months in advance, attending concerts in full regalia: from lederhosen to black and white tie. There is a reassuring nostalgia to proceedings, showing Mozart and contemporary work, with the Baroque old city forming a beautiful backdrop.

The Sacher is ideally stationed on the banks of the Salzach river, with views of the Hohensalzburg fortress and the Salzburg Cathedral. We were woken up, The Sound of Music style, by peeling church bells every morning. In-house restaurant, Zirbekzimmer, remains unchanged since opening in 1866, serving Austrian classics with a twist: home cured salmon, wild garlic chanterelles, hand-made linguine and Atlantic turbot with caviar, all courtesy of epic chef in residence Michael Gahleitner.

There are a host of tables on their cosy riverside terrace where we devoured the breakfast of champions - the original Sacher-Torte served with a pot of whipped cream. An iconic, dense chocolate cake which remains hand-made today, the recipe has been passed down since 1832 and kept top secret, sold worldwide.

The Sacher Bar, next to the restaurant, has the best cocktail menu in the city. Festival attendees congregate for ice cold martinis and club sandwiches pre and post performances in the dimly-lit room punctuated with velvet and gilt framed oil paintings. Reassuringly old-school, master barman, Andreas Portz, takes his job very seriously, updating his creations continually whilst honing the classics.

Schloss Aigen in Gasthof. 

Salzburg cuisine is excellent. Next door to the Sacher is the historic Café Bazar for more traditional fare: think toast with gouda cheese, clear soup with semolina dumplings, and homemade apple and curd cheese strudels. Marlene Dietrich, Max Reinhardt and founder of the Salzburg Festival, Hugo von Hoffmannsthal, are among the cherished guest alumni. It feels about as Austrian as you can get.

Schloss Aigen in Gasthof, an hour's walk from the Sacher if you're in the mood, is an exceptional discovery. The menu is reassuringly on-point, lots of Austrian favorites, like wiener schnitzel and sauerkraut, locally sourced organic beef, served with finesse on simple white tables and chairs dotted around a garden terrace beneath sweet chestnut trees. Found in a castle and next to a church, it is pretty as a picture. There is a smart, and surprising, vending machine at the entrance, dishing out small bottles of champagne, local meat, cheese and breadsticks.

Mirabell Palace is also a must-see. Built in 1606 by Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau for his mistress Salome Alt and their 15 children, the Mozart family historically performed for him in the infamous Marble Room. Formerly the banqueting hall with opulent stucco and ceiling frescos, it is flanked by the angels staircase created by Austrian sculptor Georg Raphale Donner. The gardens are breathtaking too, and where The Sound of Music was famously filmed no less.

Rites of passage include a trip to Mozart’s Birthplace - 1756 in the Hagenauer Haus, No.9 Getreidegasse, turned into a museum in 1880 - and Mozart’s Residence on the Makartplatz Square, showcasing letters, portraits and historical instruments including his own violin and clavichord. The Museum der Moderne Salzburg collects and displays graphic art and photography from the 20th and 21st centuries with unrivalled views from its prime position in the cliffs of the Mönchsberg.

We also took a trip to lake Wolfgang, riding on a slow and romantic old steam train, Schafbergbahn, to the best vantage point from Sankt Wolfgang im Salzkammergut up to the Schafberg. Schnaps or a light beer at Weisse Rössl terrace next to the lake in the Salzkammergut is another rite of passage, before jumping on one of the very smart ferries and heading back towards the unbeatable Sacher world.

Wolfgangsee © Hotel Sacher, Salzburg.