It is accessible by either a cable car, or on foot up a reasonably steep set of stairs and footpath. Arriving on foot gives access to the original cabling system that used horsepower to haul all equipment up from the town - if you arrive by cable car, you miss out on this area.

You will need a couple of hours to really experience all that the Fortress has to offer. There are magnificent views of Salzburg from several eating areas and restaurants, and two historical exhibitions in the Regiment and Marionette Museums.

An audio guide gives excellent explanations of all areas within the Fortress, as you walk through some magnificently ornate rooms.

After many stops around the old town, my brother and I finally made it to the base of the hill and looked around for our options to get up. There were two: (1) climb the hill or (2) take the funicular up the hill. My brother was rather excited to take the funicular, since we had seen so many examples of them at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The price seemed exceptionally high for a single ride up--about €5! I asked if it included entry to the fortress, and the man behind the counter shook his head. Oh, well, there would be no other potential funicular trips, so I paid up. Later, we learned that entry to the courtyards of the fortress alone was €3.60, so the €5 ride up to the courtyards seemed okay.

The funicular was already crowded when we entered, and we, along with another man, decided to wait for the next one. This was not going down well with the funicular operator, who grunted at us to squish in. So squish in we did... but not happily! The ride itself was also unmemorable--it took less than a minute to reach the top! The views from the top were gorgeous, though. I'd highly recommend coughing up the minimum €3.60 to get up here. There is a small church, a school. As it was starting to get dark, we decided not to visit the museum this time--this would have given us entry to the residences of the Archbishops and a musuem about the history of the fortress--but at an extra cost.

In one of the courtyards, there is a painted bull beside a plaque telling its story. The people of Salzburg are known as bull-washers, and this dates back to the 16th century, when the royal citizens were holed up in the fortress during the War of the Farmers. The had only one bull, but each day, they would paint it differently and lead it around so the enemy would see it. This led the enemy to believe that they had enough food up there to last a long siege! Of course, the enemy left, the bull was washed in the river, and the citizens got their nickname.

We decided to walk down, and it's a steep and winding road. I definitely suggest walking either up or down this trail once, as there's more of the fortress to be seen than on the quick zip up/down on the funicular. We walked in the snow, however, and I recommend good shoes and a slow pace!

It was built in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard as a refuge in the midst of a controversy between the pope and the king as to who had the right to appoint bishops. The fortifications were expanded in the early 12th century."

It can be visited today and is reached either by a funicular railway, built in 1892, or a hard slog up the hill and has tremendous views from its walls of the city beneath on one side and the Alps on the other three. There are winding passages and ornate state rooms, including the Golden Room and Golden Hall together with a museum of medieval torture." http://stronghold.heavengames.com/history/cw/cw48

Visitors to the castle can either take the funicular railway, which was built in 1892 or the hard slog up the hill. The castle has awe-inspiring views of the city of Salzburg in one direction and the Alps in the other. It really is worth the effort to get to the top!

Inside the fortress are amazingly preserved stately rooms of the price-archbishops that lived here before they moved on to the Residenz. The 15th- and 16th-century Peasants War and Hungarian Wars saw the various archbishops take refuge behind the battlements of the fortress, which ultimately required the fortress to be expanding for extra protection. Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach was largely responsible for the renovations (that included bastions for cannons and arms depots) and which give the fortress its shape today. Check out the Golden Hall and the Golden Chamber, which have fantastic blue and gold coffered ceilings, gothic woodwork, ornamental paintings, and gilded tracery. The Burg-museum has a fine collection of medieval art and instruments of torture while the Rainer Museum has awesome weaponry and armour exhibits.

Even if you’re not into Castles or the like this fortress is worth visiting if only for the superb views you get from the terrace at the top. The best positions are the Reck Watchtower which offers never ending views over the snow capped Southern Alps while out the other side the Kuenberg bastion has views sweeping over the old town and its timeless architecture. You can wonder around the fortress grounds on your own or take a guided tour (45 minutes long – Fortress + Rainer Museum €3) which provides access to parts of the fortress not open to the public.

Getting up to the fortress can be easy via a funicular or you can trudge up the inclined zigzag pathway on foot. After we did the mighty walk with hangovers I now recommend the funicular. Built back in 1892 the "Festungsbahn" leaves from Festungsgasse, which is just behind the cathedral along Kapitelplatz. A round trip including funicular and access to the grounds costs about €5.50 for adults or €8 if you want the guided tour as well. There is a café and restaurant inside the fortress as well offering food, drinks and snacks. You may see masterpieces created in front of you as artists from around the world congregate here for the International Summer Academy. Music is regularly played from within the fortress as well with Mozart and Haydn obviously the most popular styles.