Salzburg owes its name and its wealth to salt, the white gold that was mined in the nearby hills and floated down the Salzach river for centuries. The prince-archbishops who ruled the city used that income to turn it into a baroque stage set, with domes, fountains and palaces crowded below the mighty fortress of Hohensalzburg, which looks down from its rock over the old town. The city is also the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born in 1756 in a narrow house on the Getreidegasse, and every summer the Salzburg Festival fills the squares and churches with music.
As a base for a ride into the Salzkammergut, the lake district to the east, it could hardly be better placed. Within half an hour of leaving the city, the land begins to rise, and the first lakes appear: the Fuschlsee, then the Mondsee with its distinctive twin-towered abbey church, and on to the Wolfgangsee, where the village of St Gilgen is Mozart's mother's birthplace. The roads that link them are smooth, with relaxed curves, glimpses of water between the trees and mountains that rise in the distance, some still streaked with snow into June. The best times are late spring and September, when the crowds have thinned and the light is warm. In summer, the lakeside roads are busy with cars, buses and bikes, so start early.
The city itself is walkable, and an hour of wandering is a good start. The Mirabell Gardens, with their dwarf statues and views toward the fortress, and the cathedral square are classic stops. The film The Sound of Music was shot here in 1964, and coach tours still follow its locations, though locals have rather mixed feelings about its fame. For something local, try Salzburger Nockerl, a huge, fluffy sweet soufflé said to represent the hills around the town, and a coffee in one of the old coffee houses is hard to beat.
Salzburg has more than enough of everything practical, with fuel stations on the ring roads and in the suburbs, repair shops and every kind of lodging. Remember that Austrian motorways require a vignette, which can be bought at petrol stations, and that motorcycles have their own cheaper version. Bring waterproofs, because the region catches a lot of rain, locally known as Schnürlregen, a fine, steady drizzle that can last all day.