The Sound of Music gazebo at Hellbrunn
Going without a car?The boat trip includes the palace ticket, the Salzburg Card covers admission and the bus, and every option cancels free up to 24 hours before. Reserve the date now, decide later.
Check availabilityWhat was filmed where
The gazebo has two scenes, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and “Something Good”. The exteriors were shot with the pavilion standing in the grounds of Schloss Leopoldskron, on the other side of Salzburg. The interiors, the bench-hopping and the dancing, were shot on a larger set built at the Fox studios in Los Angeles. Nothing was filmed at Hellbrunn.
Why it moved, and why it is locked
Visitors went looking for the pavilion at Leopoldskron, and because of that demand it was moved to the park at Hellbrunn, which is public and free; the move is widely reported as 1991. It was locked after visitors hurt themselves re-enacting the bench-hopping scene from the film. You walk round it, photograph it from outside, and hum. The palace it now stands beside.
Finding it
It is in the park near the entrance, a short walk from the bus stop and the car park, and there is nothing to pay: the park is open 06:30–21:00 every day of the year. It is not inside the ticketed trick fountains, so a visitor who wants only the gazebo needs no ticket, and a visitor who has paid for the fountains walks out to it afterwards. The park, and the ticketed part, laid out.
The other Salzburg locations
The film is all over the city and the lakes beyond it: the Mirabell Gardens, Nonnberg Abbey, Schloss Leopoldskron, the Residenzplatz and the Felsenreitschule in Salzburg, and the wedding basilica at Mondsee. Hellbrunn’s gazebo is the one piece that was moved to where visitors could reach it.
Why the tours are the tool
Strung together on foot and by bus those locations are a full day of logistics; the Sound of Music tour does them in four hours with a live guide and a coach. It leaves from Mirabellplatz and stops for photographs at Leopoldskron, the Hellbrunn gazebo and Nonnberg, drives out past St Gilgen to Mondsee for free time and the wedding basilica, and plays the soundtrack on the way; reviewers say the guides get the bus singing. Jan (United Kingdom) found it “interesting to hear the real story of the Trapp family as well as the facts about the filming and locations”. What it does not include is admission to the trick fountains, which are a separate ticket on a separate visit. The full-day version adds Hallstatt and the lakes in ten hours. The two film tours compared.
The tours photograph the gazebo and move on. If the fountains are also on your list, the boat trip from the old town or the Salzburg Card gets you back to Hellbrunn with the ticket included. Tickets and what each product adds.
Book the four-hour Sound of Music tour
Live English guide, coach from Mirabellplatz, photo stops at Leopoldskron, the Hellbrunn gazebo and Nonnberg, free time in Mondsee. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Top ratedSalzburg: Original Sound of Music Tour
Full daySalzburg: Hallstatt and Sound of Music Tour
Frequently asked questions
Was The Sound of Music filmed at Hellbrunn Palace?
No. The gazebo stood at Schloss Leopoldskron during filming and its interiors were a studio set in Los Angeles; it was moved to Hellbrunn afterwards, widely reported as 1991. The tours that visit the real locations.
Can you go inside the Sound of Music gazebo?
No. It is locked, after visitors were hurt copying the bench-hopping scene, and is photographed from outside. It stands in the free park near the entrance, open 06:30–21:00 daily. Park and palace hours.
Does the Sound of Music tour include the trick fountains?
No. Both film tours make a photo stop at the gazebo in the free park; admission to the fountains and the palace is not part of either. The boat trip and the Salzburg Card include it. Which product includes what.
Where was The Sound of Music wedding filmed?
In the wedding basilica at Mondsee, which is why the four-hour tour ends there with free time. Nonnberg Abbey is a photo stop on the way. The tour, reviewed.