Underground Salt Mines Tour

Walking from Salzburg to the German border in 7000 year-old mine-shafts is not something you envision doing on your vacation to Salzburg.

A visit to one of the oldest salt mines in the world, though, has you doing just that: Part intriguing adventure, part cultural experience, a tour of the Salzwelten Salzburg starts with a small train ride that takes you deep into the mountain. A fun ride down long, polished, wooden slides leads to where the salt was mined.

The environment down here is damp, the air tastes salty, and the tunnel walls are slick with moisture. You wonder about the lives of the miners who used to work here over the millennia, and there are great exhibits along the way to satisfy your curiosity.

One of the highlights is a boat ride on a spectacular underground lake, lying deep and silent within this ancient mountain. You end the tour with a new-found appreciation of the tasty condiment and a lasting memory of this mystifying underground world.