Photo by jamieca

While a visit to Stockholm’s Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) requires a ticket, the palace’s guards put on a delightful daily floor show that won’t cost you a krona!

The palace is located in the epicenter of Stockholm, perched above the charming island of Gamla Stan. The fact that the royal family no longer resides here shouldn’t dissuade you from visiting, as there are royal apartments, a royal armory, and a museum of antiquities to discover. (The first family lives on another island — Drottningholm, which you may also visit.) These museums, however, are not free.

Stockholm’s Changing of the Guards

The Hogvakten, or “Royal Guards,” are stationed in the palace and feature “Stockholm’s finest boys” (according to Stockholm’s office of tourism). The guard, part of the Swedish Armed Forces, is comprised of 30,000 soldiers. Tourists are invited to watch the daily ritual in front of the palace as one squad of 20 hands over their guardianship to the next squad.

During the summer, the spectacle begins at the Army Museum (Armemuseum, Riddargatan), from which the new squad takes off 30 minutes prior to the palace ceremony. The guards march in snazzy blue uniforms and tight formation to the Royal Palace, often accompanied by a military band. Upon arrival at the palace, they launch into a 35-minute display of precision marching, flag waving, and all-business attitudes.

Hours

The Changing of the Guard takes place every day at the Royal Palace. Monday - Saturday, 12:15. Sunday 1:15. (The parade, with band, occurs only during the summer months.)

More information: Stockholmtown (the city’s official website) and the Royal Palace website.

See also: our recommended budget hotels in Stockholm.

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No trip to Salzburg is complete without at least a passing nod to “The Sound of Music,” the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical set in the city. The movie version, shot six years later, starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and included many scenes shot in Salzburg.

Not surprisingly, the city’s tourism industry doesn’t shy away from a little “Do-Re-Mi.” Movie-related reminders are available throughout the city (on chocolate and marzipan), a marionette show packs ‘em in, and of course, more than one bus tour will shuttle you from sight to sight.

These “Sound of Music” bus tours are popular with the tourist set, as they offer audio commentary, an easy ride, and lots of photo-ops. The bus is especially convenient for reaching those locales outside the city, such as the lovely St. Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang, the rolling hills behind the opening credits. These tours can get pricy. Panorama Tours offers the four-hour “Original Sound of Music Tour” for €37 for adults ($53) and €18 for children ($26).

Do it yourself Sound of Music tour

However, you don’t need to take a bus tour to visit many of the locations used in the film.

The website Visit Salzburg offers a “do it yourself” Sound of Music tour, with background information on sights used in the making of the movie. Most of the locations listed are in central Salzburg, and many can be visited for free.

Their free walking tour includes the Nonnberg Nunnery (where the nuns sing “Maria”), Mirabell Castle and Mirabell Gardens (the place where Maria and the children sing “Do-Re-Mi”), and the Felsenreitschule and Festival Halls (the stage where the Trapps perform during the Salzburg Festival). For more information, check out Visit Salzburg’s website.

Salzburg’s tourism office offers additional “Sound of Music” locations on their website, Salzburg.info. Sights here include St. Peter’s Cemetery and Leopoldskron Palace. (Read the whole tour here.)

Also see: Our reviews of cheap hotels in Salzburg.

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