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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Photo by Salsano

Do something in Budapest that will be unforgettable and likely much cheaper than it would be at home—an organized afternoon at the horse races, through Budapest Tours.

For HUF8000 (€32; $43) your own personal guide will welcome you with drinks, introduce you to the history of horse-racing in Hungary and the rules of betting, and show you all the behind the scenes preparations for the race. You will be given some racing tips and two coupons for betting on the filly of your choice. Then you can cheer on your fancy in the race itself.

All in all a winning day, even if your horse isn’t first past the post.

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Photo by Mandy Pearce

The Paris Transportation Authority runs a bike rental service called Roue Libre. It has three locations (Les Halles, Bastille, or Alésia) where bikes can be rented. A four hour rental runs €10, and a whole day costs €10 during the week and €15 on weekends. In addition, there are package prices for weekend or week-long rentals.

Roue Libre locations are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Since April 15, it’s also been possible to rent a biking-specific TAOcity. This pocket-sized computer contains information about 700 sites of Paris, an interactive map, and lists of good bars and restaurants for every neighborhood. It’s available at the Bastille and Les Halles rental locations in English, Spanish, French, or Japanese. It’s a pretty great way to see the whole city for under €20!

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Photo by lylycat

There’s nothing worse than running to catch a tour that has already left without you—unless it’s paying for an unwieldy, uninteresting, or too-pricey tour, of course.

Dubl!n, the official online tourist office for Dublin, has made the frustrations of guided walking tours a thing of the past. Visitors can simply log on and download one of their iWalks for free.

iWalks are podcast audio guides to Dublin that guide the listeners to specific haunts and tell interesting stories along the way. The downloads even come with their own color maps and illustrations.

At present, iWalks exist on a variety of Dublin themes, including Georgian Dublin, The Historic Northside, Castles & Cathedrals, Viking & Medieval Dublin, Temple Bar to the Docklands, Ulysses, Kilmainham, Howth, Dalkey & Dun Laoghaire, and Malahide to Portmarnock.

Just remember to charge up your batteries before you go!

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