Mondsee

Mondsee is a market town on the northern edge of the Salzkammergut lake district, 45 minutes by bus from Salzburg, best known for the yellow Basilica of St. Michael that appears in the Sound of Music wedding scene. The church interior is more impressive than its film appearance suggests: a Baroque nave with ceiling frescoes and side altars in a building dating to a Benedictine monastery founded in 748. The Mondsee itself is one of the warmest swimming lakes in the region, reaching 26°C in summer. The town is calmer and more affordable than Hallstatt or Sankt Wolfgang, and it works well as a 1-2 night family base for the Salzkammergut with Salzburg city easily reachable for a day trip. The Museum Mondseeland, housed in the former monastery buildings, covers the Neolithic Mondsee culture whose pile-dwelling remains were discovered in the lake.