Salzburg is that rare thing, a tiny city with world-class standards in nearly everything the discerning visitor – and resident – would want. It is miraculous that such charm, and such grandeur, and, above all, such unparalleled weight of musical achievement should be concentrated in so small a place.

A virtually independent city-state from its origins in the early Middle Ages until its absorption into the Habsburg Empire in the nineteenth century, Salzburg’s days of glory had all but slipped into the past by the time Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born there. He became the unwitting instigator, post-mortem, of Salzburg’s transformation from minor ecclesiastical seat to the world’s foremost city of music festivals. There are five of them. The Mozartwoche (Mozart Week) held in January every year celebrates Salzburg’s most famous son with musicians famed worldwide for their Mozart interpretations.

Our tour allows the concerts to be interspersed with a gentle programme of walks and an excursion to some of the finest art and architecture and scenic beauty in the region. But plenty of free time is also allowed for individual exploration of the city, or just for relaxing to prepare for the next concert.

The city has several museums - a recent addition is a Museum of Contemporary Art in a cliff-top location overlooking the city, and the city’s principal museum, the Carolino Augusteum, has at last been transferred to a part of the Archbishop’s palace. Also, relatively recent is the complete refurbishment of the Kleines Festspielhaus, one of the smaller auditoria, now renamed the Haus für Mozart.

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