Salzburg, Austria

Until 1816, SALZBURG was not Austrian, but an independent city-state ruled by powerful prince-archbishops. An ambitious and cultured bunch, they turned the city into the most Italianate north of the Alps, preserved to this day in the churches, squares and alleyways of the compact Altstadt spread beneath the brooding Hohensalzburg fortress. For many, Salzburg is the quintessential Austria, offering the best of the country's Baroque architecture, subalpine scenery and a musical heritage derived from the city's most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose likeness peers from every box of the ubiquitous chocolate delicacy, the Mozartkugel.