Arthotel Blaue Gans

The building that’s home to the Arthotel Blaue Gans has stood in this spot on the Getriedegasse for so many centuries that its precise age is unknown. It’s been a hotel for some time, but only recently has it joined the movement of Arthotels that is currently sweeping the German-speaking world.

The result is charming, rich in contrasts: medieval archways and wooden beams remain, alongside the more modern decorating scheme of whitewashed walls and modernist furnishings atop hardwood floors. Framed artworks hang on the walls throughout the hotel, courtesy of the hotel’s three sponsored contemporary artists.

It’s a fetching enough concept on its own, but the motivation may have been more clever than that: the timing of the Arthotel overhaul seems to have roughly coincided with the opening of Salzburg’s Museum of Modern Art. Presumably the new influx of visiting artists and dealers needed somewhere suitably modern to hang their hats.

This is still the center of old Salzburg, though, just a few blocks from Mozart’s birthplace. And the Blaue Gans is still a fixture on the old town scene, with a relaxed lounge bar and a Mediterranean-style garden restaurant still local favorites. Book the Cavern, the cellar dining room, for a more intimate experience.