ALL SALZ OF FUN

The hills are alive... with 58 turnips, 120,000 painted eggs and 400-year-old trick fountains.

I went to swanky Salzburg in late spring expecting a surfeit of Julie Andrews and The Sound Of Music.

Instead I found a remarkably diverse destination that pretty much - and very pretty it is too - ticked all the boxes for a weekend city break. It's just so instantly easy to like.

A tourist trap it most certainly is, with its little alleys off Getreidegasse lined with souvenir shops, but perhaps not quite the complete Tourist von Trapp I'd expected.

However, the sound of the music of a certain Herr W.A. Mozart is just a tad prevalent and there's a large statue of Salzburg's most famous son in the main square.

The classy, history-drenched and very walkable Austrian city is dominated by the medieval Festung Hohensalzburg (£8.80 entry).

It's an ideal place to start exploring the city and is reached by either a stiff 15-minute uphill walk or a zippy funicular railway, which is included in the admission price.

And this is where we find our turnips.

Most castles have symbols of war-like things such as dragons, swords or shields, but thanks to ruling Prince-Bishop von Keutschach being from a family of wealthy turnip farmers, the Festung is festooned with reliefs of 58 root vegetables, though they're a bit high up and darn tricky to photograph.

The turnip-clad castle was never conquered (not even by the Swedes!) but was bagged without a fight by Napoleon when he was merrily hoovering up central Europe.

There's an excellent tour of the torture chamber and tower, which has superb views across the city to the Alps.

Don't miss the small Marionette Museum near the entrance. Fascinating and a little creepy. Or the chastity belt in the main museum. Ouch.

After returning to my hotel for a coffee - the marvellously and luxuriously Austrian Goldener Hirsch on the city's prime street Getreidegasse - the next port of call shifted the action forward several centuries.

I hadn't expected much from the Museum Of Modern Art, set high on the Monchsberg cliffs above the city, but the four floors of exhibits, including Van Goghs and Picassos, were compelling. Plus there's a nice cafe at the top floor with a splendid view of the castle (£6.70 entry).

Nearby is the Natural History Museum (£5 entry), an excellent rainy day diversion.

After an excellent pizza in the Stella restaurant near the Goldener Hirsch and a rather good glass of Austrian white wine in the hotel bar - the guests who have stayed here are seriously A-list, Prince Charles and Arnold Schwarzenegger, for starters - an early night was in order as tomorrow there's an early alarm call.

A half-hour ride on the 25 bus - the city has an excellent network - brings me to Untersberg, which stands a lofty 6,114ft and could probably be considered "Salzburg's mountain".

The cable-car ride up (£15.90 return) is excellent and it's something of a surprise to find there's a blizzard at the summit. It's the last day of May, it's -2C and I could make a snowman if I wanted to. Or I could head to the nearby restaurant for a warming coffee. Hot drink wins hands -down.

The 25 bus goes past Hellbrunn Palace and Salzburg Zoo.

Helbrunn is pretty much unmissable - the baroque building is pleasant and the music room is an extraordinary echo chamber .

However, it's the 17th-century trick fountains. that are the chief draw. They are set in attractive gardens and one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. Water spouting from statues, the floor, wall, deer antlers and goodness knows where. Plus a "floating" golden crown. Don't miss it - and expect to get wet. Bonkers but brilliant. (£7.90 entry including a guided tour of the fountains.).

Immediately by Hellbrunn is the zoo, set along a rugged cliff.

I'm not a great fan of zoos but as they go this one was OK as the animals had some half-decent space to roam, there's a nice cafe and you get up close and personal with a tiger (entry £7.50).

Back in the city the wet weather - endless rain, to be honest - meant a planned boat trip on the River Salzach had to be cancelled as it was flowing too fiercely.