Salzburg is set to block access to its city centre for day-trippers arriving by car during July and August, officials in the Austrian tourist hotspot have announced.
Tourists will no longer be permitted to drive into the heart of the city and will instead be directed to large car parks on the outskirts of the city.
Those who park there will pay a flat daily parking fee of €7.50 ($8.54) and receive a day ticket for up to five people to use public transport, a spokesman said.
The measure is a response to regular gridlock in the city centre, famous for its picturesque old town and as the birthplace of Mozart. Thousands of day-trippers routinely descend on Salzburg by car, particularly on rainy days.
"Even if we have 1,000 fewer car journeys a day, that should ease the pressure," city spokesman Karl Schupfer said. He added that day-trippers themselves gained nothing from sitting in traffic instead of strolling around the city.
Car parks, hospitals, businesses and hotels will remain accessible by car.
The restriction includes numerous exemptions for local and nearby residents, and authorities will continue to allow free access to vehicles with number plates from the city of Salzburg and the surrounding Salzburg district.
Also exempt are journeys related to work, business, deliveries, loading, medical care or hotel bookings. The two-month measure could be extended if it proves successful, the city said.
Salzburg is Austria's fourth-largest city, but it only has 150,000 residents, so it doesn't take long to reach the city centre from the outskirts.
The city's greener surroundings - including Leopoldskron Palace and Hellbrunn Palace - are also easily reachable by bike from the city centre.
On UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1996, the city owes much of its fame to the child prodigy Mozart, who was born and reared on the banks of the Salzach River. Walking around the city, visitors pass many places associated with the maestro.
The entire house where he was born is not only a museum about Mozart, but also about the time in which he lived, giving visitors a glimpse of what life was like in Salzburg in the 18th century - long before the traffic problems of today.
