Filming Location
The Picnic Meadow (Do Re Mi)

Maria and the Children are having a picnic on a meadow overlooking a valley with a beautiful castle in The Sound of Music. The picnic meadow still exists and you can visit it in Austria. To find the exact filming location read on or click the map pointer icon in the navigation section.

“…Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do (oh-oh-oh)…”

Maria

Where did they film the Picnic Meadow scene? 

The picturesque meadow overlooking the castle where Maria and the Trapp children sing the song “Do Re Mi” is located in Werfen, a small village near Salzburg, Austria. The Meadow is called the Gschwantanger and the castle in the background is the magnificent Hohenwerfen Castle.

About Werfen and Hohenwerfen Castle

Werfen is a small town (market), located in the Salzach valley (Salzachtal) in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It dates back to the 12th century and was first mentioned in 1140 AD. The Hohenwerfen Castle which sits on a rock cone above Werfen was built there strategically to oversee the trade routes across the narrow pass Lueg. The biggest attractions in Werfen are the Hohenwerfen Castle and the biggest Ice cave in the world, the Eisriesenwelt.

The Hohenwerfen Castle was also a filming location for the British movie Where Eagles Dare from 1968 with  Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood.

How to get to Werfen filming location?

The Gschwantanger meadow where the Sound of Music scene was filmed is located above Werfen. There is a themed hiking path from the tourist office in Werfen up to the Gschwantanger meadow. The path is 1 mile (1.5 km) long and has several interactive stations with panoramic lookout points along the way up to the meadow. On the top, at the filming location, there is a special build photo set-up where you can take a photo with Maria and the Trapp children.

If you stay in Salzburg, one of the historical and cultural centers in Austria, the best way to get to the Werfen Meadow is by car. Werfen is around 25 miles (40 km) to the south of Salzburg it will take you only 40 minutes to get there. Another option is traveling by train or by bus since there are frequent lines from Salzburg to Werfen.

There is also an organized tour to different Sound of Music filming locations from Salzburg, including Gschwantanger meadow: Get Your Guide!

The scene filmed at Gschwantanger meadow:

Maria (Julie Andrews) and the Trapp children are taking a day trip out of the house. On a scenic meadow overlooking a green valley, the mountains, and a beautiful castle they have a picnic sitting in the grass. Maria has a guitar in her hands and she starts singing the Do-Re-Mi song.