The thrills are alive with Sound of Music at sixty

Meeting a real Von Trapp in Salzburg, where much of the Oscar-winning film was shot, is one of many tour highlights for ROBERT DALLING

- ROBERT DALLING

It's not every day you find yourself being serenaded by a member of the Von Trapp family. Yet here I am, listening to Elisabeth, the daughter of Werner, one of the real-life seven children of the famous family. Later, chatting to her between mouthfuls of pumpkin soup at Hotel Goiserermuhle, I got a rare insight into one of our most-loved films.

You find me touring Austria with SalzburgerLand on the 60th anniversary year of The Sound of Music, based on the true story of the Von Trapp singing group.

Despite six decades having passed since the movie's release, a third of the 200 tour guides who work in Salzburg specialise in it, and it is thought 350,000 people visit specifically because of Julie Andrews and co.

Next year, that number is likely to increase even further, with the long-awaited Sound of Music museum officially opening in the city.

It speaks volumes that a no-context picture sent home to family of the stunning gardens of Mirabell Palace, one of Salzburg's 17 filming locations, was met with an exact description of the scene there - the Do Re Mi sequence.

But while most homes of famous blockbusters enjoy the tourism boost that comes with it, there's something intangibly different about Salzburg and its spectacular landscape of colourful trees and natural beauty that makes it far more than just a film set.