The Sound of Music turns 60: take a historic tour in the city where it all began

The Sound of Music broke box office records in 29 countries and was awarded five Academy Awards, but received a lukewarm reception in the country where it was filmed. Austrians, it seems, were far from impressed by Hollywood's 1965 adaptation of Maria Augusta von Trapp's book.

Despite many locals claiming that they've never seen it, The Sound of Music is big business for the city of Salzburg, particularly this year, as it celebrates the 60th anniversary of its release.

I'm taking a bus tour with American, English, Canadian and Australian mega-fans who've added Salzburg to their travel itineraries, not for its classical composers, Mozart or Hayden, but for the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the opportunity to see the filming locations of their favourite movie.

Our guide, David, an Englishman, is a bottomless well of SOM trivia.

"Coming up on the left-hand side is a footbridge crossing the Salzach. I call it the 'Do Re Mi' bridge because on their way to the meadow, Maria and the children run from this end to the other end singing and stop and look over the edge into the river," he says. "And then, along the river bank, you might recall there was a guy fishing, and as they skipped past him, little Gretl fell over. She wasn't supposed to; it wasn't in the script. It was one of several mistakes that were captured on film and used in the final cut by director Robert Wise, who felt that slips and trips gave scenes more authenticity."

At the ornamental lake that features in the boating scene, David tells us that the then six-year-old also nearly drowned, leaving actress Kym Karath, who played Gretl, with a lifelong fear of water.

We see the still-occupied Abbey and the Von Trapp house, or at least one of the locations of it, as well as the famous white gazebo, where Sixteen Going on Seventeen with Liesl von Trapp and Rolf, and Something Good - the duet with Maria and the Baron - were filmed.

In the beautiful Mirabell Gardens, we take photos at the Pegasus Fountain and at another stop, some enthusiasts reenact Maria's dance down a tree-lined lane where she sings I Have Confidence as she makes her way to the Von Trapp house.

Between sights, the entire bus sings along with gusto to Favourite Things, Maria and Edelweiss, with one American couple admitting they'd always assumed the latter was the Austrian national anthem.

Our final stop is the surprisingly small Basilika St. Michael in Mondsee, the setting for the wedding of Maria and Baron von Trapp.

Not long after that pivotal scene, the family make a dramatic escape as the Nazis are closing in.