51.05° N · 13.74° E
Less than two hours by train from Berlin: the rebuilt Frauenkirche, the Zwinger, the Green Vault, a paddle steamer on the Elbe and the Neustadt. Best with a night.
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What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Church and viewpoint · 1 h · Dome €12 · The church rebuilt after the war, with a viewing platform 67 metres above the old town
Palace and museum · 2 h · Paid picture gallery · The baroque Zwinger courtyard and the painting collection of the princes of Saxony
Museum · 1 h · €18 with fixed time · The treasure of Augustus the Strong in its baroque rooms in the Royal Palace
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to October, with riverside terraces and more boat departures. December, with the Christmas markets, is also a good time. Watch the closing days: the picture gallery closes on Mondays and the Green Vault on Tuesdays.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Dresden can be done entirely without a car: the train from Berlin drops you 15 minutes' walk from the old town, and everything worth seeing is on foot, by tram or by boat. For Saxon Switzerland, the S1 S-Bahn.
For Dresden the usual way is to fly to Berlin, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and continue by train: from Berlin Hauptbahnhof there are direct trains that take between an hour and three quarters and two hours. Dresden has its own airport, but with far fewer connections with Spain.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Dresden is compact and is covered on foot, with the river always beside you. With children, mix a museum with the boat, the climb up the dome and the Neustadt courtyards.
For teenagers, Dresden tells a story that you can see: a city destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt, a treasure chamber full of gold and an alternative quarter across the river.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Five stars in the baroque Taschenberg palace, opposite the Royal Palace and a step from the Zwinger, reopened after a renovation, with a spa and several restaurants.
Why we like it: A hotel in a small neo-Gothic castle on the Elbe slope, with a park, a terrace and a restaurant, on the outskirts of the Neustadt.
Why we like it: A hostel in the Neustadt, Dresden's bar district, with rooms for one to ten beds decorated with zodiac signs, its own bar and made beds.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a Saxon dish from the menu in one of the vaulted rooms
What to order: a Saxon dish from the menu
What to order: a cheese board with the buttermilk and mango shake
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
51.16° N · 13.47° E
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50.92° N · 14.15° E
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50.53° N · 14.13° E
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Tips
Places are limited.
Mondays for the picture gallery, Tuesdays for the Green Vault.
You can see as far as Saxon Switzerland.
And leave Saxon Switzerland for the next day.
Dresden is the capital of Saxony, on the banks of the Elbe, and the city that the Electors wanted to turn into the Florence of the north: palaces, baroque churches and first-rate art collections. The bombing of February 1945 razed it; a good part of the old town has since been rebuilt, the Frauenkirche last of all, stone by stone. From Berlin you get there by train in less than two hours: it can be done in a long day, but with a night you will enjoy it far more.
The Frauenkirche. The church with the stone dome, on Neumarkt square. Go in during the open-church slots and climb the dome, €12, by stairs and a spiral ramp to a viewing platform 67 metres up.
The Brühl Terrace and the Procession of Princes. The raised promenade above the Elbe and, a step away, the mural of porcelain tiles showing the rulers of Saxony on horseback, on Augustusstraße.
The Green Vault or the Zwinger. If you only have time for one museum, choose: the treasure of Augustus the Strong, in its baroque rooms in the Royal Palace (€18, timed entry; closed on Tuesdays), or the Old Masters picture gallery in the Zwinger (closed on Mondays). The Zwinger courtyard can be seen either way.
The Elbe. In the afternoon, an hour and a half on a paddle steamer from the Terrassenufer, or cross Augustus Bridge to the Neustadt, the young district, with the Kunsthofpassage and the Pfund dairy.
By train, the usual way: direct trains from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, between an hour and three quarters and two hours, to Dresden main station or Dresden-Neustadt. From the main station to the old town it is 15 minutes on foot along Prager Straße.
By car, about 190 kilometres along the A13 motorway, around two hours. In the centre, park in a garage and get around on foot.
In a day, leaving Berlin early, you can fit in the Frauenkirche, the terrace, a museum and the boat. With a night, you add the other museum, the Neustadt at night and, the next day, Saxon Switzerland: the S1 S-Bahn drops you at Bad Schandau in less than an hour.
In the old town, the Pulverturm, next to the Frauenkirche, and the Sophienkeller, in the vaults of the Taschenbergpalais, serve Saxon cooking in historic rooms. For a snack, the Pfund dairy. To sleep, the Taschenbergpalais Kempinski, opposite the Royal Palace; the Hostel Mondpalast, in the Neustadt; or, outside the centre, the castle of Schloss Eckberg, above the river.
Questions
On a direct train from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, between an hour and three quarters and two hours. By car, about two hours along the A13.
Yes, if you leave early: Frauenkirche, Brühl Terrace, a museum and the boat. But with a night you will enjoy it far more.
€12, €7 reduced and €24 for families.
The Old Masters picture gallery on Mondays; the Royal Palace, with the Green Vault, on Tuesdays.
On the S1 S-Bahn to Bad Schandau or on the steamer along the Elbe.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/germany/saxony/dresden
