Dresden
For a first impression of Dresden and surroundings, check out the above pictures or this video homage on Dresden and a second video about enjoying scientific meetings in town.
A quite compact description of the city, its history, development, and current status can be found here. Dresden itself offers many sights and a large number of cultural events. Below, we provide only some links that may guide you to your places of interest.
The main sights in Dresden are described briefly on this page. A quick overview of the main places for arts and culture is given here. In particular, the national museums are quite interesting. The event calendar will tell you what's going on in town. Dresden is the City of Music hosting several famous ensembles and concert halls (booking in advance is recommended).
If you wish to explore some of the surroundings of Dresden, we recommend visits to the
- Saxon Switzerland (hiking, climbing, Königstein Fortress, and lots of beautiful landscape; accessible via S1 train). Our "early arrivers hikes" visit this region.
- The town of Meissen (original seat of the Saxon prince-electors, home to famous Meissen Porcelain and a nice example of an old German town, accessible via S1 train),
- Bautzen or Görlitz in Lusatia (a region of historically independent Sorbian (a slawic minority in Germany) towns, the Lusatian League; 60-90 minutes by train)
- Pillnitz or Moritzburg castle (as examples for castles of the Saxon prince-electors)
- Altkötzschenbroda as part of Radebeul including Wackerbarth Castle (an old vine village and vineyards)
Several of these places are along the Elbe river where one can combine a bike-tour in a beautiful landscape with some sightseeing.