Dresden

Albertinum Museum

The "New Masters" collections feature a wonderful range from romantic painters like Caspar David Friedrich to Rotloff and Van Gogh. The Albertinum is part of the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD).

Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Mon closed·Adults €12, reduced €9, under 17 free

Blaues Wunder

Loschwitz Bridge

The bridge is almost universally referred to as Blaues Wunder ("Blue Wonder"). The name is generally thought to be a reference to the colour of the bridge and to the fact it was considered a technical marvel when it opened in 1893.

Brühlsche Terrasse

Brühl's Terrace

The "Balcony of Europe" stretches for 500 m along the River Elbe, some 10 m over the water table, and being up to 20 m wide. Freely open to the public since 1814, it provides space shielded from the danger of flooding, as well as from motorized traffic (which runs directly below over the Terassenufer) for walking, relaxing and enjoying a meal or a drink to locals and visitors, with views of the picturesque Elbe and an impressive backdrop of historic buildings at its back.

Carl-Maria-von-Weber-Museum

Closed for renovations until 2028 Dedicated to Dresden's most famous composer. Part of the Dresden City Museum. An additional webpage describes the museum in English.

Wed-Sun 13:00-18:00, Mon Tue closed·Adults €4, reduced €3. Free entry every Friday from 13:00 (except on holidays)

Dreikönigskirche

You get a nice view of the whole city and the price of admission to climb the tower is lower than at the more famous Frauenkirche. There are also some nice pieces in the church that were not destroyed in the World War II bombings, and also look for temporary exhibitions of modern sacred art, etc.

For the tower: Mar-Oct: Tue 11:30-16:00, Wed-Sat 11:00-17:00, Sun and holidays 11:30-17:00, Mon closed. Nov-Feb: Wed 12:00-16:00, Thu-Sat 10:00-16:00, Sun and holidays 11:30-16:30, Mon Tue closed. Last admission 30min before closing·For the tower: adults €5, reduced €4, children €6-17 €1.50, under 10 free

Dresden Baroque Quarter

Barockviertel Königstraße

Real baroque houses. The quarter reaches from the "Heinrichstraße" up to the "Albert Platz". On the Heinrichstr and in the surroundings you will find a lot of antique stores. It is the quarter where you will find different nice and small shops where the owner will serve you. It is the quarter of individuality.

Dresden City Art Museum

Städtische Galerie Dresden

Art from Dresden and the region with a main focus on the 20th century to the present. The collection also contains pieces of art dating back until the 16th century. Originally the collection was part of the Dresden City Museum in the same building, but was established as a separate museum in 2005. An additional webpage describes the museum in English.

Tue-Thu Sat Sun and holidays 10:00-18:00, Fri 10:00-19:00, Mon closed·Adults €5, reduced €4, under 7 free. Free entry every Friday from 12:00 (except on holidays). A combination ticket with the Dresden City Museum is available

Dresden Panometer

Asisi Panometer

A huge 360° picture of the Great Barrier Reef, housed in a former gasworks. Previously they have shown a picture of Dresden in 1945, Baroque Dresden or the Amazon

Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat Sun and public holidays 10:00-18:00. Last admission 1 hr before closing·Adults €16.00, reduced €14, child €8, under 6 free

Dresden Transport Museum

Verkehrsmuseum Dresden

The museum is housed in the Johanneum at the Neumarkt, near Frauenkirche.

Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Mon closed·Adults €12, reduced €6, family €12/24

Dresdner Molkerei Gebrüder Pfund

A dairy shop which is in the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records as the most beautiful dairy in the world. Decorated with 247 m² of handmade tiles. The shop is on the ground floor; there is a restaurant behind a door and one flight up that is very pleasant and has excellent cheese assortment plates but takes cash only.

Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 18:00; closed Sun

Elbe Valley

This was on the UNESCO World Heritage List, until the government decided to build the four-lane highway Waldschlösschen Bridge through the heart of it! So now it has joined Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary as "one of only two un-UNESCO'd sites in the world" and is still a tourist attraction.

Elbwiesen

Elbe River Banks

Go to the (mostly) green river banks, especially on hot summer evenings/nights for a very nice view of the old parts and lot of people playing sports, having barbecues and parties. There are often big concerts and a huge movie screen offers "outdoor cinema."

Erich-Kästner-Museum

Dedicated to author, poet, screenwriter and satirist Emil Erich Kästner, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature such as Emil and the Detectives who was born and grew up in Dresden.

Sun-Wed Fri 10:00-18:00, Tue and Sat closed·Adults €7, reduced €4, under 6 free

Festung Dresden

Kasematten

The remains of the old fort. Gives you a glimpse of what a fort in a medieval European town was like.

Apr-Oct: daily 10:00-18:00; Nov-Mar: daily 10:00-17:00·Tour: €4, €2 concessions

Frauenkirche

The original Church of Our Lady was completely destroyed during World War II; however, it has been reconstructed. The City of Coventry, which was raided by the Luftwaffe in WWII, donated the golden cross for the dome of the church. Check out some ruins in the basement. For €12 (concessions €7; families €24) you can walk up to the viewing platform on the dome and enjoy a great view of the city. You must have good walking shoes, otherwise you might not be admitted. As well as being a working church (with services once a month in English), there are also regular concerts. Tickets tend to be expensive but sell out quickly, so try to book ahead of time. The seating can be a little hard.

Free

Fürstenzug

This biggest porcelain painting of the world shows (almost) all Saxon princes, electors and kings on their horses and splendid parade uniforms. (There is only one female person at the painting, find her.) It leads to the "Stallhof" - the last preserved tournament place contained in a European castle. In winter, the Stallhof is the location of a medieval style Christmas market with a big fireplace.

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister

Old Masters Picture Gallery

A highly regarded collection featuring around 700 European works from the 15th to the 18th century. It is particularly known for its focus on Italian Renaissance and Baroque art, including Raphael's Sistine Madonna, as well as a significant selection of Dutch and Flemish masters and works by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, Mon closed·Entrance only with the combined ticket

German Hygiene Museum

A comprehensive museum dedicated to "science, culture and society", a truly vast scope including all aspects of the human body, sickness, health, stages of life and sexuality. Don't be put off by the old-fashioned name. The children's section and special/temporary exhibitions are also well worth checking out. Has signage in English as well as German, but the permanent exhibitions are mostly labelled in German only. The museum also engages in a lot of well-merited self-criticism for its history of eugenicism and racism before World War II and its efforts on behalf of the Nazis' mass murder campaign against disabled people, and that history is interesting, too. Allow 2-3 hours for a visit.

Tue-Sun and holidays 10:00-17:00, Mon closed. Last admission 30 min before closing·Adults €12, reduced €6, under 16 free

Gläserne Manufaktur

The Transparent Factory

The Transparent Factory previously assembled the electric version of VW's Golf car. Visitors can test drive VW electric cars for 30 minutes (except Sundays). Tours three times a day in English M-Sa, once on Sundays. Until 2016, final assembly for various luxury VW cars took place here.

Mon-Fri 08:00-20:00·Tour: adults €7, reduced €4.50, families €15

Gohliser Windmühle

This beautiful old windmill was built in 1828 and is now a museum and tavern. It includes a beer garden; best reached using Elberadweg cycle route south of the Elbe river.

Großer Garten

"Big Garden"

Recommended for relaxing and sports (rollerblades are very common). It's Dresden's "green lung" and can be reached easily by tram. You can also go on a ride on a seasonal miniature train through the park.

Grünes Gewölbe

Green Vault

One of the most significant collections of European goldsmith's work and decorative arts. The museum is divided into two sections, each requiring a separate ticket. The Historic Green Vault (Historisches Grünes Gewölbe) preserves the treasury as it was arranged in 1733, featuring items like the crown jewels of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The New Green Vault (Neues Grünes Gewölbe) focuses on individual objects in a modern, neutral setting, including the famous green diamond. Visitors are advised to book time-slot tickets for the Historic Green Vault in advance.

Wed Thu Sat Sun 10:00-17:00, Fri 10:00-19:00 closed Tuesdays·€18, including Audioguide, concessions €13.50, children <16: free. Tickets for the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe have a clearly defined time limit

Japanisches Palais

The palace was bombed out and in its partially restored state houses several small museums, including a museum of natural history of the region and a display of assorted exotic garments (ethnological collection). The palace is part of the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD).

Kulturpalast

Palace of Culture

A socialist era building finished in 1969, standing right in the middle of the gradually reconstructed Altstadt, in stark contrast to the historic buildings surrounding it and supplanting some of the old buildings that closed the Altmarkt from the north before the second world war. It was originally planned to be a super-tall, ornate structure in the mould of the Palace of Culture in Warsaw, but ended up being a large concert hall with height on par with surrounding buildings, in an austere Bauhaus-inspired style. It is now a protected architectural monument, along with a giant socialist-realism themed mosaic on its western wall, facing Schloßstraße. Between 2012 and 2017 the Kulturpalast was completely renovated and now houses a concert hall, the city's main library and a Kabarett venue.

Kunsthalle im Lipsius-Bau

Impressive building for the arts constructed in the 19th century. The Kunsthalle is part of the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD).

Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Mon closed·Combination ticket Albertinum and Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau Admission fee: €12.50

Kunsthaus Dresden

An exhibition hall for contemporary art. They also hold concerts, lectures, workshops and show movies. This additional webpage also describes the museum.

Tue-Thu 14:00-19:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-19:00, Mon closed·Adults €4, reduced €2.50. Free every Friday

Kunsthof Dresden

Two buildings in the middle of Neustadt with many small stores and some bars, many of them in the artistically decorated inner courtyards. The complex also has public artworks, art galleries, shops selling art, as well as coffee shops.

Kupferstich-Kabinett

Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs

One of the world’s oldest and most significant museums specializing in drawings, prints, and photographs. The collection spans from the Middle Ages to the present day, featuring works by renowned masters such as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, and Caspar David Friedrich. Due to the sensitivity of the paper-based materials, the items on display are changed regularly in special exhibitions.

Wed-Mon 10:00-17:00, closed Tuesdays·€6, concessions €4.50, pupils <20 €2, <7 free

Leonhardi Museum

The building was used as a studio and museum by the artist Eduard Leonhardi (late Romanticism) until he died in 1905. From 1963 to 1990, contemporary art exhibitions showing works from progressive GDR artists were held despite many attempts by the Stasi to prevent nonconformist art. Nowadays it contains a permanent collection of works by Leonhardi, and changing contemporary exhibitions.

Tue-Fri 14:00-18:00, Sat Sun 10:00-18:00, Mon closed·Adults €6, reduced €4, under 7 free. Free entry Fridays from 2pm (except on holidays)

Lingnerschloss

Villa Stockhausen

The castle above the Elbe River was built from 1850 tom 1853 by Prince Albert of Prussia. The castle houses a restaurant and an outdoor terrace with beer garden that offers a fantastic view over the Elbe River and Dresden.