Dresden: How Many Nights?
 

Sorry for the very subjective subject but wanting some feedback to evaluate. Currently holding a hotel reservation for three nights in October 2017. Will be flying into Berlin from Manchester, taking the train to Dresden so the first night is basically a wash since we won't arrive until 6-7 PM.

Main interest would be major museums and am hoping something can be "done" in the additional two days. I am not looking for some sort of super "in depth" visit; will return to Berlin for at least two nights if not more so trying to get a feel for timing here.

Appreciate any thoughts both positive and (supposedly) "negative" and thank you.

Dresden has enough museums to keep you occupied for two full days. I counted no less than 51 museums, the Semper Opera not included. Besides, there are many attractions in the surounding region.

https://www.dresden.de/en/tourism/attractions.php

We spent four nights in Dresden last December.

Our main focus was the Christmas markets, the Old Town and its churches, but we did visit the Green Vault, Loschwitz and take a side trip to Meissen.

We easily could have spent much longer, but three full days worked well for us.

Thanks, everyone. I have pretty much decided that we are going to need these three nights just to see a few of the so-called "highlights" if nothing else but I very much <B>do</B> appreciate your taking the time to respond.

Monday has a few shut so watch out for that. You might want to pop down to Meisen for a visit as well.

DH is in Dresden for 5 weeks and loving it :-) I was there with him for five days earlier this month and will be going back for 5 days after the Christmas markets open. Really, the city has plenty to keep you occupied.


If you can attend something at the opera house, it's well worth it. We went to their excellent production of La Traviata on October 28th and have tickets for the Weihnachts oratorio in early December at the Frauenkirche. Dresden is a great city for music.

I know little about that particular house. Was the Trav performance sur-titled at all and, if so, in which language(s)?

Thanks very much.

>> I know little about that particular house. <<

It is in fact Dresden's main attraction. It is called "Semperoper" (Semper is the name of the architect). You can either go to a performance or you can make a tour of the opera house during daytime.

https://www.semperoper.de/en.html

They have supertitles in German and English.

https://www.semperoper.de/en/news/ne...-englisch.html

Traveller1959, Thank you for that information and the link. Much appreciated.

Keep the three nights. Two full days really is not much. (I'm biased, as you certainly know :-) )

Two museums that I highly recommend which are not on the list of most travellers: Military History Museum (which is really an anti-military museum) and Hygiene Museum (which is NOT just about hygiene, much more about the human being in general, from biology to society, and on animals, too. Excellent special exhibits there as well.)

https://www.mhmbw.de/starteng (open Mondays, too!)
http://www.dhmd.de/index.php?id=204

Usually the foliage is also excellent in October. You might want to spend some time in Großer Garten, the large park in the centre, or in Pillnitz (palace and garden). A steamboat trip from the old town to Pillnitz would be perfect.

Weisser Tee - Christmas Oratorio at Frauenkirche, wow! You're in for a treat. Hope you got good seats - acoustics are problematic for the cheap seats. Btw, we're attending the Mozart Requiem there this Saturday.

Do go up on the wall that looks down on the river and read up about how the garden there became restricted to Aryan Germans. Some of the garden seats are transparent to remember the issue.

Thanks, AGAIN for these very helpful suggestions and comments.

Have a meal at Radeberger Spezialausschank, right on the riverbank (Brühlsche Terrasse). It is an atmospheric place, serving local beer (it belongs to the Radeberger Brewery) and rustic regional cuisine.

http://cms.radeberger-spezialausscha...uns/index.html

When at Radeberger Spezialausschank have a Zwickel beer, which is non-filtred - a specialty, only available at very few places (here and right at the brewery).

I found two nights ( a bit less than 2 days ) long enough to see what I was interested in. A charming town with several exceptional museums.

negative ...the Old Town where I stayed was "asleep" by 10.00 PM ( in July!)
The " new" old buildings seemed unreal.

Thanks, Ingo. Yes, we have good seats -- DH bought them in the most expensive category and they seem well-placed.

Have you been taking in any of the jazz performances? DH went to an opening event in the little QF mall. He enjoyed it quite a bit. He tried to get tickets for Al Jarreau, but no luck there.

While I'm back in Dresden, I'll think we'll also attend an Advent service to hear the famous choir at the Kreuzkirche. I did that on my own in 2011.

Dukey, the top floor cocktail bar (Twist) at the Innside hotel often has small jazz combos playing. We happened to be there late after La Traviata and some of the cast dropped in, including the woman who played Violetta.

Well, it's always fun to see some of these performers "up close" or at least closer than "downstage" and such can make things more memorable. Glad you enjoyed it.

At this stage I am biding my time waiting for the 2017-2018 seasons for Dresden as well as both Berlin organizations to be announced.

The Berlin Staats director has sworn the Unter den Linden venue will be fully renovated and open in October so we might get lucky and be able to see something(s) in several locations next year.

I'd say 3 nights is the minimum for a real visit -- not just rushing to see everything on the list in a two-night visit. We didn't get to Saxon Switzerland while there which I've heard is worthwhile.

A day trip to Leipzig is also feasible.

Have fun! We love Dresden.

HA! I wouldn't bet on the re-opening date for Staatsoper Unter den Linden. But I'm crossing my fingers for you, Dukey.

Glad to hear hubby bought the best category seats. Perfect! Actually, I don't like the soprano (A friend of mine knows her personally) but the tenor and bass should be good.

The Advent versper with the Kreuzchor will be wonderful. Did you ever attend one of the 5 pm Striezelmarkt musics in Kreuzkirche in the weeks between 1st and 3rd Advent? Very nice also.

Sorry, not a big fan of jazz here :(

Dresden is also a great place for heiße Schokolade!

Thanks (again) for the additional recs. I am looking into Leipzig now as well.

Since we have been to Berlin several times in the past and if the opera situation there doesn't pan out, we may spend two additional nights in Leipzig or somewhere nearby as opposed to returning to Berlin. That said, there is still plenty we could do there besides "nights at the opera" as it were.

We have to be back in Berlin on the morning of the 14th for the flight to Copenhagen which leaves Tegel around 1 PM. Train connections are easy and I am remaining aware of that particular necessity as I plan this.

Instead of Leipzig, think about Erfurt. It has a beautiful Old Town and a most peculiar inhabitated bridge across the river. Direct train connection from Dresden, less than 2 hours, and also direct train to Berlin, also less than 2 hours.

Leipzig is an excellent idea, quite different from Dresden, but still a relatively big city (pop. ca. 550,000, like Dresden.) Another idea, if you haven't been yet, would be Görlitz, which would be completely different - small town ambience, perfectly preserved old town and also lots of 19th/20th century architecture. A must! They also have a theatre with nice productions (plays, musicals, operetta and opera, even ballet).

Oh, and there are regional trains from Görlitz to Berlin with a change in Cottbus.

Thanks, Traveller and Ingo; will look into both

Görlitz is a sweet little town... several movies have been filmed there: The Book Thief and a building there was the backdrop for The Grand Budapest Hotel. We stayed at Romantik Hotel Tuchmacher which was lovely.

I hope you do a trip report. I'm interested in your take on Copenhagen since we'll be there next June.

Trophy,

I've been to Copenhagen several times over the past 10-odd years. I appreciate your interest in a trip report but quite frankly, I have only seen a few parts of Copenhagen and the upcoming trip promises that I will only see one "new" part of the city. IOW, any trip report from me probably wouldn't be very interesting reading.

I usually don't talk about "yummy foods" and I stay in what a lot of people around here have more or less said are "pretentious" hotels in which they would not feel "comfortable."

When I do shop I usually don't report what I bought.

As to Copenhagen: it reminds me of a couple of other "Baltic" cities like Stockholm and Helsinki. When the weather is fabulous it is REALLY fabulous. Things have always seemed clean somehow and the local folks certainly friendly enough.

I was not blown anywhere by the Little Mermaid and the lights in Tivoli are wonderful at night; the place is not cheap but since it is what it is, and has been in the "amusement park" business for a while, I would say people should probably visit it at least once.

I'll leave it at that but I do <B>very much</B> appreciate your kind comments.

Yes, I think it is a city worth visiting as is the Danish countryside.

Thanks, Dukey.

I do always enjoy reading about your travels and while I appreciate the descriptions, I don't feel the need to always read about fancy dining experiences.

In doing a search on Copenhagen threads here I noticed that you had recommended the Marriott there, and since I was having serious doubts about the Scandic I made the change and feel much more confident; so, I do always appreciate your pretentious hotel recs! Sometimes pretentious is called for and sometimes bare bones is fine.

Back to the topic, in Leipzig check out the Steigenberger hotel.

Have a great trip!

Re that Marriott where we have stayed at least three (why????) times:

it is a fairly easy entirely flat walk from the train station

we used the exec lounge the past time and it was good for what it was

the reviews on TA aren't so hot these days. I know because looked recently. There are other hotels closer to the train station than the Marriott.

I've stayed in the Nimb across the street which backs up to Tivoli (and gets the noise to some extent). I hear the Crown Plaza Copenhagen Towers is "too far out." The Hilton at the airport gets good reviews but it is at the airport and metro or not, it is still "at the airport."

The Borgergade I understand is new and has a supposedly great location but the rooms are described by a friend of mine as "small." (And NO, not "every room in Europe is small" unless you don't want to PAY for something bigger; trust me on that one and it INCLUDES Paris, too LOL).

Since we are only there for one night I decided to blow a wad and stay in the VERY "pretentious" D'Angleterre since my Husbear probably will never get back to the city again.

This whole "which hotel" routine really can be a PITA sometimes but we soldier on!

Best wishes to you and your Husbear!

Yes Meissen is neat -visit the famous ceramics factory and cathedral on the hill.

Saxon Switzerland makes a neat day by train or boat- train goes right long the steep sandstone cliffs -one of the most gorgeous river valleys in Europe.

One day was enough of Dresden itself for me.

PalenQ - you are a nihilist.

On every thread you post, you say "it is not interesting", "one day is enough", "there is nothing else but castles" etc.

Why are you doing this?

Is it to display an aura of superiority?

Please think about the effects of your posts. You are destroying dreams. You probably feel good by doing this.

OP said 1 day in Dresden and two elsewhere.

IMO says in my opinion - if strapped for time one day is enough for Dresden as those other two day trips are equally enjoyable.

I state my opinion and your state yours- I have no mal intentions as you so unfairly tar me with.

Gosh one can't say what they believe here without sinister allegations that I have some awful intention.

You have shown an infinity for maligning others opinions - not sure why but to set yourself up as the only way. Get off your high horse please -

Again I was responding to OP's saying he wanted just one day in Dresden and to me I found that was fine.

Pal, once again you have mis-read what I said and it was not "1 day in Dresden and two elsewhere."

Please have your disagreements with other posters on someone else's thread.

Leipzig is great. Dresden deserves more than a day, for sure.

Yes, WoinParis, that is why I am planning on being in Dresden for three nights and I deeply appreciate your wholehearted support of my plan. Would you be willing to make any particular sightseeing recommendations as those would be deeply appreciated as well?

Dukey - we had one day in Dresden and it wasn't enough. not only are there several excellent museums to visit [we particularly liked the Gemäldegalerie in the Zwinger and the Stadtsmuseum] and of course the Frauenkirche, but also the area over the other side of the river is well worth a visit [we stayed in a hotel over there so we didn't have any choice but we were glad that we did]

And if the boats are still running in October, there are very nice day and half-day trips to be enjoyed on the river. Then there is the Bastei [a famous viewpoint and rock formations in Saxon Switzerland], the Koenigstein Fortress, and several Castles/palaces to visit.

Ann, thanks. Which hotel were you in that you liked? And BTW, fear not as Cornwall is still very much IN the cards for us (LOL)...I'm just trying to figure out the best way to work it in.

Dukey, as recommended by Ingo, [Dresden resident and long-time fodorite] we stayed here:

http://www.hotel-martha-dresden.de

it is in the Neustadt and a gentle 10 minute walk from the river. Nice large rooms, very nice breakfast and just a pleasant place to be. No parking though but there was a public parking place nearby which was ok. I remember that there was a market going on on the main street in the Neustadt and at least one brewery where we tasted some of their wares on the way to the main part of town.

it may be somewhat under your league though!

So far as Cornwall is concerned, I'm a patient woman!

We always stayed at the Taschenbergpalais - excellent location and a good hotel anyway.

https://www.kempinski.com/en/dresden...henbergpalais/

I second the recommendations of both hotels.