Dresden or Leipzig
 

I will be touring Berlin next April. I was thinking of spending 2 days in a city nearby. I narrowed to either Dresden or Leipzig which are nearby where I can reach by train. Any suggestions?

What a nice dilemma to have :-)

I like both cities very much but I lean towards Dresden.I spent four weeks there in December 2011 and loved it. We are taking two weeks in December for an train trip through Germany (Baden-Baden, Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin) and we chose to spend the most nights in Dresden. The city has excellent museums and other cultural sites, lots of good places to eat and drink, and is moderately priced.

Of course, someone else may chime in for Leipzig and there are lots of reasons to spend two days there too.

I was in Dresden for 2nights , took a day trip from Berlin to Leipzig ( only an hour by train)
Dresden is further from Berlin, I tend to agree with WT.

My vote is for Dresden

I liked Leipzig better than Dresden. Leipzig felt more real to me because of the shopping arcades with the beautiful art nouveau facades.

I am interested in history, and I enjoyed visiting the St. Nicholas church, where Leipzigers met to pray for peace and to protest against the East Germany government, eventually bringing down the regime. The actions of the Leipzigers earned them the title of "City of Heroes" among other Germans.

I also visited the Stasi Museum--Das Museum an der Runden Ecke. It was fascinating. One day, I took a 45 minute bus ride to Colditz, where I visited Castle Colditz, the supposedly escape-proof camp for allied prisoners of war. There are interesting displays there and also a guided tour in English.

I guess it depends in your interests. Dresden has many stunning buildings reconstructed after the bombing, but they didn't seem to integrate well into other buildings.

I've been to both and would take Dresden hands down - Leipzig seemed like just another large city - Dresden seemed like the Florence on the Elbe nickname it has. But you can't go wrong.

I liked Leipzig better than Dresden, also. Dresden is mainly new and I imagine it's a pleasant city to live, but I fond Leipzig more charming and interesting. Partly that's because I am a real classical music aficionado and Leipzig has a lot of sites to visit that were important to me. If you are, also, you'd know them, though, so I'm sure that isn't a draw for you (Bach's museum, as he worked at St Thomas for about 20 years, Schumann's house and Mendelssohn's). I love all three composers so that was a must for me.
see http://luxurytravel.about.com/od/art...estination.htm

Plus I just loved the Old Town area, the Old Town Hall with its museum, the coffee museum, etc. The Leipzig train station is really nice also, and the city is walkable and pleasant.

Dresden just reminded me of a new city with a mall or something.

Dresden just reminded me of a new city with a mall or something.>>

you must have missed the "New town" then, Christina. if you'd crossed the river by the golden statue and headed north, you would have found a lovely "old" quarter full of elegant buildings all about 300 years old. We stayed in a hotel over there and walked into the "old town" which so far as i could see was even older, particularly the museum buildings, though of course there are some modern shops and offices.

We enjoyed Leipzig too, especially attending the motets in the Thomaskirche with the boys' choir and the chance to join in with the singing. Ausgezeichnet!

Raymond - you can't go wrong really - I would go to whichever appeals most to you. There will be plenty to do for a day whichever you choose.

How about a day in each?

Actually, of cities " near by" ( for 2 nights ),I would head to Hamburg.

well, that was a bit of a surprise.

90 mins or so by train from Berlin to Hamburg, 2 ½ hours to Dresden, and only 1 ¼ hours to Leipzig [and it's quite a lot cheaper too than the fast trains to Hamburg].

Leipzig wins for me with Hamburg a close second.

Purchasing train tickets well ahead of time saved me 30- 40% of the cost.
Leipzig was an easy day trip...I took a tour of the city ( 15 euros) : on foot in the old town,
bus afterward for more of the surroundings .
We did not visit churches or museums...which was fine with me.

I was in Hamburg only for 24 hours but wished I had another night. The city was much
more attractive than I expected.

<<you must have missed the "New town" then, Christina. if you'd crossed the river by the golden statue and headed north, you would have found a lovely "old" quarter full of>>

I stayed around that church that has been reconstructed and only has a few real old stones, in-between there and the train station, not sure of the name. I went to the usual tourist attractions (Royal Vault or whatever). I was over in the New Town, I believe, but not to walk around, I took a train from there to Leipzig, I think the train station was over there that I used. Most of what I saw around where I stayed wasn't old, even though it was called Altstadt and the area around Altmarkt tram stop, for example. Sure, you have a few old buildings sprinkled amongst new ones, but I just didn't like Dresden that well overall. It just didn't seem well integrated, but there is only so much you can do when most of it was destroyed in WWII, after all.

Some people think it is like Florence, obviously, I just don't see it myself.

"Sure, you have a few old buildings sprinkled amongst new ones, but I just didn't like Dresden that well overall."

Didn't you stay at the Dorint? And when was that? The Dorint is in a bland neighborhood and its only real value are its price (although it seriously needs updating now even at its current prices) and the tram stop right in front. (If your room overlooks the tram stop/street, then you also get a charming view of the ASS Bar across the road). When I was last in Dresden in 2011, many of the attractively rebuilt buildings seem to integrate quite well. And if you wander around the Striesen area, you'll see lots of buildings that are original, not rebuilt.

I stayed around that church that has been reconstructed and only has a few real old stones, in-between there and the train station, not sure of the name.>>

mmm, that would be the world-famous Frauenkirche then, the church they they rebuilt piece by painful piece, like a jigsaw without a picture, from the rubble and from new stones that they had to make to match the existing ones to make a seamless whole. Coming from Coventry, where I have watched my german pen friend's father cry in the ruins of our cathedral, I found the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche and what it represents extremely moving.

Christine, of course you are entitled to your point of view, but even a little research might have helped you to appreciate what was staring you in the face just outside your hotel room window.

Christina it is obhious that you did not bother to do any research and learn anything about the city before you visited. Dresden in more than the rebuilt old town. There is of course the Neustadt. There are the quarters further out like Striesen and Blasewitz, then Loschwitz on the other Elbe bank, Weißer Hirsch on the hilltop. There are the Elbschlösser and there is Pillnitz park and palaces, the vineyards... just to name a few.

Preparation is the crucial key to understanding and appreciation. You see only what you know about.