I'd like to visit Saxon Switzerland and am wondering what town is a good starting point. I did a boat trip on the Elbe but didn't really see much.

I won't be able to do any real hiking because I'm so d@mned old, but I want to see what I can. What about Bad Schandau as my base? Or are there any other nearby pretty towns or villages that I could use as a base?

You mean, you don't want to use Dresden as your base? I found it easy to get out to Saxon Switzerland by S-Bahn - that's how I did it (I did go hiking in the park). I saw some pretty scenery along the Elbe from the train, but if you've already taken a boat you've probably seen it. I got off the train at Kurort Rathen, took a ferry across the Elbe to the other side through another to hike up. The town on the other side - Niederrathen - was cute as I recall, but I'm not sure how much time I'd want to spend there if I wasn't using it as a hiking base. But that's just me.

The hike was pretty easy up to the Bastei Bridge (which you can see from the train, too). If you can walk just can't handle the hiking up hill, you can still hike from the town into the woods along the stream a little without really going up.

Best is a base in the river valley, all of those small towns/villages have a railway station (trains running every half hour) and ferries to get from one side to the other. Be prepared that these are really small towns and not much is going on there - very quiet - except for Bad Schandau, which has some bigger hotels and daily events, some shopping and a good selection of restaurants. The five-star hotel Elbresidenz there is supposed to reopen in spring 2016 (after serious damage by the most recent flood).

Frankly, if you're looking into four-star hotels (or even five-star hotel for surprisingly low rates) then Bad Schandau or Kurort Rathen will be your choices. If you're fine with B&Bs, apartments or small two/three-star hotels then you could also consider Stadt Wehlen.

While Bad Schandau is *the* hub for the rear part of Saxon Switzerland, along the border to Czech Republic and good for excursions across the border, Kurort Rathen and Stadt Wehlen are perfect for the frontier part with Bastei viewpoint e.g.

Another option is Pirna, a bigger town, picturesque and more lively, also at the same railway line, only a few train minutes from Stadt Wehlen (two stops only!).

Nothing wrong with any of those, but Bad Schandau is most centrally located IMO.

Thanks for the responses.

We had in fact stayed at the Elbresidenz in Bad Schandau a couple of years ago. Their website says that they will reopen "in 2016" which should technically means January 1st.

We found the Elbresidenz quite agreeable. Bad Schandau is probably the best place for you if you are bit walking impaired. It is a neat town with lots of shops and cafés and a riverwalk etc.

http://www.elbresidenz-bad-schandau.de/en/start-page/

In reality May 2016