Dresden in 3 Days: Art, the Old Town and the Elbe

Begin with the royal palace’s courtyards, state rooms and armoury. The standard palace ticket includes several collections, while the Historic Green Vault uses a separate timed ticket; that treasury is listed as an alternative below.

Walk along the long porcelain mural on Augustusstraße, depicting Saxony’s rulers in procession. Its position on the castle wall makes this a short outdoor stop after the palace visit.

Cross to Theaterplatz for the opera house and the surrounding buildings. Book a guided daytime tour for the auditorium and decorated foyers, or return for a performance as the evening part of the trip.

Follow the raised promenade beside the Elbe for views across to Neustadt. The terrace links the palace area with the streets around the Frauenkirche.

Finish the old-town loop at the rebuilt church on Neumarkt. The interior visit is distinct from the separate dome climb, which gives a higher view over the square and the river.

Start the art day in the Baroque courtyard among fountains and pavilions. The outdoor palace complex leads into the Old Masters gallery; keep the morning centred here before crossing to the Albertinum.

Make this the main morning museum visit for Raphael’s Sistine Madonna, paintings by Vermeer and works from the Italian and northern European schools. The gallery and sculpture collection occupy the Semper building of the Zwinger.

After lunch, continue east for art from Romanticism to the present and the sculpture collection. This gives the afternoon a different focus from the Old Masters, including works by Caspar David Friedrich.

Cross the Elbe for the view back towards the old-town skyline. Walk through the Inner Neustadt streets towards Albertplatz and the Kästner museum before heading into the outer neighbourhood.

Visit the small museum devoted to the Dresden-born writer, his books and the city of his childhood. It opens on Sundays and Mondays, but is closed on Saturdays and Tuesdays, so Sunday suits this third-day route.

Continue north into the nineteenth-century neighbourhood around Alaunstraße and Louisenstraße. Its residential blocks, independent shops and street art give the river crossing a different setting from the rebuilt old town.

Turn into the linked courtyards off Alaunstraße and Görlitzer Straße for their decorated façades. The blue wall of pipes and funnels is the best-known part, with workshops and small shops around the passages.

Finish at the tiled dairy shop on Bautzner Straße. Look at the elaborate wall and ceiling decoration, then choose a dairy drink or a small purchase; this is a shop visit, not a museum.

Choose a longer outdoor afternoon in the formal park southeast of the old town. The avenues, lawns and central palace offer space for a walk after a museum-heavy morning.

Choose the Blue Wonder bridge and riverside Loschwitz for a separate outing east of the centre. Walk across the steel bridge for views along the Elbe, then explore the streets on the northern bank.

Choose the Historic Green Vault for the royal treasury displayed in richly decorated rooms. Reserve a timed ticket and use this in place of part of the first day’s palace collections; the New Green Vault is a different exhibition.