Dresden

Introduction

Attention to detail, Dresden

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Dresden is the capital of the German state of Sachsen (Saxony) and has well over half a million inhabitants, even 1.3 million in the total metropolitan area. The city was heavily destroyed during WWII, but since then, and more so since the reunification of Germany, the city has been rebuilt to finally have its glory back.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• The Elbe Valley, unfornuately removed from the Unesco World Heritage List in 2009
• The Saxon State Opera

Events and Festivals

Weather

Dresden has a moderate continental climate, with warmer summers and colder winters compared to German places more to the west. Summers last from June to August with average days well over 20 °C and nights around 14 °C. Winters last from December to Febuary when it's mostly around zero during the day and almost -5 °C on average at night. Snow is not that common though. Precipition is evenly distributed throughout the year, though summers are slightly wetter.

DRESDEN CHURCH

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Getting There

By Plane

Dresden Airport (DRS) is about 9 kilometres from the city centre.
Air Berlin has most flights, though most of them are seasonal (summer only), including those to Antalya, Corfu, Crete, Tenerife, Mallorca and Gran Canaria.
About 15 other airlines serve Dresden on a regular basis, with places served being Moscow, Vienna, Hamburg, Zürich, Düsseldorf, Cyprus, Stuttgart, Cologne, Warsaw, Frankfurt, Munich, and Monastir (Tunisia).

By Train

Deutsche Bahn (DB) has trains to Berlin-Hauptbahnhof (2 hours). Leipzig is served by hourly ICE trains (one hour) or RE trains (1¾ hours). The S-Bahn runs half-hourly to Meissen (40 minutes). There are connections to Frankfurt (4¾ hours) and Prague (2½ hours) as well.

By Car

Dresden is connected to Leipzig via the A14/A4, to Berlin via the A13/A113, and to the Czech Republic via the B170 south.

By Bus

Eurolines connects to several German cities, including Dresden. The stop is at the Central train station. You can't make reservations here, you need to make the reservations on internet.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

The S2 train serves the airport from the Hauptbahnhof and Dresden-Neustadt.
Single bus and tram tickets cost €1.70, a day pass is €4.50.

By Foot

By Bike

Bicycle hire is available at the main trainstation for €7 a day.

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• Dresden University of Technology

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Post

Germany's postal system is very efficient, their logistics branch DHL is one of the best companies in this field world-wide, with domestic post or within a radius of 400 kilometres, send within a day. The website of Deutsche Post has an online calculator for postage fees as well as a post office finder. Within Germany, sending postcards costs €0.45 and standard letters €0.55, within Europe it is €0.65 for a postcard, standard letters to places in Europe cost €0.70. Outside Europe, the prices for sending a postcard or standard letter are €1 and €1.70 respectively. Although you will find the old post offices (mainly in the city centre), most of the smaller neighbourhood post offices are part of a small tobacco shop or grocery store.