The top 13 best things to do in Saxony

Once an independent kingdom, Saxony has the most distinctive identity of all of Germany's diverse regions. The people of Saxony take great pride in their unique dialect, Upper Saxon, though it is sometimes looked down on by people from other parts of the country. This might be a secret strategy to keep the crowds away from a corner of the country that is filled with adventures and rich in history and culture.

For those who take the time to explore, Saxony is packed with alluring sights, with a focus on history and landscapes. In Dresden, you can marvel at the Renaissance-era beauty of the Residenzschloss palace, and consider complex questions about Europe’s 20th-century history. In hip Leipzig, visitors can dive into buzzing nightlife, and explore the Leipziger Notenspur, a musical trail visiting some of the city’s top museums. 

To help you discover more of the magic of this unique German state, here is a roundup of the best things to do in Saxony.

1.  Soak in the baroque architecture of Dresden’s Residenzschloss

Despite the ravages of WWII, Dresden’s Altstadt (Old Town) is a precious treasure box of historic architecture. Here you’ll find the Residenzschloss, a stunning Renaissance palace that served as the seat of Saxony’s rulers from 1485 to 1918. 

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Today it shelters multiple collections of Saxon treasures, including the unmissable Grünes Gewölbe treasury, a real-life Aladdin’s cave spilling over with exquisite objects fashioned from ivory, silver, diamonds and jewels. 

Other chambers are devoted to the Rüstkammer, displaying a spectacular collection of armor (look out for the re-creations of medieval jousting tournaments), and the Türckische Cammer, presenting one of the richest collections of Ottoman art outside Türkiye. 

Take time to view the artworks in the Kupferstich-Kabinett – an exhibit of around half a million prints and drawings by 20,000 artists including Dürer, Rembrandt and Michelangelo.

Planning tip: Go online or visit the ticket desk to book a specific time slot for your visit; you can’t enter without one.

2.  Enjoy a cocktail at Katy’s Garage in Dresden’s trendy Neustadt 

Dresden’s trendy Neustadt (New Town) consists of the gentrified Innere Neustadt and the delightfully wacky Äussere (Outer) Neustadt pub district north of Albertplatz. The beating heart of Neustadt is the intersection of Alaunstrasse and Louisenstrasse, a lively area to visit on a Dresden night out. 

Here, you’ll find Katy’s Garage, featuring an old car on the kitchen roof (the eponymous "Katy"). With its quirky decor and welcoming staff, this popular nightspot attracts a hipster crowd, especially for its regular live music nights. Around the corner, Louisengarten is a more traditional beer-drinking venue.

Planning tip: When hunger calls, the streets of Neustadt are filled with pop-up cafes and restaurants serving all sorts of international food, from Indian curries to treats from Georgia. 

3. Catch a world-class performance at the Semperoper 

Dresden’s imposing opera house, the Semperoper, is another architectural jewel. It blends in with the surrounding architecture but hails from a much more recent era – the original Semeroper burned down in the 1870s and its replacement was destroyed in WWII before being impressively reconstructed. 

Having hosted the premieres of famous works by the likes of Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner, it is still a place to come for some of the world’s best opera. The schedule also features not-to-be-missed ballets, orchestral performances and theatrical shows.

Planning tip: Taking a daytime tour of the building is highly recommended, if only to appreciate the theatrical architectural elements, such as the fake marble decorations.

4. Cruise the Elbe River on a steamship 

Picture drifting along a dreamy river, with the calm only occasionally disturbed by the sound of a steamship horn, looking out over emerald-green hills producing grapes that are transformed into some of Central Europe’s most exquisite wines. That’s the experience of a cruise along the Elbe River from Dresden. 

Stationed in the Altstadt, a dazzling white fleet of old-fashioned steamships (formerly part of the Saxon Navy) serve a string of destinations along the Elbe, going up the river to the Czech border in Saxon Switzerland and downstream towards Meissen and beyond. An onboard lunch in front of the view is an added bonus. 

Planning tip: This old-fashioned mode of transportation is as pleasant as it is slow – it takes about 5½ hours to travel from Dresden to Bad Schandau, for example, so don’t plan on doing too much else during the day. 

5. Explore the former palace of a Saxon ruler at Schloss Pillnitz 

As Europe’s prime hedonists, the rulers of Saxony put extraordinary effort into the design of their opulent residences. The palatial homes of Saxon royals dot the countryside around Dresden, easily accessible on day trips from the city. 

On the banks of the Elbe, Schloss Pillnitz is a delightful pleasure palace, festooned with fanciful Chinese flourishes and surrounded by flower-filled gardens. Two buildings on the premises – the Wasserpalais and the Bergpalais – house the Kunstgewerbemuseum, which is filled with fancy furniture and knick-knacks from the Saxon court, including Augustus the Strong’s throne. 

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Detour: Close by, you can visit Schloss Weesenstein, a palace constructed in an amazing alchemy of styles, blending medieval roots with Renaissance and baroque embellishments to create an all-round architectural marvel. Continue the palace-hopping at Schloss Moritzburg, a romantic vision in yellow and white, surrounded by an enormous moat-like lake and park.

6. Walk the Leipziger Notenspur and discover Leipzig’s musical heritage

In Leipzig, you can walk in the footsteps of some of Germany’s most famous composers by following the 5km (3.1-mile) Leipziger Notenspur (Leipzig Music Trail), dropping in on the places where these musical luminaries lived and worked. At each of the 23 stops, there are information panels displaying phone numbers you can call to listen to music and commentary. 

There are six museums along the route, including the Biedermeier-furnished apartment where Felix Mendelssohn spent his last years, the house where Robert Schumann composed the Spring Symphony, Wagner’s former school, and the apartments where Edvard Grieg stayed during his stints in Leipzig. 

Over at the interactive Bach-Museum, you can learn how to date a Johann Sebastian Bach manuscript, listen to baroque instruments and treat your ears to the sound of every composition the great composer ever created.

Detour: After following this musical trail, stop at one of Leipzig's best coffee shops, Kümmel Apotheke. This retro-styled cafe and bar with red leather chairs and dark wood furniture is a good place to try Leipziger lerche, a famous local dessert.

7. Wander through the bohemian Leipzig districts of Plagwitz and Conewitz 

Leipzig’s artistic life bubbles today in the bohemian neighborhoods of Plagwitz and Conewitz. The Spinnerei, an enormous 19th-century cotton mill in Plagwitz, now serves as a residence for over 100 artists, creating a hub for collectors of contemporary art, art dealers and dedicated enthusiasts, with cafes serving refreshments. 

Set in another converted factory nearby, the Kunstkraftwerk is a place to savor immersive multimedia art, with moving images projected on the walls and ceiling of its enormous former workshop. 

To see punk and alternative music performed in a legendary German venue, stop by Conne Island. There’s more musical action at Werk 2 Kulturfabrik, a hip musical venue in Connewitz that also hosts an amateur theatre company.

Detour: Combine a stroll in Plagwitz with a visit to the Panometer, an old gasometer converted by Berlin-based artist Yadegar Asisi into a space for a 360-degree panorama painting.

8.  Explore the swimmable lakes of Leipzig

Leipzig is surrounded by a gorgeous constellation of lakes that locals take full advantage of in summer. On hot days, lakeside beaches fill up with (sometimes fully) naked bodies while the water surface is busy with stand-up paddleboard and canoe traffic. 

On the site of a former lignite quarry, Cospudener See (Lake Cospuden) boasts Saxony’s longest sand beach and it draws a crowd on summer weekends. At nearby Lake Markkleeberg – known to locals as Marki – Kanupark Markkleeberg invites paddlers to enjoy a whitewater ride along an artificial rapids course. 

As with everything in Germany, Leipzig’s lakes are easily accessible by public transport, but you also have the option of paddling all the way from Leipzig City Harbour to Lake Cospuden, following a 10.5km (6.5-mile) chain of canals.

Planning tip: If you fancy tackling the paddle to Lake Cospuden, book your kayak in advance through Stadthafen Leipzig at the City Harbour.

9. Marvel at dazzling gems at Terra Mineralia in Freiberg

For all the splendor of Germany’s great castles and museums, the Terra Mineralia collection in Freiberg serves as a gentle reminder that Mother Nature is even more aesthetically gifted than humankind. This astounding mineral collection occupies the 16th-century Schloss Freundenstein and visiting is akin to snorkeling over a glittering coral reef.

As you descend from the 5th floor, dramatic, dimly lit halls sparkle with thousands of colors radiating from dazzling gems. Each hall represents the continent where these minerals were mined, with a separate section dedicated to meteorites. 

With quality pubs and biergartens (beer gardens) and its own beer brand – Freiberger – the fun-loving student town of Freiburg definitely merits an overnight stay, even though it can easily be visited as a day trip from Dresden.

Detour: Historic metal mines surround Freiburg, one of which – Reiche Zeche – can be visited on a fascinating tour. You’ll be taken into a 150m-deep (492ft) void and led along unlit passages straight out of a suspense movie.

10.  Ride the train to Therme Miriquidi and relax in the Ore Mountains 

Chemnitz is the base for rewarding excursions along the train line that follows the valley of the Zschopau River towards the Ore Mountains on the Czech border. If you hop off at Erdmannsdorf-Augustusburg station, a retro cable car will deliver you to the Schloss Augustusburg – a 16th-century Renaissance masterpiece that houses a massive collection of motorcycles. 

Next on the train route comes Wiesenbad, home to the Therme Miriquidi, a spa complex of four pools built over natural hot springs made famous over 500 years ago by the widowed Electress Sophie.

The route ends at Annaberg-Buchholz, an ancient mining town that has three mines open to visitors, including Dorothea-Stollen – a partly flooded 16th-century silver mine that visitors explore by boat rather than on foot. Nearby, Frohnauer Hammer is a World Heritage-listed industrial site that was once a corn mill, mint, and silver hammer mill. 

Planning tip: The sites around Chemnitz can be visited on a day trip, but consider staying overnight in the mountains; Schloss Rabenstein is one memorable place to stop while you explore. 

11.  Tour the impregnable Festung Königstein castle in Saxon Switzerland National Park

No corner of Germany would be complete without its own castle, and the mountainous region of Saxon Switzerland is no exception. Festung Königstein is the largest intact medieval fortress in Germany – so imposing and formidable that no one in history has ever tried to attack it, let alone conquer it. 

Inside, the main highlight is the permanent exhibition In Lapide Regis, which tells the dramatic story of the fortress using engaging interactive displays. Elsewhere in the sprawling fortress complex, you can see an array of antique German weaponry and enter the Georgenburg, once Saxony’s most feared prison.

Detour: While in Saxon Switzerland, pause to admire the postcard-worthy views of the Bastei Bridge, a stunning rock formation rising 194m (636ft) above the Elbe River and the village of Rathen. Afterward, visit the pretty spa town of Bad Schandau, not far from the border with Czechia.

12. View the birthplace of European porcelain in Meissen 

Meissen is the cradle of European porcelain manufacturing and the town still hitches its tourism appeal to the world-famous ceramics first cooked up in its imposing castle in the 18th century. 

Since then, the interior of the Albrechtsburg castle has been beautifully renovated under the guidance of leading historians. The building tells its own story through a series of lavish murals depicting the castle’s famous inhabitants and their feats. 

Inside the castle, the Dom is a high-Gothic masterpiece, decorated with delicately carved sculptures and stained-glass windows depicting Biblical scenes, and featuring an altar triptych attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Detour: Erlebniswelt Haus Meissen is the place to admire the astonishing artistry of Meissen porcelain up close. Visits start with a 30-minute group tour, after which you are free to explore the factory’s extensive and captivating collection of porcelain.

13.  Cycle through the stunning landscapes of Muskauer Park

An easy day trip from the town of Görlitz, folly-studded, UNESCO-listed Muskauer Park is a landscape-design masterpiece, the brainchild of eccentric 19th-century aristocrat Prince Hermann von Pückler.

Centered on the Schloss Muskau palace and spilling into neighboring Poland across the Lusatian Neisse River, this 1383-acre park is too large to be fully explored on foot. Bicycles can be hired at the Schlossvorwerk, a leafy courtyard where you’ll also find a cafe, gift shops and luggage lockers.

Planning tip: A wander around the park will eventually take you to the main palace building, home to an interactive, push-button exhibit exploring the action-packed life of the park’s flamboyant mastermind. Be sure to take in the sweeping views of the park from the top of the palace tower.

This article was adapted from Lonely Planet’s Germany guidebook published in May 2024.