Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [146]
Quasimodo ( 866 0224; Adlergasse 14)
Ufa-Palast ( 482 5825; St-Petersburger-Strasse 24a)
THEATRE
Dresden’s vibrant theatre scene sees many small companies perform throughout the city; SAX has the scoop. Buy theatre tickets at the tourist office or the theatre’s box office an hour before performances. Many theatres close from mid-July until early September.
Carte Blanche ( 204 720; www.carte-blanche-dresden.de; Priessnitzstrasse 10) Drag-queen shows at their finest.
Schauspielhaus ( 491 3555; www.staatsschauspieldresden.de) Altstadt (Theaterstrasse 2); Neustadt (Glacisstrasse 28) The renowned Staatsschauspiel ensemble plays mostly crowd-pleasers by German playwrights in two venues.
Societätstheater ( 803 6810; www.societaetstheater.de; An der Dreikönigskirche 1a) A modern and experimental theatre.
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Getting There & Away
Dresden airport ( 881 3360; www.dresden-airport.de) deals mainly in domestic and charter flights.
Dresden is 2¼ hours south of Berlin-Hauptbahnhof (€36). For Leipzig choose from hourly ICE trains (€29, 1½ hours) or RE trains (€20.80, 1½ hours). The S-Bahn runs half-hourly to Meissen (€5.30, 40 minutes) and Bad Schandau (€5.30, 50 minutes). There are connections to Frankfurt (€85, five hours) and Prague (€30.70, two hours).
Dresden is connected to Leipzig via the A14/A4, to Berlin via the A13/A113, and to the Czech Republic via the B170 south.
For ride-shares contact Mitfahrzentrale ( 194 30; Dr-Friedrich-Wolf-Strasse 2).
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Getting Around
Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB; 857 1011) runs the city’s buses and trams as well as a couple of information kiosks, including one on Albertplatz.
The S2 train serves the airport from the Hauptbahnhof and Dresden-Neustadt (€1.80, 22 and 13 minutes respectively). Budget about €18 for a taxi to the Hauptbahnhof.
Single bus and tram tickets cost €1.80, a day pass €4.50. The family day pass, for two adults and up to four kids, is a steal at €6.50. Tickets are available aboard and from vending machines at stops.
The starting rate for taxis is €2.50. There are ranks at the Hauptbahnhof and Neustadt station, or ring 211 211. For short hops within the Altstadt, consider a Velotaxi pedicab (rickshaw), which charge €2.50 per person for the first kilometre, then €1 for each additional kilometre.
Antrieb ( 8582 059; Könneritzstrasse 7), near the Dresden-Mitte station, hires out bikes for €11 per day.
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AROUND DRESDEN
Schloss & Park Pillnitz
Baroque has gone exotic at this pleasure palace ( 261 3260; park admission free; park 5am-dusk, visitors centre 9am-6pm May-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Apr), festooned with fanciful Chinese flourishes. This is where the Saxon rulers once lived it up during long hot Dresden summers. A mere 10km southeast of Dresden, Pillnitz is dreamily wedged in between vineyards and the Elbe, and is best reached aboard a steamer (one-way/return €10/16, 1½ hours) operated by Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt ( 866 090; www.saechsische-dampfschiffahrt.de); boats leave from the Terrassenufer in Dresden (Click here). Otherwise, bus 83 stops at the palace car park.
Guided tours are only for groups of 10 or more, but you can easily explore the wonderful gardens on your own with maps and leaflets from the visitors centre. To learn more about the history of the palace and life at court, visit the Schlossmuseum (adult/concession €4/2; 10am-5pm Apr-Oct, guided tours 11am & 2pm daily May-Oct, 11am, noon, 2pm & 3pm Sat & Sun Nov-Apr) in the Neues Palais.
Two other buildings, the Wasserpalais and the Bergpalais, house the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Arts & Crafts Museum; 261 30; adult/concession €4/3, more during special exhibits; 10am-6pm daily May-Oct), which is filled with fancy furniture and objects from the Saxon court, including Augustus the Strong’s throne.
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Schloss Moritzburg
Rising assertively from a lake 14km northwest of Dresden, Schloss Moritzburg ( 035207-873 18; adult/concession/family