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ON YA BIKE

You won’t spend long in Saxony-Anhalt without noticing the large number of cycle tourists. After 1990’s unification, many Germans wanted to rediscover the mighty Elbe River, large tracts of which had been off-limits to Westerners previously. The Elberadweg (Elbe River Bike Trail; www.elberadweg.de) is now among Germany’s top three cycling routes, and wends its way some 860km west alongside the river, from the Czech border to Cuxhaven. The scenic 360km stretch in Saxony-Anhalt is particularly popular, helped along by low accommodation costs and a generally laidback pace of life. Tourist offices in the region have specific guides for individual stretches; they’re in German but mainly contain hotel and restaurant listings, plus route maps, so they can be quite useful.

However, you don’t have to set off on such an epic journey to enjoy wheeling around Saxony-Anhalt, as there are many shorter trails. One easy and immensely enjoyable route is the Fürst Franz Garden Realm Tour (68km), which travels between all the palaces around Dessau and Wörlitz, and passes along the Elbe River and the biosphere reserve information office. The Dessau tourist office (Click here) has a free pamphlet, For bike rental, Click here.

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Bus 334 runs from Dessau to Wörlitz roughly every two hours between 6am and 5.30pm (€2, 30 minutes). From late March to early October, there’s also train service on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday (€3, 35 minutes). Check the timetable carefully before heading out or, better yet, check with the information kiosk Mobilitätszentrale (see Getting There & Around, Click here) outside the train station. By road from Dessau, take the B185 east to the B107 north, which brings you right into town.

OTHER PARKS & PALACES

Just a five-minute walk from Dessau Hauptbahnhof, the sprawling 18th-century Georgium is anchored by the neoclassical Schloss & Park Georgium ( 0340-613 874; www.georgium.de, in German; Puschkinallee 100; adult/concession/family €3/2/7; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun), now a picture gallery showcasing German and Dutch old masters, including Rubens and Cranach the Elder. The leafy grounds are also dotted with ponds and fake Roman ruins, including a triumphal arch and a round temple.

Southwest of central Dessau, is Schloss & Park Mosigkau ( 0340-521 139; Knobelsdorffallee 3, Dessau; admission €4.50; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr & Oct, 10am-6pm May-Sep, close Nov-Mar), a petite rococo palace that’s been called a ‘miniature Sanssouci’. Many of the 17 rooms retain their original furnishings, although the highlight is the Galleriesaal with paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck. In summer, play hide-and-seek in the leafy labyrinth. To get there, take bus 16 to Schloss.

East of central Dessau, towards Wörlitz, Schloss & Park Luisium ( 0340-218 3711; Dessau; admission €4.50; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun May-Sep, to 5pm Apr & Oct, closed Nov-Mar) is an intimate neoclassical refuge framed by an idyllic English garden scattered with neo-Gothic and classical follies; it’s reached via bus 13 to Vogelherd.

The baroque Schloss & Park Oranienbaum ( 034904-202 59; admission €4.50; 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Apr & Oct, 10am-6pm Tue-Sun May-Sep, closed Nov-Mar) is south of Wörlitz and reached by bus 331. Landschaftspark Grosskühnau is near the southern end of Kühnau lake; its modest palace is home to administrative offices and not open to the public.

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FERROPOLIS

Some 15km south of Wörlitz, Ferropolis answers that nagging question: ‘What do you do with an abandoned open-pit GDR coal mine and leftover mining equipment that look like they were dispatched from some postapocalyptic nightmare?’

In 1991, some Bauhaus-inspired designers came up with a solution – a 25,000-seat concert venue and museum…of course! An amphitheatre was built, the mine pit was filled with water diverted from the Mulde River, and the monstrous machines (with charming names like Mad Max, Big Wheel and Medusa) were placed just so.

The