Long-time London resident and avid museum and theatre-goer. I started this blog in 2014, and got serious about it in 2020 when I realised how much I missed arts and culture during lockdowns. I go to a lot more events than anyone would think is sensible, and love sharing my thoughts in the forms of reviews, the occasional thought piece, and travel recommendations when I leave my London HQ.
24 Hours In Dresden: A Visual Guide For Culture Lovers In A Hurry
16 mins
Follow me as I attempt to see as much of Dresden as possible in a day. This isn’t one of those nice, curated 24 guides, this is for the museum lovers who are willing to put in the miles.
Let’s Get A Few Things Straight
I love to travel. Often before I go somewhere new, I read a couple of ’24 Hours In XXX’ or ’48 Hours in YYY’ guides for inspiration. They’re lovely, but for me they are more aspirational than realistic. I’d love to be someone who goes to the trendiest spots for brunch or cocktails. But I’m not.
Instead, I am someone who, left to their own devices, will try to pack far too many cultural activities into a day. I will squeeze in just one more museum or one more church, and wear myself out in the process. The thing is, I can’t be the only one. So after a recent weekend trip to Dresden (which really meant one full day in Dresden) I thought it might be useful to create a different kind of ’24 Hours’ guide. What does 24 hours in Dresden look like if you love museums, arts and culture, and are willing to pack as much as possible into those hours? You will find out by the end of this post. Firstly, a few overall pointers:
The main issue in trying to fit in a lot of activities is that the hours for practically all visitor attractions are 10-6. Museums? 10-6. Church tower climb? 10-6. Panometer? 10-6. So fitting a lot in means working out how much you can do between 10-6.
I was in Dresden in April. I would like to go back in the summer months, and I would do things differently. I decided to save a trip on a steamboat for when it’s warmer and sunnier.
Book the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) ahead of time if you’re planning to visit. There were no day tickets available when I was there. I recommend the 10 AM slot to maximise your 10-6 possibilities and also because it’s quieter.
Public transport is relatively easy to use, and I got a tram to one destination by buying a ticket on board with a contactless card. No Uber in Dresden though, which was a bit of a pain.
You don’t have to speak German, but it probably helps a little to have a few phrases.
So let’s take a look at what you can do in 24 hours in Dresden if you’re culture-mad and willing to put in 30,000 steps. I don’t recommend it unless you also suffer from FOMO and have never met a museum you didn’t like. And don’t subject any friends or partners to this itinerary unless they’re on the same page: best for solo travellers.
8.30 AM: An Early Morning Walk And Breakfast
The weather wasn’t great for my day in Dresden, unfortunately. This probably kept me in my hotel slightly longer than I would have lingered otherwise. As it was, I headed off for a wander at about 8.30.It’s also a good opportunity to check out architecture old and new. Here we have a DDR-era artwork on the 1969 Kulturpalast, and some Baroque stonework in the Old Town. Dresden was famously destroyed by bombing and a firestorm in 1945, so part of your morning’s activities is working out what’s original and what’s rebuilt.I peered through archways, and admired the Fürstenzug, a survivor of the 1945 destruction. This ‘Procession of Princes’ depicts the city’s historic leaders in porcelain tiles.A quick look at the Frauenkirche, then up to the Brühlsche Terrasse above the Elbe. The Frauenkirche was only rebuilt between 1994 and 2005. A climb up to the top is one of the activities you can do between 10-6.A rainy view along the river and some more Baroque architecture.Then we spot some more DDR-era architecture nearby, including this memorial to the destroyed Dresden Synagogue.And then we cross over the river to the Neustadt (New Town). There were some sights I wanted to see here but I just didn’t have time. So I walked along to the next bridge, admiring the views along the way.Another way you know you are in the former East Germany is that the pedestrian crossings feature this charming chap, Ampelmännchen. He’s popular enough to be one of the few surviving traces of East Germany and Dresden’s socialist past.And a very different artistic vocabulary nearby with the Goldene Reiter. This gilded statue dates to 1736 and depicts Elector of Saxony Augustus the Strong. More on him later.Not much is open early on Saturdays, so I grabbed a coffee and a pastry near the Goldene Reiter and ate my breakfast while I walked.And now it’s almost 10 AM so let’s head back across to the Altstadt (Old Town) for our first museum.
10 AM: Dresdner Residenzschloss (Dresden Royal Palace)
The Dresdner Residenzschloss (Dresden Royal Palace) houses an immense collection spanning prints and drawings, applied arts, weaponry, Ottoman art and more. The building has a mix of styles, but primarily Baroque. Almost completely destroyed in 1945 it has taken decades to rebuild, with some sections only reopening within the last few years.Like everything here, the Dresdner Residenzschloss is open 10-6. This courtyard opens a little earlier though: good for getting out of the rain or purchasing your tickets. If you want to go to the most famous part of the Palace, however, you need to book in advance. The Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) was constructed by Augustus the Strong in the early 1700s to show off his collection of treasures. Today there is the Historic Green Vault which requires timed entry and frequently sells out. If you miss out, you can see over 1,000 of the original treasures in the New Green Vault.Here are some representations of Augustus the Strong. Elector of Saxony from 1694 (amongst other titles), he had a big personality. His name comes from his physical strength, however. He liked to break horseshoes with his bare hands, and was into something called ‘fox tossing’. He was so keen to expand his power he converted to Catholicism (can’t be King of Poland without that), and ensured Dresden was a city befitting his ambitions. Without his influence this would be a very different place indeed.As well as the Green Vaults you can see many different things at the Residenzschloss. There are State Rooms, ……weapons, armour and firearms, ……a collection of Ottoman art and spoils of war including this immense tent, ……royal clothing and textiles, and much more besides.You could easily spend many hours here, but we are on the clock so we will keep up a good pace. The trick is to wander through and soak up the atmosphere, without trying to take in all the detail. Starting our day at the Residenzschloss is a good way to learn about key figures and moments in Dresden’s history before heading out to explore the rest. There are various ticket options: I had a timed slot for the Historic Green Vault plus same-day entry to the other collections. Read my full review here.
12 PM: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery)
Here we are at the Zwinger, about to go into the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. The Zwinger is another former royal palace, this time inaugurated for a royal wedding in 1719. The complex houses several museums including the Old Masters Gallery, a museum of scientific instruments, and a porcelain collection. Normally there is a lovely public garden in the middle, but today it is a) raining and b) a construction site. Just as well because we can’t pack in the maximum number of activities if we’re spending too long in gardens.The Gemäldegalerie is a wonderfully old-fashioned kind of museum if you’re into that sort of thing. It contains the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden’s art collections up to 1800, and is colour coded for different artistic traditions: Flemish, Spanish, Italian, French etc.Canaletto’s nephew Bellotto was once the court painter here. The gallery has a spectacular collection of views of Dresden and Saxony painted in a Venetian style.There are also works by the Cranach family (top) and an excellent collection of 18th Century pastels. This one by Jean-Étienne Liotard, known as The Chocolate Girl, is the definite stand out.You can either enjoy the quality of the traditional works of art on view, or you can look out for the more unusual ones, like this baby being carried off by a bird (poor chap).When/if you tire of paintings, there is a separate section of the building which houses the antiquities collection. The artefacts are top notch, and span a number of different cultures.Then to top it all off there is a collection of plaster casts which once belonged to a famous artist, Anton Rafael Mengs. Casts were an important way for artists to become familiar with and learn from classical works of art. Mengs left his collection to the city of Dresden upon his death. A full post on the Gemäldegalerie can be found here.
1.30 PM: Time For Lunch
After the Gemäldegalerie I took a last look at the Zwinger and then headed off in search of a restaurant. This wasn’t quite as easy as I thought. I wanted something quick, easy and hearty after my busy morning. I ended up in an area with a lot of international options, but I wanted something German. What to do…?With a little bit of persistence I found the perfect place. The Gänsedieb (Goose Thief) is a traditional restaurant and bar, and served me this hearty meal of roast beef and dumplings. Their specialty is goose fat, eaten with chunks of fresh bread, but I didn’t quite think I could justify that on my own, no matter how many museums I’d walked around that morning.
2.30 PM: The Panometer Dresden
After my restful and hearty lunch, I caught a tram and walked a short distance to the Panometer Dresden. Panometer is a portmanteau word combining panorama and gasometer (ie. gas holder, like the ones in this image). I had been weighing up over lunch whether to head away from the Altstadt to see this, and I’m glad I did. It’s unlike anything else I did on my day in Dresden.Like many gasometers this one, dating to 1880, is no longer required for its original purpose. But as you can see this vast interior space is perfect for a big panorama and an accompanying exhibition. This is the work of Austrian-born artist Yadegar Asisi.Since it opened in 2006, the Dresden Panometer has displayed either a panorama of Baroque Dresden, or one showing the city’s destruction in 1945. Currently on view is an updated version of the Baroque panorama. There is an introductory exhibition to set the scene and create excitement before you reach the panorama itself.Once inside, the panorama is incredibly detailed and fascinating. The point of view is from the Katholische Hofkirche (now Dresden Cathedral), next door to the Royal Palace we visited this morning. Innumerable small scenes play out: a montage of moments from the Baroque era city circa 1756 rather than a specific date in history.The viewing platform is a great place to get a bird’s eye view of the action. You can also rent binoculars (I did) to get a closer look. The Panometer cycles through a day and a night, with accompanying lighting effects including twinkling lights in the little windows.Whether you see the Panometer as art or history or a tourist attraction (more on this here in a dedicated post), it does bring history to life. I spent quite a few ‘days’ taking it in, looking at it from different angles and thinking about the Baroque city when it was new. If you too go to the Panometer, take the time to watch the ‘making of’ video as you exit.
3.30 PM: A Walk Through The Grosser Garten
I decided to walk back towards the Altstadt and my next destination because… well at this point I must be a masochist. I was already pretty tired. But I did enjoy spotting more Ampelmännchen in the wild, so to speak.The walk to my next spot, the German Hygiene Museum, took me across the Grosser Garten. This translates as Great Garden, and is another of Dresden’s Baroque features. I didn’t see all its best features crossing straight through it: it has a mini railway and zoo amongst other attractions.The park was built for Elector of Saxony Johann Georg III in 1676, and has been a public garden since 1814. This is its attractive Summer Palace, one of several spots where cultural offerings are staged.Given I was a bit early for summer flowers and didn’t have time to stop and sit in the park, this is probably another thing which, like a steamboat trip, I could have saved for a return trip in the warmer months. But nonetheless it was a pleasant walk and a bit of fresh air.
Was I about dead on my feet by this time? Yes. But could I help trying to squeeze in just one last museum? Clearly not. That final museum was the Deutches Hygiene-Museum (German Hygiene Museum). It first opened in 1912 thanks to the determination of local businessman Karl August Lingner, who sold hygiene products. Lingner was also the force behind the first International Hygiene Exhibition in 1911. This building, the museum’s current home, was part of the Second International Hygiene Exhibition in 1930-31.The museum had the ups and downs you might expect over the 20th Century. During the Nazi era it espoused racist pseudoscience and eugenics. After WWII and within the DDR it focused once more on public health messages. Today’s museum has expanded beyond its original mission to tell the story of the ‘Human Adventure’. It’s all about bodies and people: how they work in both a medical and a social context. Figures like this ‘Transparent Woman’ have been popular since the museum’s early days.The German Hygiene Museum is an interesting museum, and very different from the Baroque focus of the rest of our day so far. It’s popular with locals and families, but everything is translated into English as well so tourists don’t miss out. It’s a big building with a lot of exhibition space, so takes a lot longer to explore properly than I could manage. But I enjoyed my quick look around. The exhibition design is particularly nice: I liked this lighting which evokes hospital corridors.Old medical collections really do make for some interesting displays, as here with these faces showing the presentations of different diseases.The museum also displays the Schwartzkopf Collection: the corporate collection of the beauty product firm. As you can see here, the collection consists of historic objects related to beauty and makeup. A small insight into how a firm’s activities and focuses change over time.
5.30 PM: A Quick Bite To Eat
It wasn’t far after the German Hygiene Museum to complete my walk back to the Old Town. I needed a break by this time, but had also arranged one final activity for 7PM, so didn’t have too long.Back in the main square now, let’s just take the briefest of looks into the Frauenkirche (with apologies to the gentleman who I paparazzied). As I mentioned above, it was only rebuilt in 2005, but you wouldn’t know it to look at the interior decoration. I didn’t have time to climb the tower, but that was another of the 10-6 options.And then it was time to select somewhere for dinner. I went full-on tourist mode for dinner for a couple of reasons. Firstly of all I had to be somewhere at 7 so I needed quick turnaround. No time for nice, unhurried service, I needed somewhere that was trying to get me in and out as fast as possible. Mututally beneficial. Secondly after all that time on my feet, I wanted something hearty again. Enter traditional German menu with its nice starchy foods and big servings of schnitzel. And thirdly, I was intrigued by this concept of ‘museum gastronomy’ at Dresden 1900. I mean obviously it’s a way to market the restaurant for tourists rather than being actually museum-like. But it meant that I ate my dinner sitting next to a restored tram, watching old newsreel footage of Dresden. Things that are ‘touristy’ get a bad name, but I got exactly what I wanted out of Dresden 1900, and then steeled myself to rush off to my final activity for the day.
7 PM: Night Watchman Tour
Night Watchman tours are to Dresden as Jack the Ripper tours are to London. They happen daily, multiple companies do basically the same thing, and they’re a mix of history and entertainment. On the plus side for Dresden, the Night Watchman tours are less troubling from a feminist point of view. On the minus side, they seem to only take place in German. I decided I spoke enough German to join a tour. I hadn’t counted on it being delivered in a deliberately strong local dialect, but I got by.We all drank the mini alco-pops that were handed out for some reason, were split into manageable groups, and then got underway. The tours focus once more on the Baroque city. They take about 90 minutes, and you walk around the Theaterplatz (above), the Residenzschloss, the Zwinger, a bit more wandering, then end up in front of the Frauenkirche. For me, it was basically like a recap of my overly busy day.The clever thing about the Night Watchman format is that it allows for the perspective of everyday people. My museum morning was all about Augustus the Strong, but this is more about how all those changes he implemented impacted the citizens of Dresden. It’s funny and relatable, so a nice way to bring history to life.We had a look at the Zwinger from a different perspective, and heard more about the royal wedding that inaugurated it.And saw the city streets turn dark. While I had really exhausted myself by this point and would never have dreamt of packing so much in if I wasn’t on my own, I enjoyed the tour as a way to cap off the day’s activities. I hope that if you visit Dresden you will be a little more sensible than me, or have more time to spread your activities out further. For me, this was a great introduction to the city and gave me plenty of ideas for a return visit at some point, hopefully in better weather.I will leave you with this final image of Dresden, spotted on my way back to my hotel and to bed. Good night!
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