Dresden
Travel Advice for Seniors: Dresden
Dresden, the capital of Saxony, is known for its cultural heritage and its stunning baroque and rococo architecture, all meticulously rebuilt after WWII.
The bombing of Dresden by the Allies was a bit controversial as it was at the end of the war and killed approximately 25,000 people (mostly civilians it is said) and the historic city center. As mentioned, everything had to be rebuilt.
Dresden is also well regarded for its music. The Semper opera house ins home to the Staatskapelle orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic and the Kreuzchor boys’ choir.
Zwinger Palace, also rebuilt after WWII, is famous as a masterpiece of baroque architecture. It was rebuilt 1945-1963 and the original artwork returned. Do make time to stop by the palace and see the Old Masters Gallery and the Porcelain collection. Notable works by Old Masters include Jan van Eyck’s Dresden Triptych, Titian’s The Tribute Money plus works by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Holbein the Younger. The Palace takes about 2-3 hours to walk through depending on your level of interest.
A second “Don’t miss” in Dresden is the New Green Vault. This contains one of the largest collections of treasure in Europe including the Dresden Green Diamond. The New Green Vault and the Historical Green Vault are located in Dresden castle. The difference between the two is that the Historic Green Vault is more of a museum as it would have been seen in the 18th century, while the New Green Vault is a more modern setting.
We also stopped by the Dresden Frauenkirche, a Lutheran Church that was also destroyed and rebuilt between 1994 and 2005.
And finally, on a lighter note, Dresden is known for its gingerbread! It is not the hard dry type, but the fluffy, heavy type. Save some room!
Where we stayed: NH Dresden Hotel. Breakfast included, nice hotel, centrally located.
How we got there: About a three-hour bus ride from Berlin to Dresden. This was part of a ten-day small group tour through Germany with a side trip to Czech Republic.
General Accessibility Information: See notes above.Major tourist sights, newer hotels, and transportation in most major cities are accessible. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements. See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.
