Saxony · Germany
Where to stay in Dresden
Dresden is a city in Saxony, Germany, home to about 563,000 people. This guide covers 5 aparthotels and 3 hotels in Dresden, with about 462 rooms between them. 1 of them carries a published guest score, and the list below is ordered by it.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 8
- Best months
- May, June, August and September
- Nearest airport
- DRS10 km · Dresden Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Berlin
- Language
- German
About
About Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth largest by area, and the third-most populous city in the area of former East Germany, after Berlin and Leipzig.
Dresden is over 800 years old, having become a city in 1206. Many Saxon princes, dukes and kings called Dresden home, the most famous of them being August der Starke (Augustus the Strong), who was also King of Poland. The many buildings and rich art collections that date from this era, are testimony to the monarchs' extreme wealth. Raphael's Sistine Madonna, a famous oil painting of the Virgin Mary, was bought by the son of August the Strong, and is on display in Dresden.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Dresden
See
Dresden is a very beautiful, light-spirited city, especially in summer, when you can appreciate the serene setting of the historic centre. Although Dresden is larger than Munich when measured by area, the historic centre is quite compact and walkable.
- Frauenkirche
- Zwinger Palace
- Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
- Porzellansammlung
- Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon
- Residenzschloss
- Grünes Gewölbe
- Rüstkammer
- Kupferstich-Kabinett
- Münzkabinett
- Semperoper
- Fürstenzug
Do
- Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
- Dresden Philharmonic
- Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden
- KlangNetz-Dresden
- Theaterruine St. Pauli
- Roller Blade Night
- Dresden Monarchs
- Dynamo Dresden
- Dresdner Eislöwen
- Dresdner SC
- Elberadweg
- Ice skating at the JoyNext Arena
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
The best-rated places to stay in Dresden
Ordered by guest score as each operator publishes it, weighted by the number of reviews so a handful of perfect scores does not outrank thousands of very good ones. Scores are shown on their own scale.
| # | Place to stay | Rooms | Guest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonardo Hotel Dresden Altstadt hotel | 162 | 88/100 6,377 reviews |
7 more places to stay, without a published guest score
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Barceló Dresden Newa hotel | |
| Dresden Antonstraße aparthotel | 27 |
| Dresden Hoyerswerdaerstraße aparthotel | 28 |
| Dresden Jordanstraße aparthotel | 28 |
| Dresden Tannenstraße aparthotel | 26 |
| Dresden Wallstraße aparthotel | 18 |
| MEININGER Hotel Dresden Zentrum hotel | 173 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Dresden to stay in
Dresden charges a lodging tax (Beherbergungssteuer), which anyone offering accommodation has to collect from their guests. Often the tax is not listed on booking websites. The charge depends on the cost of the room and is charged per night. It is 6% (as of May 2024). Detailed information is available in English here. Some groups are exempt from paying the tax, including minors. Travellers on a business trip are no longer exempt from the tax. Since Dresden regained its status as a popular tourist destination, it has also developed a large accommodation base for every taste and budget.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Dresden
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Dresden are May, June, August and September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; July is the wettest, with about 101 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Dresden: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Dresden Airport (DRS), about 9.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Karlovy Vary Airport (KLV, 111 km) and Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG, 112 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
In the centre, especially in the historic part of the Old Town (Altstadt), everything is easily accessible on foot. (The city centre is not the geographical midpoint of the city). If you want to go to the outer districts (unlikely for most travelers) you will probably have to take a bike or public transport (most tram lines go well into the suburbs). Dresden has an extensive reliable and high quality (even by German standards) public transport system consisting of regional railways (called S-Bahn, historically Schnellbahn), trams (called Straßenbahn) and buses.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
DRS · Dresden Airport
KLV · Karlovy Vary Airport
PRG · Václav Havel Airport Prague
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Dresden
Eat
Dresden is particularly famous for its Stollen (a Christmas cake made from yeast dough with raisins, butter and almonds) Locals perennially discuss which bakery bakes the best Stollen. Another speciality is Dresdner Eierschecke, a cake with three layers: a thin base of yeast dough, a layer of quark pudding in the middle, and a broad layer of egg yolk cream on top. Dresdner Wiegebraten is a mixture of minced pork, beef, white bread, eggs and spices. It is usually served with boiled or fried potatoes and sauce, often with vegetables. You can try it at the zum Wiegebraten restaurant.
Drink
The area around the Frauenkirche and Dresden Castle is very popular with tourists. Some fine restaurants are located there. The Weiße Gasse is just around the corner of the Altmarkt near the shopping centre and the historical town. A good alternative if you do not want to go to the Neustadt.
Stay safe
Dresden is a safe place to be, just like the rest of Germany. Avoid visiting the Alaunpark in the night. Be careful in the Neustadt after midnight; don't use small dark streets. Media reports will point out that extreme right parties are relatively popular; however, these are very small groups (a few hundred people) who have little to no effect on everyday life for most people. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact places where the right-wing extremists of Dresden live the relatively poor high-rise ("Plattenbau") neighborhoods of Gorbitz and Prohlis have a reputation of being inhabited by more Nazis than other parts of town.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Dresden
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 8 places
of 8 places
of 8 places
of 8 places
of 8 places
Questions
Dresden: questions travellers ask
What are the best-rated hotels in Dresden?
By published guest score: Leonardo Hotel Dresden Altstadt (88 / 100 · 6,377 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)).
When is the best time to visit Dresden?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Dresden are May, June, August and September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; July is the wettest, with about 101 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Dresden?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Dresden Airport (DRS), about 9.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Karlovy Vary Airport (KLV, 111 km) and Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG, 112 km) are also within reach.
Are there accessible hotels in Dresden?
1 place in this guide list accessible rooms.
What currency is used in Dresden?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Dresden
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.