ITINERARY : TOUR IH11: DRESDEN: “Florence of the Elbe” - 6 Days
(any day throughout the year)
Dresden is one of Germany’s most beautiful cities. Established on the banks of the Elbe River, the city reached its pre-eminence as a centre of culture from 1485 when the Wettins decided to locate their residence here. Soon this city of the Saxon kings acquired many magnificent buildings. But the city’s charm and character were stolen almost overnight with the carpet-bombing raids of World War II. In recent years with meticulous restoration work, the city has slowly recovered from this devastation and many of its monuments, buildings and churches have been restored to their former glory. It is now a city of great wealth and attractions for tourists. With Dresden as your central location, this tour offers explorations into the surrounding countryside from Saxon Switzerland with its wonderfully wild forested hillsides around deep gorges and stunning rock formations; to the famous porcelain centre at Meissen; and cruise down the Elbe River to the Wasserpalais at Schloss Pillnitz. Whilst in this area, there is a great opportunity to explore the nearby beautiful state of Thuringia to follow the path of Goethe and to visit Weimar, Erfurt, Altenburg, Eisenach, Gotha whilst journeying through the Thuringian Forest covered with spruce, beech and oak forests.
Day 1: Arrival in Dresden. Meet and greet and transfer to your central city five-star hotel, preferably the Kempinski Taschenbergpalais, housed in a former palace and located just across the street from the Zwinger. Dinner is at your hotel. The evening is free for you to settle in.
Meals: Dinner
Day 2: After breakfast at your hotel, there is a “get acquainted” walking tour of the old city centre to see the Frauenkirche; Residenzschloss to see the world famous “Green Vaults” a vast collection of jewels, gems and table decorations;the Hofkircheand its amazing interiors; the Furstenzug and its frieze of Meissen porcelain tiles; Sachsische Staatsoper. There will be a stop for lunch (your own arrangements). After lunch there is a visit to the most famous building in Dresden, a beautiful Baroque structure known as the Zwinger, today housing several art collections. A special gallery is the Galerie Alte Meister whose exhibitions include works by Watteau, Jan van Eyck, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Canaletto, Velazquez, Titian, Raphael and Giorgione – a veritable “feast” for the art devotees. This evening there is an optional performance at the famous Semper Opera.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 3: After breakfast your driver/guide will take you for a cruise down the winding River Elbe. To three palaces: Albrechtberg, Eckberg and Lingner. Finally you will arrive at Schloss Pillnitz the summer residence of Augustus the Strong. There are two parallel palaces: the Bergpalais (mountain palace) and the Wasserpalais (water palace) which can be reached by stairs directly from the river jetty. There is an attractive English garden and a third palace the Neues Palais joined together the other two. There is also an orangery and pavilions with time for a snack. On your return journey you will have time to visit Moritzburg Palace – a former hunting lodge built in the centre of a lake and arguably one of the most beautiful baroque castles in Europe. On your return to the city, your evening is free.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Day 4: This morning your driver/guide will take you out to the city of Meissen, famous for its porcelain manufacture. The town is of late Gothic design and boasts the world’s oldest porcelain carillon. Also included today is a visit to the 10th century castle town of Altenburg with its remarkable castle-church building complex. There are rich baroque furnishings, an organ which was played by Bach; and in the Lindenau-Museum there is a collection of works by Martini, Frau Angelico, and Auguste Rodin. The drive back is through the beautiful Thuringian countryside. Evening is free.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Day 5: This morning there is further exploration of the city of Dresden with visits to include the Bruhlsche Terrasse and the Albertinum which houses works by Liebermann, Friedrich, Degas, Paul Gaughin, van Gogh, Manet and Monet. Also this morning is a visit to the Japanisches Palais and the Great Garden in the city centre. The afternoon is free for you to explore on your own or to just return to your hotel and rest or perhaps you would prefer to do some shopping. The evening is free.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 6: After breakfast at your hotel transfers are available to take you to the airport or station for your forward journey.
Meals: Breakfast
Prices: from: $4,170 per person twin share
Single: from: $6,517
Features of this Holiday
Imperial Holidays will be happy to organise independent programs for you if you wish to travel on to say, Potsdam and Berlin; Prague; or to the state of Thuringia and the centres of Eisenach, Weimar, Gotha, Erfurt and follow the footsteps of Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Strauss, Liszt and Nietzsche!
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