Dresden from 04/04 to 07/04: German weekend in Dresden

Once the site of Augustus the Strong’s lavish feasts, today’s museums are a testament to this magnificence! Stroll through the outdoor galleries and pavilions under the gaze of Hercules Saxonicus, then admire the 700-year-old Persian globe in the Salon des Mathématiques et Physiques.

Discover the distance counter, period music boxes, and burning mirror of physicist Tschirnhaus, a pioneer in porcelain manufacturing. Finish your visit in the Zwinger galleries, with the collection of Meissen porcelain and early coffee, tea, and chocolate services.

Finally, explore the Old Masters Gallery, where you’ll find famous works like Liotard’s Chocolate Ball, Raphael’s Sistine Madonna, and Carriera’s Portrait of a Turk. You might want to enjoy a drink in one of the nearby restaurants after viewing the elegant porcelain cups.

Take a two-hour musical tour of Dresden with your guide and learn about great composers like Richard Strauss, J.S. Bach and Gottfried Silbermann, who were on the payroll of the Saxon court. Learn why a "magic harp" was named for Richard Wagner's 300th birthday, and how a descendant of the Strauss dynasty composed a waltz, An der Elbe, in homage to Dresden.

Your walking tour through the historic center will take you from Theaterplatz with the Semper Opera and the Zwinger to the Residence Palace, the Palace of Culture, the Altmarkt with the Kreuzkirche, and the Neumarkt with the Frauenkirche.

Discover the Residence Palace, with its grand sgraffito courtyard and Renaissance loggias. Explore this historic complex, rebuilt after the war, for a 2-hour journey through 900 years of history. Formerly the residence of the Electors and Kings of Saxony, it now houses exhibitions from various museums showcasing unique collections. Feel the honor of being a state guest as you climb the majestic Englische Treppe staircase.

Named after the Saxon King Albert, the Albertinum Museum, dedicated to the "New Masters", exhibits remarkable sculptures and paintings. Masterpieces spanning nearly five millennia await you, including Egyptian and Greco-Roman cultures, the classical and neoclassical periods, and contemporary artists such as C.D. Friedrich and Gerhard Richter.

In its bright and well-structured spaces, sculptures and paintings are put into dialogue, with artistic works arranged according to periods to create a rich visual dialogue.

Follow us along the paths of the past, to the Dresden Opera House, designed by the architect Semper for one evening. From the entrance hall, through the magnificent staircase decorated with opulent arabesques and gods under its vaults, supported by splendid stucco columns and painted settings of excerpts from musical and literary works known from antiquity to the present day. Then take a seat with golden velvet cushions in the royal box and let your gaze wander over the gilded chandeliers to the "five-minute clock" crowning the stage frame.  
Then listen to the stories and anecdotes of this great house, famous composers, conductors, soloists and choreographers, and get a glimpse of the day-to-day work behind the scenes and on stage.