Walking Dresden: Old Town, New Town, Elbe

Dresden is easy to cover on foot. The old town is flat, the Augustusbrücke leads over to the north bank, and both loops below need no ticket. Wear comfortable shoes and allow a few hours for each one.

Loop one: the Altstadt, about 2.5 km

Follow the stops in this order and the route stays flat from start to finish.

  1. Neumarkt and the Frauenkirche. Start at the church. Look for the dark stones in the facade, about 4,000 of them original.
  2. Brühl’s Terrace. Climb to the promenade above the Elbe.
  3. Schlossplatz. Pass the Katholische Hofkirche, the Baroque cathedral.
  4. Augustusstraße. Read the Fürstenzug, the 102 m tile mural of Saxon rulers.
  5. Theaterplatz. The Semperoper faces the square.
  6. Zwinger. Finish in the Baroque courtyard, which is free to enter.

Loop two: the Neustadt, about 3.5 km

Cross the Augustusbrücke to the north bank. The Goldener Reiter, the golden rider statue, stands on the Neustädter Markt. From there walk along the Hauptstraße, the Baroque main street of the Innere Neustadt, and continue into the Äußere Neustadt, a district of bars and street art.

Your target is the Kunsthofpassage at Görlitzer Straße 21 to 25, where five themed courtyards are free to walk through. A short detour leads to Pfunds Molkerei at Bautzner Straße 79. The dairy shop dates from the 1880s and has walls lined with hand-painted tiles. Looking in the shop costs nothing; opening hours vary through the year, so check pfunds.de before you go.

By the river

The Terrassenufer promenade reopened on 17 September 2025 after the Carolabrücke was demolished. It runs below Brühl’s Terrace, past the paddle-steamer piers, and it is free. There is currently no bridge at the Carolabrücke site, and a replacement is planned for about 2030 to 2031. Trams 3 and 7 are diverted, so check dvb.de before riding between the loops.

Remembrance sites, each on its own visit

These places deserve their own time and a quiet manner. None is a stop on the loops above.

  • Heidefriedhof. At Moritzburger Landstraße 299, the cemetery holds the Ehrenhain, a memorial grove for victims of the February 1945 bombing. Visiting starts at 07:00 and ends at 20:00 from April to October, or at 18:00 from November to March.
  • DenkRaum Sophienkirche. Near Postplatz, it commemorates the Sophienkirche, which the East German authorities demolished in 1962 and 1963 along with the Busmannkapelle, a side chapel from about 1400. The site reopened under this name in November 2025; confirm hours before you visit.
  • Gedenkstätte Münchner Platz. The former regional court, opened in 1907, is now TU Dresden’s Georg-Schumann-Bau. About 1,330 people were executed there in the Nazi period, 824 of them Czech, and 83 more in the Soviet occupation and East German period. Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten runs it, and entry is free. Check the foundation’s website for opening hours.
  • Gedenkstätte Bautzner Straße. At number 112a, this is the former Stasi district detention site. Admission is 8 EUR, or 5 EUR reduced. See stasihaft-dresden.de .

Visits to the Neue Synagoge and the Old Jewish Cemetery are guided only; see the attraction tours page .

A guided walk instead

If you prefer a live guide, compare walking tour listings on Viator .

Read more: Dresden sightseeing and the Dresden destination guide .