The city is divided into two main districts, the Altstadt (Old City) and Neustadt (New City), which both have their own very distinct flavor and flair. Because Dresden is located halfway between Berlin and Prague, it’s an easy stop for tourists on their way to these two European hot spots. But make no mistake: This city is well worth a visit on its own.

We’ve gathered some budget travel tips here for your trip to Dresden, including plenty of ways to save on your visit.

Arriving at Dresden’s Hauptbanhof train station. Photo: Bert Kaufmann

Getting there

Dresden International Airport is located north of the city. The fastest and cheapest way to reach the city from the airport is to take the S2 line S-Bahn train right into Dresden — you’ll reach the main train station in a little over 20 minutes.

Dresden also has two major train stations, Dresden-Neustadt and Dresden Hauptbahnhof, which are separated by the Elbe River. As you might guess, the station Dresden-Neustadt is located in Neustadt, the district to the north of the Elbe river. Dresden Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is in the Altstadt, Dresden’s impressive old town to the south of the Elbe river.

Save with the bus: If you’re coming from somewhere else in Germany, one of the cheapest ways to reach Dresden is by bus. The bus company Flixbus, for example, offers one-way tickets between Berlin and Dresden for as low as €9 per person.

Related: Germany’s discount bus craze with fares as low as €1

Getting around Dresden

Like most cities in Germany, Dresden has a great public transportation system. Buses, trams (called Strassenbahn in German) and trains will take you anywhere you want to go, day or night — though fewer options will be available in the wee hours. To map out your trip from point a to point b, you can take a look at the website of the DVB, Dresden’s transportation service.

Save with day tickets: If you’re planning to travel to several different destinations in the city, you’ll save if you buy a day ticket. These tickets cost €6 for a single person or €9 for a family ticket. If you’re traveling with other people besides the family, you’ll save even more: Small group day tickets cost only €15 for up to five people for the day’s travel.

Still, nothing is cheaper than relying on your own two feet. Luckily, Dresden is a very walkable city, so, unless you end up wearing out a pair of shoes, this is the most frugal option.

Altstadt

Once home to the King of Saxony and a handful of Electors, Dresden’s Altstadt is the city’s biggest draw —and for good reason. Dresden’s old town was known as the Jewel Box because of the baroque and rococo buildings in its city center, and many have been restored to their former glory.

The most famous of these include:

• the Dresdener Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady), which remained a ruin in memory of the war until it was restored in 2005
• the Royal Palace
• Semper Opera House
• Neumarkt and Altmarkt Square

But you won’t only find Baroque buildings here: Many early Renaissance and 19th-century buildings are also located in the Altstadt, making it a dream come true for any architecture buff.

Tips on how to save in the Altstadt

Eat elsewhere: If you get hungry while touring the Altstadt, try to pop into a bakery or a grocery store to pick up a snack. Many of the restaurants in the area are tourist-quality (read: mediocre) and overpriced. You’ll definitely get a better bargain for your buck outside this tourist zone.

Welcome Card: For any culture lovers, Dresden has a lot to offer, with palaces and museums galore. If you think you’d like to spend a day or two traipsing through these fine sights, you might want to look into buying a Dresden Welcome Card. The two-day Dresden Museum Card will give you free admission to 14 different museums for €22. If you’re not planning to hit up a long list of museums, however, you might just want to stick to the day tickets for public transit, as they also offer discounts on admission, and cost less.

Last-minute reduced price opera tickets: In the mood for some high opera melodrama in the absolutely gorgeous Semperoper, but not looking to dig deep into your pockets? Check out the box office shortly before the scheduled performance. If you get lucky, they may still have some remaining tickets for a fraction of the price.

Neustadt

Neustadt is made up of two main areas: Innere (inner) Neustadt, also known as the Baroque Quarter, and Äußere (outer) Neustadt. With its baroque facades and high fashion shopping miles, like Königstraße, Innere Neustadt is the closest in spirit to the Altstadt, but with more dining choices.

But Äußere Neustadt is where you’ll find Dresden’s nightlife. With an arty edge favored by students and the creatively inclined, Äußere Neustadt is where the freaks come out at night in the best sense of the word; a reputation the neighborhood also enjoyed during GDR times. Although the district has since become more gentrified, it is still Dresden’s best place for bar hopping, great restaurants and cafes, and funky little boutiques.

Our tip: Save the sightseeing for the Altstadt and Innere Neustadt, but hang out and grab a bite to eat here at night.

Hotels in Dresden

Dresden has dozens of budget accommodations available. Private rooms at hostels start as low as $40 per night, but 3-star hotels with great perks can easily be had for under $100 for a double room right in the city center. Search over 250 hotels in Dresden on EuroCheapo.

The post A Budget Travel Guide to Dresden, Germany appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Not all 38 listings are exclusive to Germany—some are shared with other European countries. Many include multiple sites within one region of Germany or more widely across the country.

Protect and preserve

The GNTB Chief Executive Petra Hedorfer is busy telling the world about Germany’s “political obligation to protect and preserve” the World Heritage on its territory. “Looking after these World Heritage sites in a sustainable and responsible manner is therefore of great importance,” says Frau Hedorfer.

So GNTB staff are keen to play the UNESCO card. And rightly so, for Germany does have a fabulous range of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. They include historical town centers such as Lübeck, Quedlinburg and Bamberg; the cradle of German Classicism in Weimar; and many architectural sites such as the Bauhaus legacy (mainly in Dessau, but in a more limited way in Weimar too), the Fagus factory in Alfeld and the Modernist housing estates of Berlin.

Old town in Quedlinburg is a World Heritage Centre that dates back to the 900s. Photo: Stefan Munder

Castles and palaces, parks and gardens

There are castles and palaces such as those in Eisenach and Potsdam; cathedrals aplenty, among them those in Cologne, Aachen and Hildesheim; and a feast of wonderful garden landscapes including Muskauer Park (a cross-border landscape park in the Lausitz region that extends over the River Neisse into neighboring Poland).

Among Germany’s World Heritage sites are two very distinctive natural landscapes: the tidal flats of the Wadden Sea and several areas of ancient beech forests, mainly in eastern Germany. The country’s industrial heritage is also very well showcased on the UNESCO List with old mines in the Harz Mountains and the Ruhr region getting a mention. The Völklingen Ironworks in Saarland also feature on the list.

Download the app

Each of Germany’s 38 World Heritage sites is worth a journey in its own right. And you can discover all of them with one free app available on the iTunes site.

GNTB’s current campaign to foreground UNESCO World Heritage is truly impressive. But perhaps we should contextualize this development. Germany is the only country in Europe to have suffered the ignominy of having a site deleted from the UNESCO List. Dresden secured a place on the coveted list in 2004—but has since been deleted.

The Dresden affair

The inscription cited the cultural landscapes of the Elbe Valley which preserve key elements from Saxony’s early industrialization. But the Dresden authorities mightily annoyed UNESCO by building a new bridge over the Elbe through the very heart of the World Heritage site. This was probably not quite the sort of action that Petra Hedorfer has in mind when she talks of the “political obligation to protect and preserve.”

The intrusive bridge opened last year, shaming Dresden and indeed the whole of Germany. Yet tucked away in the debate over the rights and wrongs of the bridge were some intriguing issues about the nature of heritage and the responsibilities of communities that buy into the heritage agenda.

Back on track for 2014

So we certainly applaud the GNTB mission for 2014 in giving a boost to Germany’s World Heritage sites. It may include a touch of atonement for having fluffed the Dresden issue, but it certainly also sends out some very positive messages about the country’s renewed commitment to the heritage agenda.

The post Celebrating UNESCO World Heritage in Germany appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Discontinued services

First the bad news. A number of services have been axed, notably:

1. The overnight trains or through carriages from Munich to Copenhagen, Warsaw and Moscow.

2. The overnight services from Prague to Zagreb and Zürich via Linz (although the long established City Night line service from Prague via Dresden to Zürich continues just as now).

3. The once daily direct train from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Szczecin in Poland.

New links and improvements

But in a Europe where rail travel is becoming ever more popular, there were many notable improvements to services that came with the introduction of the 2011 schedules last Sunday. Some of the highlights include:

1. Dramatic improvements to services between St. Petersburg and Helsinki using sleek new Allegro trains that trim about 90 minutes off the journey times between the two cities.

2. More trains and faster journey times between Paris and Geneva, as the Haut-Bugey high-speed link through the Jura came into operation.

3. Increased frequency and faster travel times on daytime services linking Warsaw with Berlin.

4. More frequent direct services between Brussels and Calais on the French coast.

5. An additional daily service on the busy Paris to Amsterdam route.

6. Entirely new services linking Prague and Dresden with Szczecin in Poland.

7. New direct trans-Alpine trains from Venice to Basel (via the Gotthard route) and to Munich (via the Brenner Pass).

8. Better links from Hamburg with a new overnight train to Paris, and a new daytime service from Hamburg to Vienna via Hannover and Passau (complementing the existing daytime service via Berlin and Prague which continues just as in 2010).

9. An extra daily fast train on the Budapest to Bratislava route.

10. A new direct daytime train between Warsaw and Budapest (complementing the existing overnight service which continues as in the past).

In the weeks ahead

While most of the 2011 schedules came into effect this week, there are a small number of outstanding changes that will be introduced  in the weeks ahead. They include:

Effective December 19: An entire new Spanish high-speed route opens linking Madrid with both Valencia and Albacete. This will dramatically transform travel in eastern Spain, slashing the travel time from Madrid to Valencia by more than half.

On the same date a new high-speed link across the French-Spanish border will open, initially with just twice daily TGV trains from Paris to Figueres, where passengers must change for onward travel to Barcelona. With much reduced journey times, the new link will give much improved daytime connections between Catalunya and cities such as Geneva and London.

Effective January 7: New direct ski season services from Belgium and Luxembourg to the Tarentaise region in the French Alps and to resorts in both the Tyrol and the Salzburg regions of Austria.

You can review all the main 2011 rail schedules in each monthly edition of the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable.  The December edition, which is already available, contains over 500 pages of the 2011 schedules.  The January edition (published next week) includes the full schedules (including late changes which were not available when the December issue went to press) and a useful fares supplement.  That comes as standard fare in each January edition of the timetable, and we find it especially useful as it gives indicative costs for journeys within most European countries as well as for international routes.

The post European Train Update: 2011 rail changes appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Candidates for the 2010 UNESCO List

The historic center of Amsterdam is in the running this year for one of the cherished spots on the UNESCO List. Heritage is of course more than merely Gothic cathedrals and Tuscan gardens and this year’s applications from Europe include a pitch from Slovenia that focuses on the history and legacy of the mercury industry around Idrija. Belgium also picks up a mining theme with a plea for a new UNESCO designation for old mining communities in Wallonia. Other candidates for 2010 are the old Episcopal city of Albi in southwest France and the Augustów Canal that spans the border of Poland and Belarus.

Downe: Evolution in the spotlight

Our favorite bid in this year’s palette of applications is that from the UK. The Brits are plugging Downe, a nomination that seems a little improbable at first sight. But Downe, on London’s southern boundary, is more than just one more anonymous community on the rural-urban fringe. Charles Darwin lived in Downe for forty years and the country immediately around Downe was the setting for many of Darwin’s investigations into evolution. The UK proposal for Charles Darwin’s Living Landscape Laboratory must surely be a front runner for 2010.

When things go wrong

Getting a place on the UNESCO list is not easy, and once secured means that the city or site stays in the limelight, as the Taliban found to their cost when they dynamited the famous Afghan buddhas that had long featured on the list.

The German city of Dresden fell from favour as city officials pushed ahead with plans for a new road bridge over the Elbe, so slicing through a World Heritage Site. UNESCO was not amused and last year stripped Dresden of its World Heritage status. The Elbe valley at Dresden is the only World Heritage Site in Europe ever to have been delisted.

The post Pitching for 2010 World Heritage Status appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Keeping warm the glühwein way

For guaranteed warmth, employ our favorite weapon against the cold: Glühwein.

Sold in festive mugs at the city’s dozens of Christmas markets, this spiced, hot wine warms you from the inside out. It costs about €5, including a deposit for the mug. Trust us, however: This giddiness-inducing beverage is worth the splurge. It’s like holiday spirit in a glass.

Our favorite Christmas markets in Berlin

Germany’s capital isn’t as famous as Dresden, Munich, and the Ore Mountains for its annual Christmas markets (roughly late November–Dec. 31; opening times vary), but it doesn’t hurt to check out one or two of the more than 20 markets that spring up in the city every year.

Because most markets are free (or inexpensive) to enter, they’re a Cheapo-friendly way to spend the evening. Snacks, which include sausage roasted over a wood grill, fresh gingerbread, potato pancakes, roasted chestnuts, and much more, won’t break the bank, either. If you’re in the market for gifts, you can often score handcrafted items—from knit scarves and mittens to handmade jewelry—for reasonable prices.

In addition to our three favorite markets, detailed below, check out the Berlin tourist office’s complete list of the city’s 22 markets.

Très Elegant Market: Gendarmenmarkt

The classiest of Berlin’s Christmas markets occupies Gendarmenmarkt (S- and U-bahn: Friedrich Strasse, Brandenburger Tor, €1), an elegant square in Mitte, between Friedrich Strasse and Unter den Linden. Lined with neat rows of pitched white tents adorned with golden lights, the market features craftsmen who produce delicate wooden combs, birdcages, precious stone jewelry, and more on the spot.

Kitschy Fun Market: Winterwelt am Potsdamer Platz

The expansive Winterwelt am Potsdamer Platz (S- and U-bahn: Potsdamer Platz) is stocked with red and white striped stands hawking the usual food and handicrafts. You can also take a twirl on a small iceskating rink (entry is free; ice skate rental is €2.50) or, if you reserve ahead, play a round of “Eisstockbahn,” a wintry version of bowling.

Illuminated with environmentally-friendly LED lights, this market is touristy but atmospheric. Don’t forget to pop into the Sony Center, which is decorated with some 41,000 icy blue lights.

Cozy Market: Lucia Weihnachtsmarkt in der Kulturbrauerei

Nestled in the expansive courtyard of a red brick beer brewery-turned-cultural complex in Prenzlauer Berg, the Lucia Weihnachtsmarkt in der Kulturbrauerei (U-bahn: Eberswalder Str.) is a quaint affair with a Finnish vibe. Look for Finnish Glühwein, honey, and textiles. If you happen to visit on a Sunday, wander over to Kollwitzplatz (Dec. 13 and 20) to check out its small, weekly market, which specializes in organic food and gifts.

The post Berlin: Christmas markets and winter treats appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

We took a day out from our regular work with hidden europe magazine last week and conjured up a tempting palette of trips criss-crossing the continent. And then we compared the ticket prices on a national rail website (that of the Deutsche Bahn) with the prices offered for those journeys by rail ticketing agents based in Britain and North America. We took care to ensure that the tickets we purchased were in every case for exactly the same trains.

So a straight comparison, comparing like-with-like. Same class of travel, same comfy seat, same scenery slipping by outside the window – for all five routes in our basket of European rail trips.

The five routes we tested
1. Berlin to London single (by day, depart after 9:00 AM, any route) on September 3: one adult, 2nd class.
2. Amsterdam to Salzburg single (by day, no more than one change of train) on July 14: one adult, 1st class.
3. London to Cologne via Brussels single (depart at 8:00 AM or later) on September 10: one adult, 2nd class.
4. Berlin to Zagreb single via Hamburg (2 night stop) and Munich (2 night stop) on August 20: one adult, any class.
5. Nuremberg to Dresden same day return (direct trains only) on June 20 for a family of five, 2nd class.

For each of these five journeys, we thought that the German Railways (viz. Deutsche Bahn) website at www.bahn.de would offer some reasonable fare advice, and so it did. Indeed, all five journeys could be booked online through their website.

Then we turned to agents selling rail tickets in North America and Britain to get quotes for precisely the same journeys. This was done first by online research, often followed up by telephone calls to check precise details.

The results

And guess what? The leading agencies specializing in European rail tickets always charged at least twice as much as would the Deutsche Bahn for exactly the same journey.

The key point here is that in most of Europe, rail operators have a whole raft of special promotional fares that massively undercut the regular tariffs (often with discount of more than 80% on the standard fare). But agents rarely offer those discounted fares, preferring to safeguard their hefty commission fees by selling only the full fare.

Comparing the fares

Now take a look at how those fares compared. Listed below are the Deutsche Bahn (DB) fares that were available for purchase around midday of Friday, June 12, 2009 followed by the cheapest fare quoted the same day by a leading North American or British agent (all sterling and dollar fares have been converted to euros just to make things clearer).

1. Berlin to London (2nd class) DB: €49 / Agent Fare: €209
2. Amsterdam to Salzburg (1st class) DB: €79 / Agent Fare: €255
3. London to Cologne (2nd class) DB: €49 / Agent Fare: €106
4. Berlin to Zagreb with stops in Hamburg and Munich (2nd class) DB: €29 / Agent Fare: €322
5. Nuremberg to Dresden day return for family of 5 (2nd class) DB: €37 / Agent Fare: €705

Helpful advice?

We found one leading British agent who was extremely helpful on the phone, going to some lengths to suggest that for certain routes it might be wiser to get the tickets from a German source (but declining to give the specific name of the company or website).

A well-known North American agent emphasized that their dollar fares on offer would undercut anything we might purchase in Europe – a claim which is patently undermined by the results of our survey. The North American agent suggested that a rail pass might be a better bet for some of our journeys, and hinted that we would encounter a range of problems if we attempted to purchase directly from the Deutsche Bahn website.

Booking tickets in advance

The reality is that booking train tickets on www.bahn.de is pretty easy, even without a knowledge of German. The site has a decent English language interface, though in some instances you will find additional functionality on the German language website.

Also, it really helps to have a good knowledge of European patterns of service and railway geography. A good place to start is by studying the latest edition of the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable and the same company’s Rail Map of Europe.

Booking well in advance is often the key to finding cheap fares, but our research found that plenty of discounted promotional fares are still available for travel this summer. And we did not cast around trying to dig up the cheapest possible travel dates, having fixed our palette of routes and travel dates before embarking on our research. If you would like the see the full results of our survey, just click here.

And, oh yes, just in case you were wondering, we were paid not a cent by the Deutsche Bahn to publish this!

The post European Rail Tickets: Deutsche Bahn fares better than rail agents appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.