Getting around
This page points to the airport, the railway stations, tourist information, local transit, bikes, walking and the river services, each with the operator or page that explains it.
Arriving
The airport
Dresden Airport is run by Flughafen Dresden GmbH, a subsidiary of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG. It has its own railway station, in the basement of the terminal. The S-Bahn line S2 runs between the airport and Dresden Hauptbahnhof, and it also calls at Dresden-Neustadt. Buses reach the airport as well as trains.
The stations
Deutsche Bahn calls the main station Dresden Hauptbahnhof (Dresden Hbf). ICE, EC and IC trains call at both Dresden Hauptbahnhof and Dresden-Neustadt. The city describes Dresden-Neustadt station as serving rail traffic on the northern side of the Elbe.
Tourist information
The city's official tourist information is Dresden Information, run by Dresden Information GmbH. Its visitor centre is next to the Frauenkirche, on the lower level of the QF Passage, Neumarkt 2, 01067 Dresden. Dresden Information also answers questions by phone and e-mail through a service centre.
Local transit
Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB) runs Dresden's trams and buses, and also its hillside railways and ferries. The Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) is the regional transport association for Dresden and the Upper Elbe region; DVB is one of its partner companies.
With one VVO ticket you can use local trains, S-Bahn trains, trams, buses and ferries, except the ferry in the spa town of Rathen.
DVB sells tickets at machines at stops, at machines on trams and buses, in the DVB mobil app and at its service points. DVB asks visitors to stamp (validate) their ticket when starting out on trams and buses. On regional trains and S-Bahn trains, the ticket for the whole route is bought and validated before the journey, unless the boarding station has no sales point or working machine.
Bikes
The Elberadweg (Elbe Cycle Route) is a long-distance cycle route along the Elbe that passes through Dresden. Within Dresden the route runs along the river on both banks, past sights and natural areas.
Dresden has a public bike-share system called MOBIbike, part of DVB's MOBI offer. MOBIbike runs in cooperation with nextbike, and bikes are rented with the nextbike app. Dresden Information also lists bike hire among its services (see Tourist information).
On foot
The guides put the sights in a walking order and give the walking time between stops: Three hours in Dresden, One day in Dresden and By the river.
On the river
Paddle steamers
The paddle steamers of the Sächsische Dampfschifffahrt are run by Weiße Flotte Sachsen GmbH, in Dresden. They sail on the Elbe between Seußlitz, near Meißen, and Bad Schandau. The fleet and its history are on Elbe paddle steamers.
Ferries
DVB operates Elbe ferries in Dresden. One crosses the Elbe between Johannstadt and Neustadt. Another crosses between Kleinzschachwitz and Pillnitz and carries cars as well as people.