Dresden river tour: Elbe, Spree and Neiße

Make sure to arrive early in Dresden where famous and imposing structures such as the Zwinger or the Semper Opera will be waiting to be visited. Thousands of visitors come to the Saxon kings’ former seat of royal power every year. In the late afternoon bike handover and briefing.

You will leave Dresden on the beautiful Elbe bike trail to cycle through the "Dresden Heath" to Radeberg, town of beer. For those who seek to learn more about the Pilsener from Radeberg, the brewery of the export beer. After this short break, Kamenz lies ahead of you. The historical town centre expresses a special charm. The market place, the Renaissance style town hall, the central St, Mary’s church and the Malzhaus are absolute must-sees. A final highlight is the fantastical view over Kamenz offered from the top of the Red Tower.

Today’s route leads through the beautiful lake landscape of the Lausitz. A total of 23 lakes constitute the largest artificial water landscape in all of Europe. Pure nature and small Sorbian villages wait to be discovered here. The bilingual signage reveals that you find yourselves in the German-Sorbian region here. The fact that the Lausitz hosts two cultures with different languages and traditions contributes to the region’s unique flair. In the afternoon, you will reach Spremberg with its historical old town situated on an island in the Spree.

The Neiße will accompany you today. The closer you get to Bad Muskau, the more beautiful it gets. Embedded in one of Europe’s most beautiful landscapes, the town awaits to be discovered. It has come to fame through the brilliant landscape designer Hermann von Püc kler-Muskau, who constructed a park of 830 hectars around the town. In July 2004, the park was nominated UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. This masterpiece of garden engineering with majestic trees, lakes and rivers makes your route a real experience.

The impressive Oder-Neiße bike trail will be your host for today. Enjoy this beautiful landscape and take in the calmness of the river. On your way, you will discover Rothenburg, Germany’s easternmost small town. The day’s highlight will be Görlitz, proudly presenting itself in its richness of architectural styles ranging between Gothic and Jugendstil. A walk around the very well-preserved old town with its numerous Baroque, late Gothic and Renaissance style houses allows every visitor to discover the country’s largest-surface monument.

The time to leave the Neiße has come today, but only in exchange for the Saxon towns’ bike trail. Impressively, the silhouette of the thousand-year-old town of Bautzen with its historical town centre sticks out of the varied landscape. Be looking forward to the lovely monuments, towers, medieval lanes and atmospheric pubs. Bautzen is the cultural and political centre of the Sorbs in the Oberlausitz. Anyone who does not fear climbing one of the town’s towers is rewarded with a fantastical view over the town and the surrounding landscape.

Forests, grasslands and, most importantly, the Saxon Switzerland National Park will dominate your day. Discover the historical town centre of Neustadt and enjoy the beauty of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. What is so characteristic about these rutted mountains is their exceptional wealth of forms on such little space. A special uniqueness is presented by the continuous alteration of lowlands, canyons, table mountains, rocky peaks and homogenous forest plains. Give your bike a break and walk up to the bastion with its spectacular rocky bridge. The scattered architecture of the rocks will impress you just as the fantastic view over the Elbe that you will come to enjoy here. On the level Elbe bike trail by the waterside, the final 12 kilometres to Pirna will be accomplished in no time.

A very beautiful route comes to end this tour. Marvel at the magnificent castles by the Elbe, visit the one in Pillnitz with its gorgeous park and discover the Blaue Wunder in front of the town gates of Dresden. This very diversified bike trip will end around noon in Dresden where you will be handed over your luggage (no further night stop). In case you wish to spend the day in Dresden, we will gladly book an additional night for you.