Last Updated on 22/04/2023
In this topic, we will look at public transport in Dresden and around and several welcome cards that can be used here.
Attractions near Dresden. Bastei rocks, Königstein Fortress
Dresden attractions
What to see in Saxon Switzerland and Osterzgebirge. Maps
90+ parks and gardens in Germany on the map
Brandenburg What to see. 1
What to see in Brandenburg on the map. Part 2
The conditions of Dresden welcome cards change quite often, so be sure to check what has changed. Prices are for 2023.
Welcome cards in Dresden
There are currently three Dresden welcome cards available:
Dresden Museums Card (museums only) – may be beneficial for those who are going to visit museums. And since museums are the main attraction of Dresden, it turns out that Dresden Museum Card is for everyone
Dresden City Card, Dresden Regio Card (discounts and fares) – may be beneficial primarily for families if they are going to be actively using transport.
one regional guest card – schlösserlandKARTE
Dresden City Card and Dresden Regio Card
They give travel for free in Dresden (Dresden City Card) or in Dresden and the region (Dresden Regio Card).
In the region, free travel applies to the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe transport system – and these are all the attractions listed in the topic Attractions near Dresden. Bastei rocks, Königstein Fortress.
Attractions discounts are very small. Of interest are mainly:
a 1 euro discount at the Transport Museum,
10 percent at the Hygiene Museum,
3 euros discount at the zoo
and a discount on the funicular.
Dresden City Card costs:
for 1 day – 15 euros (single), 18 euros (family, up to 4 childen up to 14 years old)
for 48 houes – 21 euros / 30 euros,
for 3 days – 29 euros / 39 euros
Dresden Regio Card costs:
for 1 day – 23 euros / 35 euros,
for 2 days – 39 euros / 54 euros,
for 3 days – 51 euros / 74 euros
Does the Dresden welcome cards pay off?
Dresden City Card. A day ticket in Dresden for one zone (and this is the whole of Dresden) for an adult and two children under 15 years old costs 6.90 euros (family – 10.60 euros). This means that you need to scrape together discounts for 6 euros, which is not very easy for one person for one day, but has a chance for a family (the zoo will already pay off).
Dresden Regio Card. A ticket for transport for 2 zones costs 9.90 euros (family 15.10 euros), and for the entire network – 15.70 euros (22.50 euros ).
That is, if you travel to the Bastei rocks and the Königstein fortress (the entire network) for one day, but you don’t travel anymore, then you don’t need a Dresden Regio Card for 1 day.
If you travel one day throught three zones (that is, the entire network, Bastei), the second day throught two zones (Meissen), then the benefit is also not visible (9.90 + 15.70 = 25.60, that is still less than 39 euros).
Thus, for the Dresden City Card, the more days, the more profitable, and even more for the family, but only for those who really use local public transport. And the Dresden Regio Card only seems to pay off if you travel more than two zones all three days.
Dresden Museums Card
Gives free admission to the SKD state museums (Link), that is:
the Zwinger museums
+ the Residence museums (except for the historical green treasury),
+ Albertinum
+ and other little discounts in the same way as the previous two cards, with the exception of the transport museum and the funicular (in this card they are not discounted).
The cost is 25 euros for 2 days.
Does the Dresden Museum Card pay off?
Definitiv yes. The ticket prices are combined in sets in such a tricky way that you can not pay only for one top museum, but for some others in addition. Also: 14 euros for the Old Masters Gallery (and other museums in Zwinger), for the Residence in the another set – also 14 euros, which is already 28 euros and more than the cost of the card.
You don’t need Dresden Museum Card only if you visit one museum or one set (that is: only Zwinger or only Residenz or only Albertinum etc.)
Saxon welcome card SchloеsserlandKARTE
A SchloеsserlandKARTE card for 10 days costs 30 euros (2 cards for two adults – each for 26,25 euros). It gives free entry for one adult and two children to:
Dresden Fortress,
Grosssedlitz Baroque Gardens,
Königstein Fortress,
Albrechtsburg Meissen Castle,
Moritzburg Castle,
Burg Stolpen Fortress,
Weesenstein Castle
and other castles, fortresses, gardens in Saxony,
as well as to the observation site Hausmannsturm in the Residenzschloss in Dresden, the museum in Pillnitz.
The card pays off if you visit at least three attractions (eg Königstein, Moritzburg and gardens).
Public transport in Dresden and around
city transport website – https://www.dvb.de
transport website of the region – https://www.vvo-online.de
Local public transport in Germany
Trains in Germany
What should you look out for on these sites?
The first important information is the line plans (Liniennetz)
Selected lines for excursions from Dresden and Saxon Switzerland. The lines are drawn schematically.
The second important information is tariff zones. The whole of Dresden is one tariff zone, so we only need a tariff zone plan if we are going out of town. The print screen above shows that Tarifzonenplan can also be selected on the same tab.
Our next information is fares and tickets (Tickets).
A single trip (Einzelfahrt) will cost 3 euros, four tickets in set a little cheaper.
Short trips (Kurzstrecke, 4 direct stops) sell as 4 tickets for 6.20 euros.
Day tickets are called Tageskarte and are
for one,
for a family
or for a group (Kleingruppenkarte).
For bicycles, you need to take a Fahrradkarte bike ticket.
You can also buy a German ticket for 49 euros. It is monthly subscription, therefore you should read the conditions and do not forget to cancel it. For 10 euros plus you can take after 18 o’clock weekdays and whole weekends, a bike, a partner and up to 4 children (up to 15 years old).
More about German ticket: German ticket for regional public transport Deutschland-Ticket
Finally, to see the timetable, we find the Fahrplanauskunft tab. To be less dependent on specific dates and times, you can download the plan.
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