Dresden Elbland - Welcome to the pleasure oasis

Pleasure is Dresden’s way of life. The people of Dresden even have a festival especially for pleasure as well as many wonderful pleasure havens throughout this large and bustling city. Comfortable beer gardens, scrumptious ice cream parlours and the wine growers of the Elbland are some of the favourite meeting places in summer. By the way: the Dresdeners’ feel for good taste and the lightness of life is augmented by their instinct for sustainability. As of May, the state capital has become a “Fair-Trade-City”, now actively supporting fair trade.

Tips

Look forward to 26 and 27 August: “Genusswelten”, the Dresden Festival for good taste, is all about culinary delights, finely set tables and exquisite aromas. In Dresden Ostragehege more than 20 restaurateurs will be setting the tables. You can taste test from a cornucopia of dishes or sit down and try a gala dinner put together by young up and coming chefs. Pleasure is multi-facetted, and so is “Genusswelten” - a comprehensive work of art put together with fine foods, fine wines, beautifully imaginative decorations, careful light orchestration and fireworks. And after dinner – there’s dancing!

On a hot summer’s day you do not really need a large meal. Ice cream refreshes and makes people happy! The “Sächsische Eismanufaktur” is Dresden’s premier address for artisan ice cream. Located downtown in the “Centrum-Galerie”, this ice cream maker has 40 different delicious varieties to choose from. “Haselbauer-Eis”, which you can get in the pavilion located half way between Altmarkt and Prager Straße, has cult status in Dresden. Their scoops are always fresh and taste incredibly creamy.

Refreshing and a real joy are Dresden’s numerous beer gardens. There are many to choose from and everyone in Dresden has their own personal favourite. The open-air pubs at the Dresdener Heide and along the Elbe River are particularly beautiful. The beer garden at “Konzertplatz Weißer Hirsch” even has a band shell where there are lots of excellent cultural events. Or you can enjoy your drink at the “Saloppe”, where you not only get to enjoy the fresh air coming in from the heath, you also have the chance to dance in the club of the same name. The “Fährgarten” on the Johannstädter Elbufer is a classic amongst the Dresden beer gardens, which the paddle wheel steamers passing by on the river like to greet with a loud toot of their horns.

The many vineyards of the Saxon Elbeland are a delight for all your senses. You can enjoy them all summer long, but a special treat is the “Tagen des offenen Weinguts” (The vineyards open house event) on 26 and 27 August. For this year’s 25th anniversary of the “Saxon Wine Route” many of the wine growers along the route have prepared especially interesting (and tasty!) events. The vineyards are offering guided tours, music and of course wine tasting. A good thing that you do not have to take your car to get there – a shuttle connects the participating vineyards between Dresden-Pillnitz, Radebeul, Meißen and Diesbar-Seußlitz. Cheers!