Itineraries For Germany

2 places and guides from our Germany coverage, gathered into one page.

What To Do On A Day Trip In Warnemünde

Warnemünde is a seaside town on the Baltic Sea coast, with a sandy beach, a historic lighthouse, and a picturesque harbor. It sits close to Rostock. Start at the harbor, where fishing boats and excursion vessels line the quay, then climb the 33-metre-high lighthouse for views over the coast and the shipping lanes. Walk the broad beach promenade, which runs east from the harbour entrance, or head to the nearby Rostock Zoo. Lunch can be fresh fish from a harbour-side stall or a sit-down meal at one of the restaurants along the Alter Strom canal. The town is small enough to cover on foot in a day, and the train from Rostock Hauptbahnhof takes about 20 minutes.

15 Best Places To Visit In Saxony (Dresden Day Trips)

Saxony’s highlight is Dresden, known for its reconstructed Baroque architecture and cultural heritage, but the region holds many other sites reachable as day trips. Here are 15 of them, each accessible within 90 minutes by train or car from Dresden’s city centre.

Meissen – 25 km northwest; home to the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory and the Albrechtsburg castle.
Moritzburg Castle – 14 km northwest; a Baroque hunting lodge surrounded by lakes and forest.
Pillnitz Castle and Park – 15 km southeast; a riverside palace with Chinese-style pavilions and extensive gardens.
Königstein Fortress – 40 km southeast; a hilltop fortress above the Elbe valley, with a museum inside the former prison.
Bastei Bridge – 40 km southeast; a stone bridge in Saxon Switzerland National Park, with views over the Elbe sandstone cliffs.
Rathen – 38 km southeast; a village at the foot of the Bastei, with a historic open-air theatre (Felsenbühne).
Bad Schandau – 45 km southeast; a spa town with a funicular railway up to the Ostrau plateau.
Görlitz – 100 km east; a city with Europe’s largest preserved medieval old town, used as a film set.
Bautzen – 60 km east; a hilltop town with a medieval old town, a cathedral shared by Catholics and Protestants, and a Sorbian cultural museum.
Radebeul – 10 km northwest; home to the Karl May Museum and the Lößnitz vineyards.
Freiberg – 40 km southwest; a mining town with a Gothic cathedral and the Terra Mineralia mineral collection.
Chemnitz – 80 km southwest; a city with the Museum of Industry and the Karl Marx Monument.
Zittau – 110 km southeast; a border town with a historic town hall and the Olbersdorf narrow-gauge railway.
Seiffen – 70 km south; a village in the Erzgebirge known for wooden Christmas decorations and toy-making.
Altenberg – 50 km south; a town with a former tin mine turned visitor attraction (Besucherbergwerk).

For those planning a winter visit, the Christmas markets in Dresden and the Erzgebirge region are particularly well-known. A base in Dresden allows easy access to all 15 locations, though some require a full day each.