From classic art in Dresden to an industrial-turned-creative neighbourhood in Leipzig – time to put Saxony back on the travel agenda, with Ryanair resuming its London Stansted to Dresden flights in its winter timetable starting on 31 October. Dresden and Leipzig as the region's major urban hubs can easily be combined in one trip for the perfect first taste of what this region has to offer.

Catch up with the best of classic art in Dresden
It wasn't the best of timings when Dresden's splendid Old Masters Picture Gallery, part of the Dresden State Art Collections, reopened after extensive renovation at the end of February 2020. All the more reason now for art lovers to explore the new exhibition design, juxtaposing the masterworks of von Rembrandt, van Eyck, Vermeer, Raphael or Titian with historic vases and sculptures dating from antiquity to 1800. And there's more, as the Dresden State Art Collections comprise altogether twelve museums, showcasing a unique art collection that originated with the Saxon electors in the 16th century. Handily, the galleries and exhibitions are housed in some of the city's most important sights and world-famous Baroque buildings such as the Royal Palace, Zwinger and Semper Building. To counterbalance the "art overload“, pop into Pfunds Molkerei, a cheese shop dating back to 1880, featuring a charming interior of floor to ceiling hand-painted Villeroy & Boch ceramic tiles – and lots of cheese.

Head to Leipzig, Germany's newly crowned “top travel destination”
A mere 70-minutes train ride further west, Leipzig is Dresden's edgier sibling, which has just been declared as Germany's top travel destination by Lonely Planet in its new “Ultimate Travel Destinations Germany - the top 250” guide. The city combines a unique musical history – think Bach, Wagner and the Gewandhaus Orchestra, to be traced along the city's 3-miles “Music Trail” – with old factory sites turned into homes and hubs for artists and galleries in the Plagwitz neighbourhood, where Spinnerei Leipzig, a former cotton mill, is now home to over 100 exhibition spaces and artists' studios as well as leading contemporary art galleries. For a deep dive into local (night life) culture, head to the Drallewatsch collection of small streets in Leipzig's centre where restaurants, bars and pubs in beautiful buildings from the Renaissance, Baroque and turn of the 20th century are favourite going-out options.

For more Saxony travel ideas and news from the region, UK travel writers and editors are invited to join Saxony Tourism for the first edition of its “Sightgeist - The Saxony Magazine" in its new video format as a live stream on YouTube, on 17 November, 5 pm. To register your interest, please contact Wolfgang Gärtner, sightgeistmagazine@gmail.com.

ENDS

Notes to the Editor

For further information on Saxony's sights and attractions, please see:
www.sachsen-tourismus.de/en/

For media and image enquiries, please contact:
B Connects. Barbara Geier Content Services
On behalf of TMGS Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH
barbara@bconnects.net, phone 07983 242 195