Dresden

Ignoring history is impossible when visiting Dresden, which saw its city centre reduced to ashes and rubble during the massive air raids by the allies in February 1945. However, following Germany’s reunification in 1990, the city has experienced a building boom hardly seen anywhere else in the country, and the main landmark, the Frauenkirche, yet again stands proud in the city’s main square. As the capital of the state of Saxony and with a population of nearly 500.000 people, today’s Dresden is a modern and vibrant city that yet again acts as the cultural magnet it once was. Visit the Old Town for magnificent Renaissance, Baroque and 19th-century buildings and museums and galleries on the river bank. Go to the Neustadt Quarter (the New Town Quarter), across the Elbe, where you find an eclectic mix of Baroque architecture and monumental government buildings from the 19th century. You can also find pockets of alternative culture, as well as a raft of shopping facilities and restaurants.