Shopping
Dresden makes shopping fun with an experience as multifaceted as the city itself. The city’s traditional shopping promenade begins in Old Town at the main railway station and continues down Prager Straße
across Altmarkt Square to Wilsdruffer Straße, ending in the area surrounding the Frauenkirche. On the Neustadt side of the Elbe River, the charming Baroque quarter between Hauptstraße and Königstraße
is filled with unique and fun shops, as is Outer Neustadt after crossing Albertplatz.
Baroque quarter between Hauptstraße and Königstraße
Known for its upscale shopping and dining, the Baroque quarter on the Neustadt side of the Elbe provides a charming ambience for exclusive boutiques, antique shops and fine restaurants with sophisticated cuisine set among restored Baroque homes and romantic courtyards. With five art galleries presenting different faces of modern art, the Baroque quarter is also known as the Modern Art Quarter. The arts and crafts arcades now established in three magnificent old Baroque homes are a window shopper and stroller’s paradise. Restored faithfully to its original late 19th century (Gründerzeit) style, the Neustadt market hall shopping destination is alone worth a visit for its architecture.
Wiener Platz, Prager Straße, Altmarkt, Wilsdruffer Straße
Flanked by the reflecting glass facades of the Kugelhaus and the ‘Prager Spitze’ shopping centres, Prager Straße is a welcoming buzz of activity with its major chain outlets, Karstadt department store and
the largest bookshop in all of East Germany. Here is also where you will find the city’s two largest shopping centres, the Centrum Galerie and the Altmarkt Galerie. Since expanding its retail area, the Altmarkt Galerie is an oasis of shopping comfort featuring 200 shops, cafés and restaurants. Outlets here include names such as Boss, Marc Cain, Guess, Gant, Högl Schuhe and Thomas Sabo – shops not to be found anywhere else in Eastern Germany, including Germany’s fourth original Apple store. American label Hollister will also open a branch here in autumn 2011.
Around Frauenkirche
Constant change characterises the quarter around Neumarkt where the historic setting with its old lanes and magnificent Baroque facades lives on in all its restored glory. The shopping street and area
surrounding the Frauenkirche offers a wealth of selected shops and boutiques filled with unique items. Art and antique collectors are also well taken care of here. Numerous cafés and restaurants dot the area for relaxation and dining pleasure.
Elbe flea market
Every Saturday from 7am–2 pm, the lure of plentiful and unusual finds draws bargain hunters to the flea market set up along the banks of the Elbe River between the Carola and Albert bridges.
‘Alternative’ quarter Outer Neustadt
Outer Neustadt begins at the end of Hauptstraße on the other side of Albertplatz. Here is where treasure hunting and shopping is particularly fun. The delight of goods found in this quarter between Alaunstraße, Böhmischer Straße and Rothenburger Straße range from cute and kitschy to smart and elegant. The Kunsthofpassage (between Alaunstraße and Görlitzer Straße) with its whimsical facades, unique shops and studios is a must for anyone visiting Neustadt. Nor should one miss Pfund’s Dairy on Bautzner Straße – not only ‘the world’s most beautiful dairy shop’, but home to the most extensive selection of cheese in all of Saxon.
Elbepark Dresden
The Elbepark shopping centre is located right at the Dresden-Neustadt exit off the A4 autobahn. Visitors come from all over to enjoy more than 180 businesses and chain stores from electronics to perfume.
Numerous restaurants cater to the well-being of all visitors while a special service for parents is Kinderland where children can romp to their heart’s content in their own professionally-supervised 1,600 m² area. Apart from 5,000 free parking spots, Elbepark is also directly accessible by bus or train.
Legal holidays in Saxony
| 2012 | 2013 | Holiday |
| 01.Jan | 01.Jan | New Year's Day |
| 06.Apr | 29.Mar | Good Friday |
| 09.Apr | 01.Apr | Easter Monday |
| 01.May | 01.May | Labour Day |
| 17.May | 09.May | Ascension |
| 28.May | 20.May | Whit Monday |
| 03.Oct | 03.Oct | Day of German Unity |
| 31.Oct | 31.Oct | Reformation Day |
| 21.Nov | 20.Nov | Day of Prayer and Repentance |
| 25.Dec | 25.Dec | 1st day of Christmas |
| 26.Dec | 26.Dec | 2nd day of Christmas |