Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
Dresden
This astounding collection of European art from the 16th to 18th centuries houses an incredible number of masterpieces, including Raphael's famous Sistine Madonna (1513), which dominates the enormous main hall on the ground floor, as well as works by Titian, Tintoretto, Holbein, Dürer, and Cranach, whose Paradise (1530) is particularly...
Militärhistorisches Museum Dresden
Dresden
Even devout pacifists will be awed by this engaging museum, housed in a 19th-century arsenal bisected by a bold glass-and-steel wedge designed by Daniel Libeskind. Exhibits have been updated for the 21st century, so don't expect a rollcall of military victories or a parade of weapons. Instead, you'll find a...
Residenzschloss
Dresden
Dresden's extraordinary Renaissance city palace, home to its Saxon rulers from 1485 to 1918, now shelters multiple precious collections – including the unmissable Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault), a real-life Aladdin’s Cave spilling over with precious objects wrought from gold, ivory, silver, diamonds and jewels. The palace itself was bombed out...
Zwinger
Dresden
A collaboration between the architect Matthäus Pöppelmann and the sculptor Balthasar Permoser, the Zwinger was built between 1710 and 1728 on the orders of Augustus the Strong, who, having returned from seeing Louis XIV's palace at Versailles, wanted something similar for himself. Primarily a party palace for royals, the Zwinger...