How to get to Saxony
Plan your trip
The state of Saxony in the East of Germany shares borders with Poland and the Czech Republic and is conveniently located between Berlin and Prague. The infrastructure to get to the region and travel around Saxony is outstanding with all means of transport. International airports can be found in the capital Dresden and in Leipzig. The airports of Berlin and Prague are important hubs for long-haul flights.
By train
Saxony can be easily reached via long-distance routes from Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Hanover and the Rhein and Ruhr areas with ICE-, IC-, EC-, Interregio-, CityNightLine- und DBNightTrain connections. Regular international connections include the routes Berlin - Dresden - Prague - Budapest and Dresden - Prague - Vienna. Within Saxony, a comprehensive network of local routes connects cities like Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz with smaller destinations and holiday regions. Special ticket offers make travelling by train an attractive alternative. For current information on the timetable of Deutsche Bahn and online tickets, please visit www.bahn.de.
Unique to Saxony are the historic narrow-gauge railways which connect places especially in the holiday regions of Saxon Switzerland, the Ore Mountains, Upper Lusatia and Dresden Elbland. Five of them still run on a daily basis! For more information, please see here.
By car or coach
Thanks to the Germany's comprehensive motorway network Saxony can be easily reached by car or coach. Main connections include the A4 from Frankfurt, the A9 from Munich, Nuremberg or Berlin, the A13 from Berlin, the A14 from Magdeburg, the A17 from the Czech Republic and the A72 from Munich/ Hof.
Saxony is also very well connected to the long-distance coach network. The cities of Dresden, Leipzig, Chemnitz and the towns of Bautzen, Görlitz, Plauen and Zwickau are served by regular international connections.
By plane
Saxony has two international airports in Dresden and Leipzig/Halle with regular connections to the most important hubs in Germany, Frankfurt and Munich. There are also regular connections to other big German airports. In both cases, the flying time is less than an hour. Furthermore, there are regular direct flights to several European cities. The Airport Berlin Brandenburg is 170 kilometres away from both Dresden and Leipzig with regular train and coach connections. Prague Airport is only 150 kilometres away from Dresden.
Airport Dresden International is located in the north of the city, 9 kilometres from the Dresden city centre. It is connected directly to the motorways A13 Dresden - Berlin and A4 Dresden - Frankfurt/Main. With the regular S-Bahn urban railway, the city centre can be reached in approx. 25 minutes. Depending on traffic, it is 15 to 30 minutes by taxi.
Airport Leipzig/Halle is located directly at the motorway junction “Schkeuditzer Kreuz”, where the motorways A9 Berlin - Munich and A14 Magdeburg - Dresden intersect. Leipzig city centre is 18 kilometres away, the city centre of Halle 23 kilometres. A regular urban train connection ensures transport to and from the cities. The journey to Leipzig main station takes only 16 minutes.
Travelling within Saxony
Saxony is among the smaller German states, so distances between places and holiday regions are always very convenient. Here are some examples how long it takes to travel from A to B by car, coach or public transport:
By car
| Distance | Duration |
|---|---|
| Dresden - Leipzig | 1 hour |
| Dresden - Chemnitz | 45 minutes |
| Dresden - Czech border (motorway to Prague): | 45 minutes |
| Dresden - Görlitz (Polish border) | 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Dresden - Bavarian border | 1 hour 45 minutes |
By public transport
| Distance | Duration |
|---|---|
| Dresden - Leipzig | 1 hour |
| Dresden - Chemnitz | 1 hour |
| Dresden - Görlitz | 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Dresden - Meissen | 45 minutes |
| Dresden - Saxon Switzerland National Park | 30 - 45 minutes |