Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains District

Nature and trails as travel priorities

Saxon Switzerland National Park is Saxony’s only national park and also Germany’s only rocky national park. The district is currently also home to 16 landscape conservation areas covering a total of 97,200 hectares. This corresponds to around 59 percent of the district’s area. This scale makes the natural environment an important point of reference when choosing your accommodation if you would like to combine excursions into the countryside with other travel interests.

The requirements vary considerably depending on the trail. The Painter’s Way is exclusively a hiking trail and cannot be explored by bicycle or e-bike. The Elbe Cycle Route, on the other hand, runs for 40 kilometres through Saxon Switzerland. There are also both wide, well-developed hiking trails and narrow paths with stairs, ladders, flights of steps and viewpoints. Before booking, therefore, check which activities are the priority for your travel group.

Culture, animals and shared excursion destinations

The Altenberg Mining Museum provides a comprehensive overview of the 550-year history of tin mining in Altenberg. Its origins date back to around 1440; this history ended in 1991 when mining ceased. Königstein Fortress complements the cultural focus with modern exhibitions and interactive stations on the fortress plateau. Guided tours, hands-on activities and cultural events are also held there.

The Osterzgebirge Wildlife Park is another option for an excursion appealing to different interests. During a walk, you can observe native wild animals such as fallow deer, red deer and mouflon, lynxes, wildcats and raccoons. Non-native animals such as cotton-top tamarins, coatis, meerkats, Asian small-clawed otters and Bennett’s wallabies can also be seen in a natural setting. In the Ore Mountain part of the district, the “Speciality Weeks” take place every year, celebrating the diversity of local cuisine.

Mobility and choosing where to stay

An extensive range of transport services is available for regional travel planning: Regionalverkehr Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge GmbH operates more than 250 buses on 95 routes and 10 ferries at 8 ferry crossings. It also operates the Kirnitzschtal Tramway in Saxon Switzerland. Nevertheless, you should check the appropriate connection in advance for your specific excursion.

You should therefore choose your accommodation according to the focus of your trip. Hiking has different requirements than cycling tours, cultural destinations or winter activities in the Eastern Ore Mountains. If you are travelling with children and equipment, it may also be useful to consider your planned daily destinations and the travel required for each separately in advance. This will help you avoid prematurely grouping different activities under a single choice of base.

Winter activities in the wider surrounding region

If you would like to combine downhill skiing, cross-country skiing or winter hiking, the ski areas in the wider surrounding region of the Eastern Ore Mountains offer groomed cross-country trails, prepared downhill runs and winter hiking trails. Accommodation for a skiing holiday should not automatically be understood as accommodation directly beside a slope.

Places for further orientation

For regional orientation, you can also compare Altenberg, Kirnitzschtal, Rathmannsdorf, Glashütte, Neustadt in Saxony, Hohnstein, Sebnitz, Bad Schandau and Geising.

Current notice regarding the Rathen Open-Air Theatre

The Rathen Open-Air Theatre grounds and the access route are closed until further notice due to severe storm damage in the Rathen area. The scheduled performances have been cancelled until further notice. Take this status into account if you include cultural events in your travel plans.

To the main travel overview: Saxony.