Saxon Switzerland
The Elbe Sandstone Mountains — a labyrinth of pinnacles, mesas and gorges that make up some of Germany's finest hiking, and the last great stop before home.
🏞️ Natural beauty
Saxon Switzerland National Park protects a bizarre, beautiful sandstone landscape carved by the Elbe: free-standing rock towers (a birthplace of the sport of free climbing), flat-topped table mountains, and deep ravines, continuing across the Czech border as Bohemian Switzerland. The Bastei rocks rise 194 m straight above the river.
🧭 Places to see
- The icon — a 1851 sandstone bridge among the pinnacles. Go early to beat the crowds.
- A quieter, more adventurous ridge walk with huge views.
- One of Europe's largest hilltop fortresses, above the Elbe.
- A wooded valley served by a historic tram to the Lichtenhain waterfall.
- The 'Painter's Way' long-distance trail through the best of the park.
🏛️ History
The name 'Saxon Switzerland' was coined by two 18th-century Swiss artists at the Dresden academy who were reminded of home. The Bastei has drawn visitors for over 200 years; the present sandstone bridge dates from 1851, and Caspar David Friedrich and the Romantics painted these rocks.
🍴 Places to eat
Google-rated 4★ and up. Tap a name to open it in Google Maps.
🏨 Where to stay
One night, hotel — a room in Bad Schandau on the Elbe. With a single night on the way home, pitching and striking a tent inside eighteen hours is not worth it.
If you change your mind: Campingplatz Ostrauer Mühle in the Kirnitzschtal, ~3 km from Bad Schandau, hugs the little river among the rocks and is served by the retro Kirnitzschtalbahn tram right at the gate — a superb hiking base.
⚡ Getting there & charging
Charge on the A4 / A17 around Dresden. Then it's ~460 km · 5 h home to Vienna via Prague on the final day (Day 15) — charge on the D8 / D1 in Czechia (Ionity). Go to the Bastei at opening or late afternoon; midday is very busy.
Post-fire status (the 2022 Saxon–Bohemian wildfire): the Bastei bridge and main viewpoints are open, but the Felsenburg Neurathen rock-castle stays closed and a few forest paths remain shut where dead trees are still being cleared — check the national park's trail-information page before setting out. Across the border the Czech side has fully recovered: the Pravčická brána and the Kamnitz gorge boats are open and in good shape as of 2026.