Regensburg to Dresden Road Trip: Bamberg, Spreewald and Saxon Switzerland

By Urvish Shah•

A road trip from Regensburg to Dresden through eastern Germany - stopping at Bamberg on the way, then the canals of the Spreewald and the Bastei Bridge once you arrive.

DresdenGermanyRoad TripBambergSpreewaldSaxonyRegensburg
Regensburg to Dresden Road Trip: Bamberg, Spreewald and Saxon Switzerland

This is a road trip through a part of Germany that most visitors skip entirely. We drove from Regensburg to Dresden, stopping at Bamberg along the way, and then used Dresden as a base for two things that turned out to be the best parts of the trip: the Spreewald and Saxon Switzerland.

If you're picturing eastern Germany as a stretch of motorway between two cities, this is the argument against that.

The route

Start: Regensburg On the way: Bamberg Base: Dresden From Dresden: the Spreewald, and Saxon Switzerland National Park

Stop at Bamberg

Bamberg is the stop worth making on the drive north, and it's more than a leg-stretch.

The old town survived the war essentially intact, which is unusual in Germany and immediately obvious when you're walking around it — it's a genuine medieval town centre rather than a reconstruction. The old town hall is built on an island in the middle of the river, reached by bridges on both sides, which is as odd and as good as it sounds.

Bamberg is also known for Rauchbier, a smoked beer that tastes strongly of a bonfire and which you will either love or find undrinkable. Worth trying either way, since it's brewed here and hard to find elsewhere.

The Spreewald

The Spreewald was amazing, and it's the part of this trip I'd push hardest.

It's a biosphere reserve north of Dresden where the river Spree splits into hundreds of small channels running through forest and farmland. Villages are connected by water as much as by road, and the traditional way to see it is on a flat-bottomed punt pushed along by a boatman — a bit like a Venetian gondola, in a German forest.

It's calm, green and completely unlike anywhere else in the country. There's a whole network of waterways to explore, and the region is known for its pickled gherkins, which are sold everywhere and are genuinely good.

Almost no international visitors go here, which is a large part of the appeal.

The Spreewald canals

Dresden and Saxon Switzerland

Dresden itself is the obvious base — a rebuilt baroque centre on the Elbe, with enough to fill a day comfortably.

The other reason to be here is Saxon Switzerland National Park, an hour away, where sandstone pillars rise out of the forest along the Elbe and the Bastei Bridge spans the gaps between them. It's an easy day trip and one of the best hikes in eastern Germany.

I've written that up separately: the Bastei Bridge hike from Kurort Rathen.

Worth knowing

  • Bamberg deserves a proper stop, not twenty minutes. Half a day if you can spare it.
  • The Spreewald needs its own day. It's a slow place and rushing it defeats the purpose.
  • Base yourself in Dresden rather than moving hotels — both the Spreewald and Saxon Switzerland work as day trips from there.
  • This region is genuinely under-visited, which means fewer crowds but also less English than you'll find in Munich or Berlin.

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