Dresden and Saxon Park Switzerland

Saxon National Park in Switzerland

I think you mean Sächsische Schweiz, or Saxon Switzerland National Park in Germany. I spent three days there, in Bad Schandau, in 2013, but didn't look for a tour. I used public transportation to visit the Königstein fortress, then took the S-Bahn into Dresden for a day.

It's really unnecessary to get a tour to visit Saxon Switzerland from Dresden - very easy to do yourself from Dresden by S-Bahn. I followed the Rick Steves info to get there as I recall; consulting my trip report, it seems I took the S1 S-Bahn train from Dresden to Kurort Rathen (the view from the train is pretty in parts, along the Elbe River). Get off the train, cross the river, make a left at the obvious place and follow the path up. The hike up is fairly steep in parts but otherwise easy - as long as you can handle the inclines, it's not a challenging hike at all. The views down are really nice, and the Bastei Bridge (stone bridge) is really cool.

If you really have doubts about the hike, let me know and I'll PM you a link to my pictures, and you can see how it looks to hike at various places.

I'm not a "foodie" so I can't really recommend great food options in Dresden. The highlight for many would be the museums. Some people adore Dresden - I didn't but you might, and it's certainly worth a few days to visit. People who loved it will urge you to stay longer.

Dresden's (rebuilt) historic center is fairly small, but the city has multiple excellent museums. Being fond of all things beautiful, I especially liked the Historic Green Vault, for which a timed ticket is necessary. No one here has reported having difficulty picking up a same-day ticket.

I enjoyed the walking tour offered by the tourist office, but I don't know anything about the October schedule.

Folks who enjoy museums will easily fill two days in Dresden. If you're allergic to museums, one day might be enough.

If you enjoy half-timbered and other unusual-to-us architecture, I highly recommend a day-trip to Görlitz, an historic town on the Polish border that escaped destruction during WW II. You can get there by train. Görlitz is so beautiful, and has such a wealth of architectural styles, that movies are filmed there. The town is not especially touristy, probably because of its location.

I spent a night in Görlitz (after Dresden). It is a nice little town - split in two (at the river) after World War II between Poland and Germany after Stalin insisted on "moving Poland" west a few hundred miles, giving eastern Polish territory to Ukraine and eastern German territory to Poland. After the end of the Cold War, the border was opened, and now there's a short pedestrian bridge between the two sides. I enjoyed "walking to Poland" to have a meal at a Polish restaurant right on the border. The German side is clearly far more prosperous.

Görlitz has been removed from the newer editions of Rick's Germany book, I think, which is a shame.

We spent one night in Dresden last year and really enjoyed our time there. We arrived around Noon one day and left by train the next morning (10:00ish?) During that time we comfortably saw what we wanted, including a visit to the porcelain museum (which we loved, much to our surprise -- including my husband). We also attended a concert in the Opera House which was a highlight of our trip. I believe we stayed at the Aparthotel right across the plaza from the Frauenkirche. It is recommended by Rick Steves, not fancy but lots of room, very convenient, and reasonable rates as I recall.

If you don't want to walk uphill from Rathen to the Bastei, you can get a bus there from Pirna railway station on the same line from Dresden.

I agree that a guide is unnecessary for Saxon Switzerland. A slightly more costly option would be to take a boat ride (in good weather) in one direction (check schedules and ticket options if you might want to boat to Meissen as well. ) Lovely views and vineyards fom the boat. Don't overlook the Dresden Military Museum if that might be of interest. You didn't say if you love art museums - a major reason to visit Dresden. Don't fail to buy the more restricted Green Vault tickets online in advance.

Without a guide you will visit the small area of the park everyone visits: Rathen, from there to the Schwedenlöcher, and up to the Bastei bridge. It's a very nice part of the park, but sometimes horribly crowded. But you travel in October, and on a weekday it's probably not THAT bad.
For everything else you need either a map or a guide.

How many days would you recommend to leisurely enjoy Dresden and which
are the must see sights (to include dining/food)?

It depends on your interests. The small reconstructed old town needs just a few hours, but if you are into museums consider 2 days to see the most important ones (Old and New Green Vault, Armoury and Turkish Chamber, Old Masters, and either the Porcelain Collection or the Collection of Mathematical Instruments (more interesting than it sounds).
If you want to explore the city at a leisurely pace I would also recommend to see one of the suburbs, the only parts of Dresden which weren't leveled in WW2. Loschwitz was the most expensive living quarter of Europe in the 1930s, and Radebeul is the place with the most millionaires in Eastern Germany. Both are lovely places with vineyards and vineries, castles, posh villas, and beer gardens.

Since it as already mentioned: consider a day trip to a town nearby, like Bautzen, Görlitz, Meissen or Freiberg. All of them are perfectly preserved. Bautzen and Meissen are the most picturesque, Görlitz is the most valuable, and Freiberg offers a very unique local culture, where everything is related to mining.

Martin, Loschwitz looks really nice. A good way to see a fragment of pre-war German elegance. Will add that to my Dresden things to do list.
The Bundewehr Military history museum looks really good to those interested in the subject.

I recommend Meissen, did two day trips there, known as the "cradle of Saxony."

Many thanks to all who responded to my email request!!!

We will definitely make plans to enjoy our visit to Dresden (before moving on to Prague / Budapest).

Wishing everyone a happy holiday season!!!

THANK YOU!!!!

I'll pick up on Martin's post - We spent six days in Dresden , a good amount of time considering the two museum complexes , and four days in Gorlitz . While in Dresden , we spent a full day in Loschwitz which was unique . Gorlitz is magnificent , and as the film setting for " The Grand Budapest Hotel " , it was perfect . Sadly ,we did not visit Saxon Switzerland . so that will be on for our next visit . To Prague for our next destination , the ride down along the Elbe ( Laben , in Czech ) was magnificent , looking forward to return !