Dresden for 1 Day, what to see?

Zwinger Museum - great art - Vermeer paintings. Also, the Green Vault with fabulous jewels of the royal family. Take a walking tour across the river.
Plus, the Frauenkirche is a beautiful church that was rebuilt after the World War II Allied bombing. I attended an organ concert there, so beautiful.
Dresden is a jewel, you will be glad you visited.

Bill,

One day won't provide much time, but two sights I enjoyed were....

• the Frauenkirche (as I recall, it's closed over lunch time and then re-opens in the afternoon).
• The Bundeswehr Military History Museum (the displays are all nicely done, and one could easily spend four hours in there).

If you're arriving by train, you can easily take the Tram to both sights.

I found the collection of historical scientific instruments at the Zwinger probably the most interesting, even more so than the famous Grünes Gewölbe. Also, the display of armor and war trophies in the Schloss is one of the best I've seen.

The rebuilt historic core isn't particularly large, so one day is more than enough time to at least explore the exteriors. But obviously, one day isn't enough for all the museums and churches.

The Historic Green Vault is different from the Green Vault. The HGV requires a timed ticket.

I'll throw an alternative suggestion if you've seen enough baroque art by this point. If you have interest in Mesoamerican history Dresden is the home of the Dresden Mayan Codex at the Saxony State Library:
http://www.slub-dresden.de/en/collections/manuscripts/the-dresden-maya-codex/

It is the oldest, best preserved and most elaborate of all the Mayan codices (of which only four are known). The Dresden Codex contains an astronomical almanac that predates the Spanish conquest of the area.

DJ

Thanks everyone great suggestions, I appreciate it.

Thanks everyone great suggestions, I appreciate it.

Just a note: the castle is closed on Tuesdays, so you can't see the Green Vault, the armory or the Turkish Chamber.
Usually a full day is enough to explore the old town and see two of the many world-class museums. Since the castle is closed you could consider a guided tour of the Semper opera instead, which is quite interesting too.
Very popular on a sunny day is a trip with the paddle steamers. The shortest route is the Stadtrundfahrt (city tour), which goes to Blasewitz. Blasewitz is a posh suburb, around 1930 the most expensive living quarter of Europe, with a wine village, villas, a funicular railway, beer gardens and much more. Very popular among the locals. A slightly longer tour called castle tour goes to Pillnitz, a beautiful Baroque palace with a wonderful garden.

A few years ago, I spent 3 night in Bad Schandau, in the Sächsische Schweiz, east of Dresden. On one of my days there, I traveled into Dresden. I'm not a big city, museum type of person, so I didn't particularly enjoy it. The Frauenkirche was interesting, considering its history, and the streetcar system is great. I was glad to get out of there.

On another day, I visited the fortress, Königstein. I enjoyed that more than Dresden.