Wittenberg & Meissen

Meißen doesn't take long to see. It's basically a nice town with a castle on top. Took me only about two hours to get an overview, and that's with seeing the castle.

You could conceivably fit everything in Dresden in one day, if you time everything correctly. I personally like the scientific instrument collection at the Zwinger best. Most people would also rate the historic Green Vault in the Residenz Schloss high on their list. If you're an animal lover, the Dresden zoo is one of the few on the continent that houses koalas.

What about a visit to the porcelain factory?

I didn't tour it. I'm not even sure where it is in Meißen.

Meißen doesn't take long to see. It's basically a nice town with a
castle on top.

If a small town is world-famous and on the cover of Rick Steves books people spend two full days there. if a small town of the same size is almost unknown people barely spend an afternoon there.
2 hours are not enough for Meissen. The old town is small, but there's not only the castle but also Saxonys biggest Gothic cathedral and of course the porcelain factory. Which sadly is a bit outside, you have to walk for ~15min to get there (see here). When you visit the old town don't use the straight route from the town square up to the castle! Instead use the steep walk between the town church and the restaurant "Vincenz Richter". At the end turn right. After a few metres you cross St. Afra and the small graveyard of St. Afra. This walk offers some nice views. At the castle complex visit both the cathedral and the castle. The highlight of the castle for me are the dungeons with graffiti from the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). And don't miss the passages, which offers great views.
Sorry, I can't help with B&Bs in Meissen.

You could conceivably fit everything in Dresden in one day

Old and New Masters, both(!) Green Vaults, Turkish Chamber and Armory, Porcelain Collection, Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments, Military Museum, Zwinger, castle, Frauenkirche, old town, Neustadt, Pfunds Molkerei, Semperoper, Great Garden, Pillnitz, Blue Wonder and Funicular Railway, Transparent Factory, steam boats.... I guess this would be a very long day....

Hi,

True the church in Lutherstadt Wittenberg is closed for the big event in 2017, I saw it at the end of April, all covered with that construction "net," Very nice Innenstadt. Meissen is worth your time, very interesting place, spent a day trip there, ie, the afternoon, still I would have to go back. It has a different feel to it compared to towns in northern Germany (in the west). It's considered "Die Wiege Sachsens" (the cradle/birthplace of Saxony). I would suggest accomodating both Meissen and Lutherstadt Wittenberg into yout time frame.

Wow - what great information! Thank you all so, so much. Just a couple more (3!) questions:

(1) Are both Castle Church and St. Mary's Church closed? As our purpose in Wittenberg is Luther history, is there still enough to see that is not closed? Is there a Luther Museum that is open?

(2) And the Meissen/Dresden info was fantastic. This is such a helpful site for novice travelers (well, not exactly novices, just have never been to Germany - & we're two females in our 70's!) - thank you, Rick Steves, for providing this forum.

(3) Now - one more question! Will we be able to rent a car for 1-2 days with our USA driver's license or do we need to be prepared for something else?

Again, many thanks for all who took the time to answer.

The Luther Halle/Haus is open for visitors. Built as an Augustinian monastery, this is much larger than a typical residence of the time. The explanations are available in English. Feel free to write if you have questions about Wittenberg (I was there a year ago).

Your valid US driver's license is adequate in Germany. For more Luther history, consider visiting Erfurt or Wartburg Castle at Eisenach.