What's on in Dresden, Germany through the year

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, Christmas holidays in Germany

Nothing new starts in January.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Elbe high water

  15 Feb – 15 Jun · usuallyFlood seasonClosures

  Snowmelt out of the Czech mountains pushes the Elbe up most springs; the riverside paths, the beer gardens and the ferry landings go under first, and the city has flood gauges marked on the old town wall. Serious floods are rare, closed embankments are not. Source ↗

Busy — Easter holidays in Germany, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Elbe high water (15 Feb – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Easter holidays in Germany, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Elbe high water (15 Feb – 15 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Dixieland Festival, Whitsun/Pentecost holidays in Germany

• Festival

  Dixieland Festival

  8–22 May · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Europe's biggest old-time jazz festival takes over the squares, the paddle steamers and a stretch of the Elbe meadows for a week each May. Half of it is free and outdoors, which is the point. Source ↗

• Festival

  Dresdner Musikfestspiele

  15 May – 15 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalBook early

  A month of concerts in the Frauenkirche, the Kulturpalast and the Semperoper, with visiting orchestras that would not otherwise stop here. Tickets for the church programmes go first. Source ↗

Still on: Elbe high water (15 Feb – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Elbe high water (15 Feb – 15 Jun (usually)), Dresdner Musikfestspiele (15 May – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Germany, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Closure

  Semperoper summer break

  10 Jul – 31 Aug · usually

  The opera house stops performing for about seven weeks in high summer and switches to guided tours only. If the Semperoper is the reason for the trip, the season runs September to early July. Source ↗

Busy — Summer holidays in Germany, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Semperoper summer break (10 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Busy — Autumn holidays in Germany, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Busy — Striezelmarkt, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Striezelmarkt

  25 Nov – 24 Dec · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Germany's oldest Christmas market, documented since 1434, on the Altmarkt — with half a dozen smaller ones around it, so the crowd spreads. The Stollenfest parade wheels a two-tonne cake through town on the Saturday before the second Advent. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Striezelmarkt, Christmas holidays in Germany

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Striezelmarkt (25 Nov – 24 Dec (usually))