Saxon Switzerland Road Trip from Dresden: the Bastei, Königstein and the Pravčická Gate in 3 Days

The Elbe Sandstone Mountains rise on both sides of the border between Germany and Czechia, just upstream of Dresden. The German side is Saxon Switzerland (Sächsische Schweiz), a national park since 1990; the Czech side is Bohemian Switzerland (České Švýcarsko), a national park since 2000. This loop follows the Elbe out of Dresden to Pirna, climbs to the Bastei and the fortress of Königstein, crosses into Czechia at Hřensko for the great sandstone arch of Pravčická brána, and comes back through Děčín. It makes about 189 km in three days.

The drives are short on purpose: this is country you see on foot, on marked paths that start at the car parks. In July 2022 a forest fire burned more than 1,000 hectares of the Czech national park, and some paths there are still closed, so check the park’s list of closures before you go. You cross the border twice, so carry a passport or ID card, and make sure your rental company allows the car into Czechia.

Day 1 — Dresden to Pirna, the Bastei, Königstein and Bad Schandau (73 km)

Pick up the car in Dresden and drive up the Elbe to Pirna. Its market square still looks much as it did when Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto, painted it in 1753, with the Marienkirche behind the gabled houses.

Cross the Elbe and drive to the Bastei, a ridge of sandstone towers 194 m above the river. The Bastei Bridge was built of sandstone in 1851 in place of an older wooden one; it is 76.5 m long and crosses a gorge about 40 m deep on seven arches. Walking on the bridge is free. Cars stop at two paid car parks on the approach road: the nearer one costs more, and from the lower one you walk about 3.5 km or take the Bastei shuttle, which runs from 1 April to 31 October.

In the afternoon, cross the Elbe again at Bad Schandau and drive back downstream to Königstein. The fortress fills a table mountain 240 m above the river: on its 9.5-hectare plateau stand more than 50 buildings behind walls up to 42 m high, and its well, dug in the 1560s, is more than 150 m deep. Leave the car in the multi-storey car park on the B172 at the turn-off and walk 650 m up, or take the Festungsexpress shuttle from April to October. The fortress is open almost every day of the year, until 18:00 from late March to 1 November and until 17:00 in winter.

Sleep in Bad Schandau. A historic lift from 1904 carries you from the town up to the Ostrau plateau, and the Kirnitzschtalbahn, a tram that has run since 1898, goes about 8 km up the Kirnitzsch valley to the Lichtenhain waterfall.

Day 2 — Bad Schandau to Hřensko, Jetřichovice and Děčín (43 km)

Follow the B172 up the Elbe past Schmilka and into Czechia. The first village is Hřensko (Herrnskretschen), squeezed into the gorge where the Kamenice flows into the Elbe. Park in one of the paid car parks in the village: parking along the road is strictly forbidden.

The big walk of the day is to Pravčická brána (Prebischtor), a natural sandstone arch with a span of 26.5 m and an opening 16 m high, often called the largest in Europe. No road leads to it: the red-marked path leaves the road at Tři prameny, above the village, and climbs through the forest. You may not walk on the arch itself, which has been closed since 1982. Under it stands the Falcon’s Nest (Sokolí hnízdo), a hotel that Prince Edmund Clary-Aldringen built in 1881 and that now holds a restaurant. The area by the arch charges an entry fee of CZK 125 for adults and is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00 from late March to October; from November to March it opens only on Fridays and at weekends, 10:00 to 16:00.

The fire of 2022 started near Hřensko. The Gabriel Trail (Gabrielina stezka), the classic ridge path from the arch to Mezní Louka, is still closed. The Mill Path (Mlýnská cesta), with the Fénix viewing platform, is open and is the other way to the arch, a walk of a few kilometres from the car park next to the hotel at Mezní Louka. Just above Hřensko, Edmund’s Gorge (Edmundova soutěska) on the Kamenice reopened in June 2026 after the fire, for guided visits only, starting in Hřensko and including a boat ride; check the dates for your trip on the Hřensko village website.

In the afternoon, drive on through Mezní Louka to Jetřichovice. From the village a marked path climbs by steps and a tunnel through the rock to the Mariina skála (Mary’s Rock), a viewpoint with a wooden shelter on top, and on to other rock viewpoints in a loop. In May 2026 a smaller forest fire burned near Jetřichovice and Rynartice: the burned area is closed, but the marked paths are open. Then drive down to Děčín and sleep there.

Day 3 — Děčín and back along the Elbe to Dresden (73 km)

Děčín Castle stands on a rock above the Elbe. The Thun family held it from 1628 to 1932, and from 1968 to 1991 it was used by the Soviet army; since then the town has restored it. You enter by the Long Drive (Dlouhá jízda), a grand access road that ends at the upper gate, and next to it lies the baroque Rose Garden. The rooms are seen on guided tours, so check the times before you go.

Across the river rises the Pastýřská stěna (Shepherd’s Wall), a sandstone cliff with a view over the castle and the town. Drive up to the car park by the zoo and walk about five minutes to the viewpoint. The little mock castle on the edge, a restaurant built in 1905, reopened in 2025 after a long closure.

Drive back the way you came along the Elbe, through Hřensko, Bad Schandau and Pirna, to Dresden. This road needs no vignette. The faster road back is the D8 motorway over the Ore Mountains, but its last stretch to the German border is charged in that direction and needs the Czech digital vignette.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your dates. There are no tolls on this loop as described: German roads are free for cars, and on the Czech side it stays off the motorways. If you take the D8 back to Dresden, buy the Czech vignette first; a one-day vignette costs CZK 230 in 2026. Budget for accommodation, fuel for about 189 km, car rental, parking at the Bastei, Königstein and Hřensko, entry to Königstein fortress (€17 for adults from late March to 1 November 2026), entry to Pravčická brána, and the tour of Edmund’s Gorge. Czechia uses the Czech crown, so carry some cash for small car parks and kiosks.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.