Guided tours of companies and institutes

Dresden University - a campus tour

This themed tour introduces you to the history of the university's development and how various buildings on the campus got their names. The tour focuses on famous scientists, discoveries and inventors, taking you from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. Includes the buildings at Münchner Platz, the Beyer building, the new university refectory, the legal faculty, the library and the new buildings on Zellescher Weg belonging to the faculty of biology.

Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP

• Time: approx. 1.5 hours, no more than 20 people, or by arrangement

The Fraunhofer FEP in Dresden develops technologies and plant components to coat and modify surfaces and small parts. Technologies and methods can be tested on an industrial scale in pilot plants. They are used in medicinal technology, mechanical engineering, photovoltaics and the packaging industry. On our tour we introduce you to our key technologies, pilot plants and established applications. Tours require advance booking

Transparent Factory of the VW Group

At Volkswagen's Transparent Factory, the Phaeton is hand-produced. Here, visitors can see cars being manufactured, with a unique combination of serious production and good fun. Guided tours in 10 languages; architectural tours, children's tours. Visits require advance booking.

Dresden Porcelain - Sächsische Porzellan-Manufaktur Dresden

The manufactory, founded in 1872, follows the great tradition of European porcelain art. A small group of highly motivated craftspeople create fine, ornamental handmade porcelain. Connoisseurs value these exclusive pieces with the blue "SP Dresden" symbol on their base as coveted rarities. Individual guided tour through the whole production workshops: Mon-Fri 11 a.m./2p.m. and by pre-arrangement.

• Time: 1 hour (in German/English); Price: €7.50 per person;
  €5 per person for groups of 10 and more

Creative courses for groups of 10-20 people

(book in advance):

• Model a Dresden rose with instructions from an experienced flower modeller
  Time: 1 hour, €15 per person
• Paint a porcelain bowl (includes one piece of valuable porcelain)
  Time: 2 hours, €53 per person
• Drink coffee from Dresden porcelain with typical Saxon delicacies
  Time: approx. 0.5 hour, €5 per person

Dr. Quendt KG

A family-run company, Dr. Quendt has taken on the goal of producing unique top-quality baked specialities from Dresden. Original Dresden Stollen, Russian Bread biscuits or newly created sweet and savoury nibbles such as Bemmchen, Topinchen and Dinkelchen are guaranteed to tickle the taste buds. On this exclusive tour you peek behind the scenes at the oldest speciality bakery in Dresden, unveiling some fascinating secrets from the sweet side of the Saxon city's history.

• 20-25 people (in German)
• Time: approx. 1.5 hours
• €4.50 per person; conc. €2.50 per person

Dresdner Backhaus GmbH

Discover the secret of baking Stollen - the German Christmas cake - on a guided tour of the Dresdner Backhaus Stollen bakery. An experienced Dresden Stollen baker not only talks about the history and production of Dresden Stollen but also offers every visitor a slice of Stollen and a cup of coffee.

Schloss Proschwitz Prinz zur Lippe wine-growing estate

Straight across from the Albrechtsburg castle in Meissen you can find the vineyards of the oldest private wine-growing estate in eastern Germany. Back in 1996 Schloss Proschwitz was the first Saxon wine-growing estate to be admitted into the ranks of the renowned Association of German Quality and Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP).

See how delicately these top-quality wines are handled on a tour of the cellars or during a tasting at the lovingly restored wine-growing estate in Zadel. Our own restaurant serves fresh specialities from the region and a select choice of Saxon wines. Discover interesting facts about the wine-growing estate and the restoration of the complex on a guided tour through the Baroque buildings of Schloss Proschwitz.

Schloss Wackerbarth - Europe's first vineyard discovery experience

Find out how sparkling wine ("Sekt") is made on a Sekt tour showing you the different stages of its production. Discover the traditional method of bottle fermentation in the riddling cellar and experience the result at the ensuing tasting, with three samples.

On the wine tour you explore the wine terraces and cellars, find out what happens during fermentation, how ageing in a barrique retains the wine's natural aromas, and what characteristics are key to Schloss Wackerbarth wines. There then follows a tasting of three wines.

• Time for wine or sekt tour: 1 hour
• German: €10 per person (from 15 people)
• English, French, Spanish, Russian (other languages on request): €30 fixed fee per group

Meissen GmbH State Porcelain manufactory

MEISSEN® - among the leading German luxury brands worldwide - has stood for luxury-segment art since the manufactory was founded in 1710. It is defined by its special material, its traditional artisanry and its exceptional appearance. Right next to the manufactory, the Museum of MEISSEN® Art is the only collection in the world to give its visitors a comprehensive insight into how Meissen porcelain® has been created from its beginnings to the present day. In the display workshop, visitors can experience the major stages of production: shaping and turning, creating figurines, and underglaze and overglaze painting. An audio room commentary in any of 14 languages can be selected to accompany the tour. Individual tours on request.

• MEISSEN® Boutique and Outlet at the Museum of MEISSEN®: World's largest selection of Meissen porcelain®; top-quality or secondchoice products.
• MEISSEN SHOPS at the Fürstenzug and in Karstadt department store: exclusive products comprising limited artworks, interior design, jewellery and gifts.
• MEISSEN OUTLET in the QF Quartier by the Frauenkirche: unparalleled range of second-choice Meissen porcelain® and top-quality stocks reduced by up to 50%.

Boutique "A. Lange & Söhne"

The tradition-steeped company "A. Lange & Söhne" is one of the world's most exclusive precision watch brands. In opening the first dedicated A. Lange & Söhne boutique on the Neumarkt square in Dresden in 2007, the company was returning to its roots: Ferdinand Adolph Lange owned a shop not far away before he set up his own watch-making workshop in Glashütte.

In Germany's only Lange branch, opposite the Frauenkirche, business does not just involve displaying the precision watches by A. Lange & Söhne which are developed, crafted and fitted - largely by hand - in Glashütte; it is also about presenting the brand in a suitable manner in the familiar surroundings of Dresden.

• Mon-Sat: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.,
• groups of no more than 10

Glashütte Original

For 165 years the name "Glashütte" has been a synonym for topquality watch-making, German precision and functional design. From the tiniest screw to the most complicated clockwork, timepieces from Glashütte Original are largely manufactured in-house, by hand. Experience the famous art of Glashütte watch-making as it happens, on a special educational trail with large windows, displays and monitor presentations giving you a remarkable glimpse behind the scenes.

• Manufactory tours require advance booking,
• Time: approx. 2 hours

German Watch Museum Glashütte

True to its catchphrase "Fascination of Time - Bringing Time to Life" the museum not only displays the long tradition of mechanical watchmaking, but also creates an emotional link to the phenomenon of time. On two floors, more than 400 unique exhibits are presented, with multimedia drawing visitors into the experience: Glashütte watches and fob watches from various eras, marine chronometers, historical documents, tools and astronomical models are all creatively put on show.

• Daily tours (Time: approx. 1.5 hours) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• by advance booking €6 per person, conc. €4 per person

Radeberger Export Beer Brewery

In the beer-making town of Radeberg, 15 km (9 miles) from Dresden, you will find one of Germany's most modern breweries; the first in Germany to brew using the Pilsner method, and still brewing today.

Take a glimpse behind the scenes at the production of the popular Radeberger Pilsner - from the brewing room to the filling process. To round things off, enjoy a tasting of Radeberger Pilsner and Radeberger Zwickelbier (unfiltered Radeberger Pilsner), find out some new facts about beer in general and Radeberger Pilsner in particular, then take a little memento home with you.

• Book in advance: Mon-Sat 10 a.m.-5.30 p.m., Sun 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Time: approx. 2 hours,
• 15-50 people (in German/English)