summer residence of Saxony's royals

Pillnitz with its baroque palace and gardens is an hour away upriver by car, or by steamboat.

Pillnitz was redesigned for Elector Augustus ‘the Strong’ around 1780 and became famous for its spectacular gardens and water displays, just as impressive today. The English garden is home to Northern Europe’s oldest Camellia tree, over 250 years old and protected each winter by its own custom-made removable greenhouse. When the Camellia is in bloom, from February to April, flocks of visitors come to admire over 35,000 bright red flowers.