Upstream of Dresden, the Elbe cuts through the sandstone cliffs and pinnacles of Saxon Switzerland (Sächsische Schweiz), a small but dramatic national park of free-standing rock spires, tabletop mountains and beech forests. The obvious target is the Bastei, a network of jagged sandstone towers linked by a stone footbridge built in the 1850s with one of the most photographed views in Germany. An hour by S-Bahn from Dresden. In the other direction, Meißen — about 30 km downstream — is a lovely old cathedral town and the birthplace of European hard-paste porcelain; its 300-year-old factory and showroom are still in operation. Moritzburg Castle, a baroque hunting lodge on an island in a lake built by Augustus the Strong, is a short drive or S-Bahn ride away. Further afield, Prague is 2.5 hours south by train and eminently doable as a long day trip.