Görlitz

An intact old town that survived WWII and a filming location for The Grand Budapest Hotel, with Upper Lusatian World Heritage sites such as Muskau Park and Herrnhut nearby.

Görlitz is Germany's easternmost city, located in the Upper Lusatia region of Saxony. It faces Zgorzelec in Poland across the Neisse River, and the two towns are linked on foot by the Old Town Bridge. The city came through WWII almost unscathed and preserves more than 4,000 listed buildings spanning late Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau styles. It is regarded as one of the best-preserved historic old towns in Germany, which has made it the backdrop for dozens of films, including The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Book Thief and Inglourious Basterds – earning it the nickname "Görliwood". The main sights are all within walking distance: the Untermarkt and Town Hall, the Church of St. Peter and Paul, the Old Town Bridge and the Polish bank opposite, the Obermarkt and Reichenbach Tower, and the facade of the Art Nouveau department store. You can cover the old town's highlights in one day, then allow another half day for museums and the Holy Sepulchre. There are plenty of day trips: about 55 km north is Muskau Park, a World Heritage Site shared by Germany and Poland, and the Rakotzbrücke (Devil's Bridge) in Kromlau; 40 km west is Bautzen, the "city of towers"; to the south a narrow-gauge steam train runs into the Zittau Mountains to Oybin; and 25 km southeast is the World Heritage town of Herrnhut. The climate is temperate, and May–Oct is best for strolling the old town and outdoor activities. December brings the Silesian Christmas Market, while in winter some town towers and museums have shorter opening hours. Getting there: regional trains take about 1 hr 20 min from Dresden and about 2.5 hours from Berlin, and there are also direct trains from the Wrocław direction. Plan on 2–3 days: one day for the old town and 1–2 days for the surroundings. Note that most museums close on Mondays, and carry ID when crossing into Poland.

Top sights

• Untermarkt & Town Hall – The heart of Görlitz's old town, a square surrounded by a Renaissance town hall, arcaded merchants' houses and the 'Whispering Arch.'
• Church of St. Peter and Paul – One of the largest late Gothic hall churches in Saxony. Its twin towers overlook the Neisse River, and inside is the unique 'Sun Organ.'
• Old Town Bridge to Zgorzelec – A pedestrian bridge over the Neisse River. In a few steps you can walk from Germany to Poland, and it offers the best panorama back over Gö…
• Muskau Park – An English-style landscape garden spanning Germany and Poland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Neue Schloss and the Neisse River bank…
• Obermarkt & Holy Trinity Church – A long, narrow square on the west side of the old town, flanked by Baroque burghers' houses, Napoleon's balcony and the Franciscan Holy Tri…
• Görlitz Department Store – An Art Nouveau department store opened in 1913; its glass-domed atrium inspired the lobby of The Grand Budapest Hotel.
• Reichenbach Tower – A medieval gate tower at the western gate of the old town; climb to the top for views over the Obermarkt and the red-tiled roofs of the old…
• Kaisertrutz – A 16th-century round bastion turned into a museum that shows the history and art of Upper Lusatia from the Middle Ages to modern times.
• Silesian Museum – Housed in the Renaissance Schönhof mansion, it tells the thousand-year history and art of Silesia, which spans Germany, Poland and the Czec…
• Baroque House Neißstraße 30 – A Baroque merchant's house beside the Untermarkt, now a museum preserving 18th-century ornate halls and a scientific collection.
• Holy Sepulchre – A 15th-century pilgrimage garden modelled on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, considered the best-preserved replica of its kind in Europe.
• St. Nicholas Church & Cemetery – The city's oldest church and a quiet Baroque cemetery, where the mystical philosopher Jacob Böhme is buried.
• Görlitz Synagogue – An Art Nouveau synagogue that survived Kristallnacht and reopened in 2021 as a cultural forum after restoration.
• Senckenberg Museum of Natural History – A natural history museum on the edge of the old town, known for its soil fauna research, with displays of tropical rainforest and animal ec…
• Görlitz Zoo – A small zoo focusing on Himalayan and local farm animals, with red pandas, yaks and a Tibetan-style village.
• Landeskrone – A basalt volcanic cone southwest of the city; a hilltop castle hotel and observation tower look out over the old town and the Polish plain.
• Lake Berzdorf – A large lake formed from a former lignite open-pit mine, a summer hub for swimming, sailing and cycling around the lake on the city outskir…
• Rakotz Bridge (Kromlau) – A basalt semicircular arch bridge in a rhododendron garden; its reflection forms a complete circle, making it a social-media-famous photo s…
• Herrnhut – Birthplace of the Moravian Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home of the Herrnhut star lanterns.
• Bautzen Old Town – A thousand-year-old tower town and the cultural centre of the Sorbs; its skyline of towers above the Spree Valley is as famous as its musta…
• Oybin Castle and Monastery – Gothic monastery ruins atop a honeycomb-shaped sandstone outcrop in the Zittau Mountains, a classic subject for Romantic painters.
• Zittau Narrow Gauge Railway – A daily 750 mm narrow-gauge steam train that winds through the forest from Zittau into the Oybin and Jonsdorf hills.
• Zittau & Great Zittau Lenten Veil – Zittau, a small town where three countries meet, treasures a giant Great Lenten Veil from 1472, displayed at the Holy Cross Church Museum.
• St. Marienthal Abbey – Germany's oldest Cistercian nunnery still in use, in the Neisse Valley, with a bright Baroque complex.
• Löbau Cast Iron Tower – A cast-iron lookout tower completed in 1854, one of the oldest of its kind in Europe, with views over the Upper Lusatian hills from the top.
• Czocha Castle – A medieval castle in Lower Silesia, Poland, standing on a rocky outcrop by a reservoir and famous for its secret passage legends and wizard…

Where to eat

• Schneider-Stube – A long-established Görlitz restaurant listed in the Michelin Guide, housed in a Renaissance-era townhouse and serving S…
• Lucie Schulte – A creative seasonal restaurant in a historic courtyard beside Untermarkt, with a courtyard terrace and wine cellar. It…
• Zum Dreibeinigen Hund – A traditional inn-restaurant in a vaulted cellar in the Old Town, serving Silesian home cooking on Bunzlau blue-pattern…
• Wirtshaus zur Altstadt – A rustic German pub where the cutlets, fried to order, are widely praised. Prices are reasonable, and it is one of the…
• Café Lucullus – An Old Town café between St. Peter's Church and the Lower Market, with cakes baked fresh daily; the Silesian poppy seed…
• Przy Jakubie – A small Polish eatery in Zgorzelec, a short walk across the Old Town Bridge from Görlitz and next to Jakob Böhme's hous…

Itineraries

• Eastern Saxony & Upper Lusatia Road Trip – Based in Dresden and Görlitz, explore the porcelain capital, ancient towns, a UNESCO-listed park, and scenic highlands.