To find one of Dresden’s best-kept secrets you’ll have to leave the historic Old Town district and venture into the newer part of the city, where a secret art passage called the Kunsthofpassage holds some of the city’s best architecture, design and shopping.
In the Kunsthofpassage visitors can enjoy a coffee while rainwater-powered music plays in the background, or buy one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry to wear to an outdoor film screening that evening. In other words, this hidden artist community has something for everyone.
I think that I have unique insight into the Dresden Kunsthofpassage because I actually stayed inside it for more than a week! In this guide I will tell you all about visiting the passage plus why you might want to consider staying inside it on your next trip to Dresden.
The History of the Dresden Kunsthofpassage Alley
Like always, knowing a few German words will help you better understand this tourist attraction in Dresden’s Neustadt neighborhood:
- Kunst = art
- Hof = courtyard
- Passage = passageway or arcade
So, the Kunsthofpassage in Dresden is basically an art courtyard shopping arcade, where a pedestrian alleyway connects two streets (Alaunstrasse 70 and Görlitzer Strasse 21-25) and is lined with all different types of art.
The apartment buildings and shops here are nothing new, but following the fall of the Berlin Wall the community sought ways to revitalize the neighborhood. In the 1990s they decided to enlist the help of local artists and architects to redesign each of the five courtyards in the arcade around a separate theme:
- Courtyard of Mystical Creatures
- Courtyard of Light
- Courtyard of Elements
- Courtyard of Metamorphosis
- Courtyard of Animals
The redesign included elaborate paint jobs, eye-catching additions to the apartment facades, the installation of sculptures and fountains, and a general revitalization to attract both new residents and new local businesses (you won’t find any international chains here!). Today, more than twenty years later, the art passage has become a symbol of the new Dresden.
Things to Do in the Dresden Kunsthofpassage
Most people visit the Kunsthofpassage in Dresden for one of three reasons: to check out its famous architecture, to shop at the unique boutique shops, or to dine at one of the three restaurants inside the art passage.
Kunsthofpassage Architecture
The Kunsthofpassage is best known for its colorful blue and yellow apartment buildings, both of which are located in the Courtyard of Elements.
The blue building recalls the rain, and on rainy days a musical symphony plays as water falls down the dramatic drain pipes into basins at ground level. Across the courtyard, the yellow building is more reminiscent of the sun, which glints off the golden aluminum sheets affixed to the facade like post-it notes.
In the other courtyards you’ll find buildings decorated with larger-than-life animal murals, mystical prehistoric symbols and sparkling metallic mirrors. Also be on the lookout for unique fountains, contemporary art sculptures and well-hidden projection screens that can be lowered when the courtyards host film festivals and live performances.
Shops in the Art Passage
The kunsthofpassage is home to more shops than I could list in this guide, but the key thing that they have in common is that they are unique, locally-owned shops selling things you won’t find elsewhere.
You can expect to find jewelry workshops owned by the actual artisans, fair trade food and fashions, art supplies, vintage collectibles, surprising souvenirs and more.
Hotels in the Dresden Kunsthofpassage
There are not any hotels inside Dreden’s Kunstofpassage, but you’re in luck because there is an apartment you can rent! This is where I stayed in Dresden, and I can definitely recommend it for anyone wanting to stay in Neustadt in a design-forward historical apartment.
Neustadtperle is a short-term apartment rental in the heart of the Kunsthofpassage in Dresden. It’s located on the first floor (second floor in North America) of one of the historic buildings in the Courtyard of Metamorphosis. The apartment faces the rear of the courtyard, so you will find tourists snapping photos of the building’s front door as you come and go but they won’t be looking through your windows into your bedroom!
The apartment here features an entrance hallway, a spacious bathroom, a vintage-inspired kitchen, a large living room, a separate bedroom and an outdoor balcony overlooking the communal backyard garden and the kunsthofpassage. There is also a washing machine located in a separate washing cellar.
I hadn’t intended to write about the apartment so I only took photos for myself of the things I thought were cool, like the pink Moccamaster coffee machine in the retro-looking kitchen. You can see more photos of the other rooms on the apartment listing.
I am not 100% sure of this, but I believe the owners of Neustadtperle (who are national figures in the German performing arts industry 😉) also own Kunsthofperle, another apartment inside Dresden’s art passage.
Restaurants in the Dresden Kunsthofpassage Art Passage
There are three restaurants in the Kunsthofpassage. I ate ate two of them and tried to get into the third but I couldn’t make it work with my schedule. Here are my thoughts:
- Lila Soße – I could see this restaurant from my apartment balcony and it was the one I was most excited about eating at. It was also the biggest letdown. The concepts here is that they have some dishes in small jars (tapas-style) and some normal plates. Unfortunately my server had some sort of personal issue with me and refused to speak to me, so I waited about 70 minutes (after the time of my reservation) to get very rude service. The food was okay (not amazing, not bad though) but I felt very uncomfortable watching every table around me get served politely while I got ignored (and rest assured other tables noticed as well).
- Schokoladenbar – This is a cute little coffee shop and dessert place. Their terrace is inside the passage but my recollection is that the entrance is via the street. The girls who work here are really nice and the salted caramel cake that I had was memorably good. Highly recommended for kaffee und kuchen in the afternoon.
- Hofcafé im Hof des Lichts – This is another coffee shop that also does some more savory lunch dishes, like soup and quiche. However, their limited hours (from 11:00 to 18:00) meant that I was usually out sightseeing during the time they were open. That being said, every time I walked past they were full or nearly full, so it must be good!
Neustadt is a really good part of town for restaurants and dining (especially if you’re vegetarian or vegan) and there are many more restaurants within a few blocks of the Art Passage. To learn more about why you might want to stay in this neighborhood, rather than the Old Town, read my guide to Neustadt vs Altstadt.
Is it Worth Visiting the Dresden Kunsthofpassage?
Yes, it’s worth visiting the Kunsthofpassage in Dresden! Neustadt is a fun neighborhood to explore for a few hours, and the Kunsthofpassage is one of the main attractions in this part of the city.
I would recommend that you plan to spend fifteen to thirty minutes just wandering through the passage, and longer if you want to do some shopping and/or stop for a drink, snack or meal.
To get to the Kunsthofpassage from Altstadt you can take Tram #11 to Bautzner Straße and then walk up Rothenburger Straße, or you can take Tram #7 to Louisenstraße and then walk along that street for two or three blocks before turning left and looking for the colorful cow sign.
The Kunsthofpassage closes overnight so the residents can sleep, but is usually accessible from 6:00 or 8:00 in the morning until 11:00 pm or midnight, depending on the day of the week. Each business has their own hours, so while you can walk through before dawn don’t expect to be able to go shopping until later in the morning.
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