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Voykit pocket guide · Germany
Zittau
Give Zittau one full day plus a night: old town and the Lenten Veil in the morning, the steam train to Oybin in the afternoon. Two nights if you want the Zittau Mountains.
Zittau is a small Saxon town in Upper Lusatia where Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic meet, about 1.5 hours by train from Dresden. The compact old town takes half a day; the narrow-gauge steam railway into the Zittau Mountains and the 1472 Lenten Veil are the two reasons to stay longer than a lunch stop.
- Country
- Germany
- Best months
- May–Sep; Dec for the Christmas market
- Avoid
- Jan–Feb (cold, short days, some sights on winter hours)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR). Card acceptance has improved but some bakeries, bars and small restaurants are still cash only.
- Daily spend
- Budget €55–85 excl. bed · Mid €85–140 excl. bed · High €140+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Telekom, Vodafone and O2 are the networks; Aldi Talk, Lidl Connect and congstar resell them cheaply in supermarkets and electronics shops.
- Emergency
- Fire and ambulance 112 · Police 110 · Out-of-hours doctor 116 117
- Plugs
- Types C, F · 230 V · 50 Hz · Round two-pin plugs; UK and US devices need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurant: Round up or add 5–10%; say the total you want to pay as you hand over money or card.; Bar and café: Round up to the nearest euro.; Taxi: Round up by €1–2.; Hotel housekeeping: €1–2 a night, optional.; Free walking tour: €10–15 per person.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Restaurants usually sell bottled water; fizzy (mit Kohlensäure) is the default, ask for 'still' or 'ohne'.
- Toilets
- Station toilets cost €0.50–1.50 (Rail&Fresh WC); restaurant toilets are for customers; the 'WC' at motorway rest stops takes coins and gives a voucher.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee and cake | €4–8 |
| Lunch, main dish | €10–16 |
| Dinner, main dish | €14–24 |
| Beer, 0.5 l draught | €4–6 |
| Local bus single ride | €2–3 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | €10–20 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- DRS · Dresden Airport
- S-Bahn S2 to Dresden-Klotzsche, then RegionalExpress RE2 to Zittau; about 2.5 h total
- BER · Berlin Brandenburg
- Rail via Dresden; 4.5 h+
Typical fares
- Dresden → Zittau, regional train
- about 1.5 h on RE2, regional ticket
- Zittau → Oybin, steam train
- about 40 min, seasonal timetable
- Taxi across town
- €8–14 (check)
Get around
The centre is flat and walkable in 15 minutes end to end. Three local bus routes cover the outskirts. Trains and the narrow-gauge railway leave from Zittau station, a 10-minute walk from the Marktplatz.
See and do
Known for
- Lenten Veil of 1472 (Fastentuch)
- Narrow-gauge steam railway to Oybin and Jonsdorf
- Old town on the tri-border with Poland and Czechia
- Zittau Mountains (Zittauer Gebirge)
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Oybin and Jonsdorf by steam train | Narrow-gauge railway from Zittau station; about 40 min to Oybin | About 1 h |
| Görlitz | Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn from Zittau station, about 40–60 min | About 1 h |
| Herrnhut | Train or bus, about 30 min | About 45 min |
| Liberec, Czechia | Vogtlandbahn from Zittau station, about 30 min | About 40 min |
| Bad Muskau | Train and bus via Görlitz or Weißwasser, 1.5–2 h | 2 h+ |
| Bautzen | Train via Löbau or Dresden, 1.5–2 h | 2 h |
Sleep
- Old town around the Marktplatz
- Walk to the churches, museums and restaurants; best for one night without a car.
- Neustadt / Ottokarplatz
- Quiet edge of the centre, 5–10 min walk to the market square; several hotels here.
- Near the station (Bahnhofstraße)
- Practical for early trains and the steam railway; 10 min walk to the centre.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Guten TagGOO-ten tahk |
| Thank you | DankeDAN-kuh |
| Please | BitteBIT-tuh |
| How much is it? | Wie viel kostet das?vee feel KOS-tet dahs |
| Can I pay by card? | Kann ich mit Karte zahlen?kahn ikh mit KAR-tuh TSAH-len |
| Where is the station? | Wo ist der Bahnhof?voh ist dair BAHN-hohf |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Firm handshake with eye contact; 'Guten Tag' or 'Hallo'; avoid: Hugs with people you have just met
- Names: Herr / Frau plus surname until invited to use first names; avoid: Using 'du' with officials or older strangers
- Punctuality: Arrive on time for tours, dinners and appointments; avoid: Being more than 5–10 minutes late without a message
- Queues and rules: Follow signs, wait at red lights, sort rubbish; avoid: Walking in cycle lanes
- Conversation: Direct and factual; people say what they mean; avoid: Taking directness as rudeness, or joking about the Nazi era
- Home visit: Bring flowers (odd number, not red roses) or wine; shoes off if the hosts do; avoid: Arriving early
- Paying: Say the total including tip as you pay; avoid: Leaving coins on the table and walking off
Scams and watch-outs
- Some sights run shorter winter hours (Nov–Mar); check before you go.
- English is less common than in Dresden or Berlin; a few German phrases help.
- Cross-border trips to Poland and Czechia need your passport or ID card.
- Sunday opening is limited outside restaurants and bakeries.
Zittau is a quiet, low-crime small town; the real issues are uneven cobbles, dark side streets after closing time and the border crossing rules if you walk or cycle into Poland or Czechia.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Zittau yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Lenten Veil of 1472 (Fastentuch)
- Narrow-gauge steam railway to Oybin and Jonsdorf
- Old town on the tri-border with Poland and Czechia
- Zittau Mountains (Zittauer Gebirge)
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Zittau official tourism pages: www.zittau.de/de/tourismus-kultur-freizeit
- ZVON — Upper Lusatia transport network: www.zvon.de/
- Zittau narrow-gauge railway (SOEG): www.soeg-zittau.de/
- Wikivoyage: Zittau, revision 5303146 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5303146
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Zittau
Zu dieser Adresse, bitte
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Zittau; the US and UK have embassies in Berlin, and most countries keep consulates in Dresden or Leipzig.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/zittau). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.