Meissen

Europe's first porcelain, still hand-made under the crossed swords — paste, moulding and cobalt painting, plus the museum

begun 1471 in late-Gothic style by Arnold of Westphalia, regarded as the first castle built as a residential palace in German history

the Gothic cathedral beside the castle, begun 1260 — twin towers, medieval glass and the Wettin princes' chapel

the medieval market square under the Frauenkirche and its 1929 carillon of 37 bells, the world's first cast in Meissen porcelain

a baroque château on the largest single vineyard in Saxony — cellar tastings of Saxon Riesling, Goldriesling and Weissburgunder

the town's flagship wine festival — winemakers pour their newest vintages on the market square, closing with torch-swimming and fireworks on the Elbe

rooms and apartments at the Gästehaus im Weingut Schloss Proschwitz, dusk over the Elbe slopes, a private tasting and dinner

the Marktplatz lantern-lit, a climb to the castle terrace as the light turns over the Dom's spires and the river

hearty Saxon cooking — Sauerbraten, dumplings and river fish — in an old-town cellar or Weinstube with the town's own Elbe-slope wine

the historic Sächsische Dampfschifffahrt steamer from Dresden with a ~3-hr Meissen stop for the Albrechtsburg, old town and porcelain workshop