VacationSelector
The Semperoper, Dresden
DresdenThe Semperoper
A madrasa and its minarets on the Registan, Samarkand
SamarkandA madrasa and its minarets on the Registan

Photos: Dresden by Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Samarkand by Yaşar Başkurt, Pexels License.

Dresden or Samarkand?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Dresden for

  • live music and the arts
  • nature and the outdoors
  • nightlife

What lies behind each score is written up on Dresden’s own page.

Choose Samarkand for

  • prices
  • food and drink
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Samarkand’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Dresden 10, Samarkand 4: Dresden leads by 6 points.
Food & drink. Dresden 45, Samarkand 54: Samarkand leads by 9 points.
Culture & sights. Dresden 79, Samarkand 84: Samarkand leads by 5 points.
Nightlife. Dresden 47, Samarkand 14: Dresden leads by 33 points.
Nature & outdoors. Dresden 74, Samarkand 40: Dresden leads by 34 points.
Day trips. Dresden 76, Samarkand 72: Dresden leads by 4 points.
Good for families. Dresden 60, Samarkand 30: Dresden leads by 30 points.
Getting around. Dresden 74, Samarkand 58: Dresden leads by 16 points.
Shopping & style. Dresden and Samarkand are level on 42.
Affordability. Dresden 55, Samarkand 80: Samarkand leads by 25 points.
Live music & performing arts. Dresden 76, Samarkand 24: Dresden leads by 52 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Dresden 42, Samarkand 32: Dresden leads by 10 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Dresden and Samarkand.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Dresden
Best match
57match

Wins on live music and the arts and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Samarkand
45match

Wins on prices and food and drink with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Dresden in July

26 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
80 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Samarkand in July

34 °Cdaytime high
19 °Cnight-time low
2 mmrain in the month
12 hsunshine a day
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

020406080100JFMAMJJASOND
DresdenSamarkand

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Dresden: 1991-2020 normals, Dresden-Strehlen (3.8 km from centre). Samarkand: 1991-2020 normals, Samarkand (10 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureDresdenSamarkand
Official languageGermanUzbek
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Uzbekistan Sum (UZS)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCFI220 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+5
Emergency number112112
Elevation126 m702 m
Main airportDresden Airport (DRS)10 km from centre13 non-stop destinationsSamarkand International Airport (SKD)5 km from centre29 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days-

By the numbers

MeasureDresdenSamarkand
City population562,764546,303
People per km²1,7135,058
Museums within 10 km7011
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Dresden or Samarkand somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.