Perhaps the most alluring activity around Zittau is the Narrow-Gauge Railway, a narrow-gauge railway system employing steam locomotives and serving the mountain health-spa resorts. The Zittauer Gebirge is the smallest low-mountain range in Europe, with its idyllic gorges, thick forests and whimsical rock formations, it’s great for hiking and clearing your head. You can drive or take the bus but the train is definitely the most charming option, which has been steaming through the trees since 1890. Departing from a tiny timber station in Zittau up to the sleepy resort villages of Oybin and Jonsdorf, splitting at Bertsdorf, we’d suggest stopping in Oybin, which wraps around a hill topped by the ruins of an old castle and monastery (somewhere to stay/ eat). The trains also stop at the Teufelmühle (devil’s mill) built for 17th century silver miners, and where a trail leads up to a very photogenic mountain top called Töpfer, with impressive sandstone formations.
