The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz covers a large area of 142 km².

According to park administration, seven palaces and parks are part of the Garden Kingdom:

• Schloss Wörlitz (my rating 5*)
• Schloss Luisium (my rating 4*)
• Schloss Oranienbaum (my rating 3*)
• Schloss Mosigkau (my rating 3*)
• Schloss Georgium (my rating 3*)
• Schloss Großkühnau (my rating 2*)
• Park am Sieglitzer Berg (not visited)

During my summer trip to Sachsen-Anhalt, I have visited six of them. Thanks to warm sunny weather, my first impression was quite positive.

Wörlitz is by far the most impressive park of the whole Garden Kingdom and the major reason to come here. Visiting the park is free, but the parking lot charges a fee. Two hours are minimum to walk once through the park, five hours are recommended to visit all buildings inside and to eat a local lunch in nearby Wörlitz. Staying overnight in Wörlitz is also possible. The little town of Wörlitz with some hotels and restaurants, considered as part of World heritage, is located next to the palace. Most paths in the park are covered by gravel, so good sneakers are recommended, but some visitors were wearing flip-flops. Well-educated dogs on a leash are allowed. This park is a popular destination for families. The park consists of artificial lakes, fields, meadows, forests and some small buildings. Ferries are crossing the lakes, you have to pay one Euro per ride. Roseninsel is accessible by two ferries, the first (inward) trip is liable to pay, the (outward) return trip is free. For visiting the Gothic house inside, you need to buy a ticket at the main office.

This park offers a great variety of views with modest physical activity. Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, a similar park, is located on a hill and requires climbing 240 metres upstairs.

Nearby Oranienbaum is an older and more symmetric park and palace, it looks a bit like half-timbered Versailles. Compared with Wörlitz it is less impressive, but UNESCO wanted to include a wide range of palaces in order to compare them.

Luisium near Dessau is a minor palace designed for the duke's wife. The palace itself is small, but the surrounding park has a charming quiet atmosphere. As I enjoy quiet parks, personally I would rank this park as second in Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz.

Georgium is an urban park in the City of Dessau. This park, located near Bauhaus, is the easiest opportunity to tick Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz off the list, but not the most impressive one.

Mosigkau, located west of Dessau, is also a symmetric park and palace. Compared with other palaces, it looks quite average, but it preserves some traditional plants of an aristocratic garden. Visiting the park is free, but the parking lot charges a fee. 

Sieglitzer Berg is only accessible by bicycle or on foot, it takes one hour to walk 5 km from Luisium to Sieglitzer Berg. As I decided to visit Wörlitz and Wittenberg on one day, I had to skip this minor remote park.

This World Heritage site also includes some churches and towers in nearby villages, practically the whole area between Rehsen in the east and Waldersee in the west. The World Heritage status protects this area from major industrial development near historic palaces and encourages tourism. 90% of this area, however, are just plain meadows near Elbe river. Wörlitz, the only area that may be called "bang for the buck", is just a small percentage of the whole World Heritage site.