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Leipzig is the largest city in the German federal state of Saxony, with a population of approximately 630,000 (Mar 2026). It is the economic centre of the region, known as Germany's "Boomtown" and a major cultural centre, offering interesting sights, shopping and lively nightlife. The Gewandhausorchester is the biggest and one of the most prominent classical orchestras in Germany, and Leipzig Zoological Garden is one of the most modern zoos in Europe. The Neuseenland, outside of Leipzig, is a huge lake district.
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This office provides city maps, tour bookings, and expert advice on local sights and events. A variety of helpful leaflets and thematic brochures are also available for download on their website.
Altes Rathaus
Built in 1556 in the Renaissance style and remains one of Germany's largest. The position of the tower follows the ancient ideal of "golden mean". Located on the pretty main square of the city, it is a good orientation point. The Old City Hall was built 1556 by Hieronymus Lotter on basements of two Patrician houses. It is a beautiful Renaissance style building, 90 m long with arcades (1906–09), six gables and a tower. In the 18th century the tower was enlarged and it received a Baroque spire. Until 1904 the Old City Hall was home of the city administration. Then it became home of the city museum. The first floor deals with the history of Leipzig from early times to the 1813 Battle of the Nations - while the second floor continues from industrialisation to the present. Most impressive is the huge Banqueting Hall with Renaissance interior (open fireplaces). Many fine works of medieval religious art: altars, paintings, wood-carved sculptures, etc. Most of them were saved from churches which were deconstructed in Leipzig's surrounding. Very impressive are the rooms with interior from old Patrician houses. Also interesting: the treasure chamber (steep and narrow staircase!) This Renaissance building was erected in just nine months in 1556–57 under the direction of the architect Hieronymus Lotter. The municipal government moved into the New Town Hall in 1909. If you have a bit of luck you are allowed to visit the cellar of the building. Here you find the chamber of torture and the jail. Leipzig's Renaissance City hall contains a museum of city history which possesses the original of the only confirmed painting of Bach produced in his lifetime. It contains interesting information regarding the public executions that used to take place in the market in front of the city hall. The most famous execution was that of Woyzeck, which was made famous by the Büchner play and the opera of Alban Berg. The interior of the Old City Hall (built in 1556) is far more interesting than the outside view. It is one of the most touristy places in the city.
Neues Rathaus
Seat of the municipal government since 1905. The building also features a 115-m tower which can be accessed by tour M-F at 14:00.
Thomaskirche
The church where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor from 1723 until his death in 1750. His remains are buried under a bronze epitaph near the altar. The Bach Museum is next to the church. Regular concerts are given by the St. Thomas Boys Choir Fridays and Saturdays (see do section for details).
Leipzig's largest church. Starting point for the peaceful revolution on October 9, 1989, when 600 Socialist Unity Party members, who were sent to break up the protest, joined the protesters. Every Monday at 17:00 since 1982, the church holds peace prayers.
Russian St. Alexej Memorial Church
One of the many traces of the Napoleonic wars in and around Leipzig: a memorial church to the honours of Russian soldiers who died during the Napoleonic wars.
Modern architecture in the style of New Objectivity, covered with a traditional red porphyr stone. Easily to be confused with a modern office building, this church dedicated in 2015 is the largest newly built church building in Eastern Germany since unification. The location is almost on historical ground, as the neighbouring New City Hall is on the spot of the medieval Pleissenburg, where Martin Luther defended his theses in the "Leipzig Debate" of 1519. The steeple, 50 m high, contrasts the (still much higher) tower of the New City Hall. During construction the official entrance had to be switched to the back side of the church, as otherwise the postal address would have been "Martin-Luther-Ring", which the Roman Church considered not appropriate and after an attempt to rename the street failed to the opposition of the city administration.
Opened in 1999, this is a museum about East Germany (the GDR). There is one permanent exhibition about the life in the GDR and the fall of the GDR; the other exhibition changes about every two months and has similar topics.
Stasi museum
Housed in the former headquarters of the GDR secret police, the Stasi, this is an interesting museum documenting the Stasi and its methods of controlling and manipulating the people. Displays are in German; there is not much English inside. €5 admission fee includes audioguide, English available.
about the composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
Museum of Fine Arts, "Bildermuseum"
Housed in a glass cube, this museum features paintings from the 15th century through today. Highlights include paintings by local artists Max Beckman and Max Klinger, as well as Caspar David Friedrich, Lucas Cranach the Younger, and Claude Monet.
Includes the Museum of Applied Arts , the Museum of Musical Instruments, and Museum of Ethnology.
Museum of natural history
The museum of natural history, filled with all kinds of taxidermy creatures.
Exhibition of pewter figures in historically themed dioramas. The location, the gatehouse and only remainder of an old manor, was one of the hotspots in the battles of the Napoleonic wars.
German Allotment Gardener`s Museum
The university's library.
History of psychiatry.
Pharmacy museum.
History of schooling.
A museum about coffee and coffee culture in Europe's oldest continuously operating coffee house.
Museum of Contemporary Art
Changing exhibitions of contemporary art.
Tram museum
Dozens of historic trolleys that once ran on Leipzig's tram network.
Former home of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Regular concerts are held every Sunday at 11:00.
Former home of the poet Friedrich Schiller. This is the (purported) place where he authored the "Ode to Joy".
Former house of musicians and composers Clara and Robert Schumann.
Upscale shops and bars. The entrance to Auerbachs Keller is inside. Forms a bigger system with Königshauspassage and Messehofpassage.
The oldest passage in Leipzig.
Calm atmosphere in the middle of the city. Inside you'll find the arthouse cinema Passage Kinos.
Baroque architecture.
Nibelungensiedlung
Apartment houses in concentric circles, built in the late 1920s/early 1930s. Streets are named after characters from the "Song of the Nibelungs".
Curved to follow the street, huge like a castle -- Leipzig's most prominent relic of the Stalin era sits at the Ring next to the Gewandhaus.
Europe's largest uninterrupted Gründerzeit district.
An industrial district whose time of glory has passed. Many of its factories died a slow death during the GDR years, which suddenly became visible with the reunification of Germany. Today it is a mixture of old industrial buildings, some in ruins and others repurposed; fallow land; and new developments. Walk around Karl-Heine Straße between Felsenkeller and the railway station Bahnhof Plagwitz, Weißenfelser Straße and Gießerstraße to get a feeling for the place, or walk the path alongside the Karl-Heine Kanal. May appear a bit spooky at night.
Herrmann Julius Meyer, owner of a publishing company, initiated in the late 19th century several development projects to provide adequate but cheap housing to factory workers and their families.
You can see two early high-rise buildings (by the standards of their time) around Augustusplatz. One is the Krochhochaus on the western side of the square. The other is the Europahaus in the southeastern corner of the square, across the street from the Gewandhaus.
Besides the tower of the new townhall and the Völkerschlachtenkmal, three highrise buildings shape the skyline of Leipzig. The City-Hochhaus (Augustusplatz) was built as part of the university campus but sold to private investors in the 1990s. The Wintergartenhochhaus next to the Hauptbahnhof (Wintergartenstraße) is an apartment building. The Westin hotel was erected in the late 1970s and opened in 1981 as Hotel Merkur.
City-Hochhaus, Uniriese
Leipzig's highest building has a restaurant and an observation platform at its top with a great view over the town.
Monument to the Battle of the Nations
At 91m tall, this is the biggest monument in Europe, commemorating the Battle of Leipzig in the Napoleonic Wars, in which the combined Prussian, Austrian, and Russian forces defeated Napoleon at a cost of 100,000 lives. The top platform can be visited (steep, narrow stairs). Every summer, the 'bath tub' race is held in the reflecting pool below. The monument itself was built for the first centennial of the battle and its design reflects the spirit of these times as well as numerous Masonic symbols given that the architect was a Freemason.
It's the oldest one in Germany and one of the first in the world.
This is one of the largest and best known zoos in Germany. In a survey of zoos by Anthony Sheridan, it was ranked first in Germany and second in Europe. The new elephants' enclosure has a swimming pool where you can watch them bathing from under the water level. Visit the Gondwanaland tropical species exhibit, where animals and visitors are not separated by either fence or pane, and the monkey house.
The national library of Germany collects works published in Germany or in the German language. It consists of three buildings from different epochs: the original main building opened in 1916 with two later extensions integrated, a windowless depot tower from the late 1970s/early 1980s, and book-shaped fourth extension. The centre of the main building is a large reading room worth a visit just for its atmosphere. If you wish to use the library or just move around freely you will have to pay a fee and provide government-issued photo ID. If you ask the security guards nicely, they may accompany you to the entrance of the reading room and let you glimpse into it. No photography.
A converted cotton mill in the Plagwitz industrial district, today providing work and exhibition rooms to artists.
Germany's oldest preserved railway station, built in 1842, only 7 years after the first train line of Germany had been opened. The station is no longer in use but one can still view the portal. In the course of the construction of the city tunnel the entire portal was moved away and later relocated to its original place. A new underground station is used by all S-Bahn-trains.
Bundesverwaltungsgericht
Located across the ring southwest of the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus), the appearance of this building resembles the original look of the Reichstag in Berlin. It was built from 1888 to 1895 for the Court of the German Empire (Reichsgericht), the highest court of the Reich. During the GDR years the building served a variety of uses and hosted the Museum der Bildenden Künste. After refurbishment, the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) moved into the Reichsgericht building in 2002. You can visit the entrance hall, the large courtroom, and the Reichsgerichtsmuseum with an exhibition on the history of the building. Visitor access may get restricted without prior notice if the work of the court requires it.
Huge panoramic picture surrounding the viewer. The theme changes from time to time. It was built as a gas storage tank.
Leipzig has a long tradition of trade fairs, once having hosted the first and biggest sample fair in Central Europe. The modern exhibition centre was one of the major business investments and architectural innovations of the 1990s post-reunification period ("Aufbau Ost", i.e. "developing the East"). It consists of the distinctive glass hall (a landmark when entering Leipzig from the north), five exhibition halls and a conference centre. In addition to numerous exhibitions and conferences that are only of interest to businesspeople and experts, there is a number of popular fairs geared to the general public, namely the Leipzig book fair (March; cf. #Festivals), House–Garden–Leisure (February), Model–Hobby–Games (late-September/early-October), and Tourism & Caravaning (November).
The tour lasts 2½ hours, comprising a 1-hour guided walk through the city centre and a bus tour of 1½ hours to sights elsewhere. You can also book each part of the tour individually. Buy your ticket at tourist information, where the tour starts.
Every weekend, LVB offers sightseeing tours in a modified tram called "Gläserner Leipziger". Buy your ticket in advance from any of the LVB service offices listed above; it includes a day ticket for zone 110 (Leipzig) of the MDV network. The tour takes about 2 hours.
In addition to the comments of a live guide in English or other languages, on-screen historic film footage and photographs give you a deeper insight into Leipzig's history and life today. The standard length of the tour is 2 hours. You can also combine it with a walking tour through the historic centre.
Mendelssohn's orchestra still exists, but the concert hall is new. Inside is a huge painting by Sighard Gille, visible through the windows from Augustusplatz.
Listen to the St. Thomas Boys Choir performing Bach's music in its original environment. Be aware that a guest choir may sing instead at any time as the St Thomas Choir travels a lot. Since the motet is primarily a musical form of devotion and not a musical performance for tourists, applause is uncommon and frowned upon.
The opera house of Leipzig. Though the building was opened in 1960, the company looks back at more than 300 years of history.
Organized by the Bach Museum.
Leipzig Book Fair
Besides the main event on the fairground, readings take place in various locations around the city.
World's largest goth festival includes a pagan village, medieval market, and goth music.
Funfair, twice a year in spring (April/May) and fall (September/October).
Meeting of hot air balloon pilots. Lots of flying balloons if the weather permits flying.
Festival of contemporary European theatre.
Leipziger Auwald
With an area of 2500 hectares (6180 acres), it is one of the largest riparian forests in Central Europe and one of the largest urban forests in Germany. Having an extensive forest—not on the outskirts, but in the middle of the city—is a defining feature of Leipzig. It stretches along the rivers Pleiße, Weiße Elster, and their tributaries, for more than 30 km in length and 2 to 5 km in width. Some parts are designed as landscape gardens while others are left in a near-natural state and protected as conservation areas. This "green belt" may be discovered on a walk, by bicycle, on horseback or during a canoe ride. From the Cospudener See in the south through the Clara-Zetkin-Park, west of the city centre along the Elsterflutbecken, and to the northwest between Leutzsch and Möckern you'll find a landscape that sometimes makes you forget you are in a city.
Really a collection of several parks that locals may still know and refer to by their original names: Johannapark, Albertpark, Volkspark Scheibenholz, and Palmengarten. Walk westwards from the new city hall to find the Johannapark, starting at the crossing of Karl-Tauchnitz Straße and Friedrich-Ebert Straße
The second largest park of Leipzig is northwest of the city centre. From the Rosental you can get a glimpse into the zoo without having to pay the entrance fee (Zooschaufenster near the large meadow). Crossing Waldstraße and continuing in northwestern direction you will find a small hill with a watchtower on top.
Observation tower. See the city from above. Admission is free. You'll have to climb up stairs in the open and stand on a platform that may shake a bit in the wind.
This hill was built as a landfill for World War II debris. It is now a park and the location for several recurrent events: the Fockeberglauf in March and November (a running competition), the Fockebergzeitfahren (an uphill bicycle race), and the Prix de Tacot (a soapbox car race).
Watch wild animals in the woods. If you feel like hiking, after passing through the Wildpark you can turn northwards and walk to Clara-Zetkin Park, or walk south/southeast to Cospudener See. Both are about 2.5 km away.
Boat rental offering skiffs (up to 4 persons), kayaks (for 1, 2 or 2+child) and Canadian canoes (for 2, 3, 4 or 5 persons); as well as guided motorboat tours (advance booking required).
SC DHfK Leipzig canoe department
Boat rental offering skiffs (up to 4 persons), kayaks (for 1, 2 or 2+child) and Canadian canoes (for 3 or 4), large Canadian for 10 (requires a professional cox, advance booking); guided motorboat tours.
Beach; camping; fishing, water sports. This one is the oldest of the close lakes. Converted from a mine in the 1960s, the city grew towards it in the 1980s with the Grünau development.
Named after Cospuden, a village that fell victim to opencast mining, this lake was the first lignite mine conversion in the region after the end of the GDR. Locals instantly and enthusiastically adopted their new Costa Cospuda. The northern Beach (Nordstrand) is broad and sandy, the perfect place to spend a hot summer day.
The youngest of the nearby lakes and perhaps a bit quieter than the other two. It has rather small beaches but a long promenade.
This site was planned for staging the Olympic Games 2012, and was built even though the games were awarded to London. This is one of the two most advanced whitewater kayak parks in Europe.
Take a ride on a miniature railway circling around the Lake Auensee in the northwest of the city.
formerly Zentralstadion
RB Leipzig play soccer in Bundesliga, the top tier. RB stands for "RasenBallsport and nothing to do with ownership by Red Bull fizzy drinks" but some fans doubt this assertion. With a capacity of 48,000 for Bundesliga games and 42,600 for internationals, this stadium hosted games during the 2024 UEFA Finals. It also often hosts concerts. The women's team play in their top tier at Cottweg training ground.
The BMW assembly plant in Leipzig, which builds the 1er-series and X1 models, offers guided tours of its premises. They require previous appointment - you need to send a request with your preferences in advance and wait for the Visitor's Centre to get back to you.
The Porsche factory in Leipzig, which builds the Cayenne and the Panamera, offers plant tours as well as driving experiences on the test track, combined with meals at the on-site restaurant. A much wider choice of events is offered to users booking in German, via the German version of the website.
A Snackbar with German food
A nostalgic German restaurant
A kebab restaurant.
Saxon cuisine.
Saxon food. Large portions. Outdoor terrace, rustic cellar, or tunnel courtyard.
Vegetarian/vegan restaurant. Try the strawberry basil smoothie.
Korean food.
Exotic Saxon dishes.
Indian food.
Classy Italian restaurant
Built in 1908-09. Two copper elephant heads guard the entrance. The interior is put under preservation and has been restored to its original glory in the 1990s. Wide selection of cakes and gateaux.
Art-deco style. Opened in 1919, refurbished in 1998–2000. Outside the city centre.
This pub has been around since medieval times. Opened in 1525, it is among the oldest continuously operated pubs in Germany. The barrel cellar (only opened for private parties) has been the background to a scene in one of Germany's most famous plays, "Faust" by Goethe. The master of German literature himself used to drink his wine here, and the rooms are frequently the set for a live, around-the-city re-enactment of the play.
Brewery and restaurant in the former ticket hall of Leipzig's oldest railway station.
Sleek design.
Includes the city's prettiest beer garden but not many vegetarian options. Try their beer specialty 'Gose'. It's made with coriander and salt, and is very much an acquired taste. It is usually served with a shot of liquor.
Has the largest number of different brands of absinthe.
Right in the centre of town. Good German food and drink at a low price. A local mainstay. The only location that offers live music Monday to Saturday starting at 21:00. Tuesdays is "Guitarnight" with guitar guru Christian Rover and occasional international guests, Thursdays the blues scene meets, changing events on other nights.
Always a happening place. DJs, football games, and partying all night.
Right in the centre of town. Popular with all age groups. A place to see and be seen. Also a jazz bar with brass instruments hanging from the ceiling.
Former squat house, now a top venue for punk, rock, ska, and hip-hop concerts.
gothic music and dark wave, on Thursday rock music.
Dark and dirty techno club with two floors in an old industrial building in the Plagwitz district.
Weirdly decorated place with hippie 1970s theme. Mostly classic rock. Party lasts well past 04:00.
Small club features indie and electronic music. Student crowd.
Very old and big student club bar and cafe. Underground cellars. Live bands or DJs most nights, outdoor films are shown in the summer. Moritzbastei was once a part of the city wall. Students dug it out in the 1970s and turned it into a club.
Jazz, experimental, and indie music. Also shows film and theatre.
In an old factory, now used for concerts, film, theatre, and circus acts.
Great hostel right in the centre of Leipzig. Extraordinary good breakfast buffet for another €5 extra.
Good for budget, comfort and ecological visitors.
ferienwohnungen-leipzig.net
Popular with families and groups.
While it's in a somewhat shady area (next to a shop for cannabis paraphernalia) near the main station, the hostel is nice and family-friendly.
In a neat, beautifully refurbished old building close to the city centre. Caters to families and culture-lovers, not party animals. The whole hostel is non-smoking.
HI hostel. Popular with school groups and families. 4 km outside the city centre (11 minutes by tram).
Cheap, but service is lacking.
Humble accommodations but close to the centre. Owner is very friendly but speaks only German.
4-star hotel. Great value.
3-star hotel.
One of the best values in Leipzig.
This Mercure is more about modern comforts than art, but unless you are looking for striking new frontiers in hotel room design, you should be very fine with its reasonably-appointed rooms and free WiFi.
Breakfast included.
650 m² spa.
231 guest rooms. Wi-fi.
This hotel is very close to the train station and to downtown. The rooms are big with a built-in kitchen. Free internet.
As in many other German cities, Leipzig hosts the Leipziger Weinachtsmarkt, or Leipzig Christmas Market, which opens in the last week of November, first week of December and continues until a few days before Christmas Day. The Leipzig Christmas Market is a major event in the city and is essentially a large winter-themed carnival, complete with a giant Ferris Wheel on Augustusplatz in between the Opera House and the Gewandhaus, carrousels and other small rides in addition to the usual market stalls and food vendors. The festivities take place throughout the inner city of Leipzig, with a majority of the market stalls stationed on Market Square in front of the Old Town Hall, but also on Petersstraße, Grimmaische Straße and Nikolaistraße next to Nikolai Church. The market stalls sell a variety of gifts unique to the Ore Mountain region south of Leipzig, as well as various traditional market foods such as fried potato pancakes (Kartoffelpuffer), Heurigen (roasted roll with cheese and meat) and Glühwein (a mulled wine). There are also carolers and Christmas-themed events.
Large shopping mall that includes C&A, H&M, Esprit.
The Hauptbahnhof is not only one of the biggest train stations in Europe, it's a great shopping mall as well (on three floors boutiques and restaurants are located next to drug stores and supermarkets)
local vegetables and all kinds of fruits and flowers.
may be a bit cheaper (mostly lower-grade goods at a lower price and some discount offers) but the atmosphere is not so nice. Sometimes there are market criers around.
fleamarket
fleamarket
A nice alternative fleamarket with approx. 100 booths of locals selling handmade stuff, some antiques and second hand clothes on the pavements. there are also some music groups and food.
One of the largest shopping malls in Germany.
By car
Leipzig can easily be reached by car, as it is very well connected with the Autobahn system. The nearest Autobahns are A14 (North, Northeast), A9 (West) and A38 (South).
By bus
Long distance buses connect Leipzig with several major German cities. Buses stop at a bus terminal next to the Central Station's east exit and/or at the airport railway station.
By train
Deutsche Bahn operates regular train service between Leipzig and nearby cities such as Halle (€10, 25 minutes), Dessau (€14, 45 minutes), Chemnitz (€23, 65 minutes), Dresden (€23, 65 minutes),…
By plane
Berlin Brandenburg airport (BER) is just 1½ hours away by train and offers more options. As an intercontinental flyer you should also consider Frankfurt Airport (FRA).
By taxi
Plenty of taxis are available. They wait for customers in various designated locations around the city. You can also wave a taxi on the street if its sign is lit up.
By car
Leipzig suffers from the same traffic problems as all cities of its size. Access to the city centre is restricted, so don't plan to go anywhere inside the inner ring of main streets.
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