Leipzig

Asisi Panometer

Huge panoramic picture surrounding the viewer. The theme changes from time to time. It was built as a gas storage tank.

Tue–Fri 09:00–21:00; Sat Sun & bank holidays 10:00–20:00; Mon closed·€10

Auerbachs Keller

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.

Expensive

Aussichtsturm Rosentalhügel

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.

Free

BMW Werk Leipzig

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.

€6 per person (adult), €130 for an individual tour (for up to 30 persons)

Bayerischer Bahnhof

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.

Bayerischer Bahnhof Gasthaus & Gosebrauerei

Brewery and restaurant in the former ticket hall of Leipzig's oldest railway station.

Home-bewed beers (0.5l): €4.60

Bootsverleih Herold

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).

€7.50/hr for two-seaters; motorboat tour (70 min incl. drink) €14

Bootsverleih am Klingerweg

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.

€8/hr for two-seaters; motorboat tour (70 min incl. coffee) €14

Clara-Zetkin Park

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

Conne Island

Former squat house, now a top venue for punk, rock, ska, and hip-hop concerts.

Cospudener See

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.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

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.

Mon–Fri 08:00–22:00; Sat 09:00–18:00·€5 for day pass (photo ID required); brief glimpse into reading room free

Elipamanoke

Dark and dirty techno club with two floors in an old industrial building in the Plagwitz district.

Exhibition centre

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. ), House–Garden–Leisure (February), Model–Hobby–Games (late-September/early-October), and Tourism & Caravaning (November).

Fockeberg

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).

Admission free

Gewandhaus

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.

Gosenschenke Ohne Bedenken

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.

Beer (0.5l): €4.50; Food: €11–19

Grassi Museum

Includes the Museum of Applied Arts, the Museum of Musical Instruments, and Museum of Ethnology.

€4–5 per museum

Hauptbahnhof

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)

Ilses Erika

Small club features indie and electronic music. Student crowd.

Jägerhofpassage

Calm atmosphere in the middle of the city. Inside you'll find the arthouse cinema Passage Kinos.

Kayaking and Rafting at Markkleeberger See

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.

Kulkwitzer See

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.

Beach access free; fishing requires a permit, available in the camping office

Leipzig Riverside Forest

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.

Leipzig Zoo

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.

Adult €22

Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei

A converted cotton mill in the Plagwitz industrial district, today providing work and exhibition rooms to artists.

Leipziger Buchmesse

Leipzig Book Fair

Besides the main event on the fairground, readings take place in various locations around the city.

Late March

Leipziger Kleinmesse

Funfair, twice a year in spring (April/May) and fall (September/October).

Markkleeberger See

The youngest of the nearby lakes and perhaps a bit quieter than the other two. It has rather small beaches but a long promenade.

Mendelssohn House

Former home of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Regular concerts are held every Sunday at 11:00.

Daily 10:00-18:00·€7.50 adults, €6 concessions; free entry every second Th of the month; Sunday concert tickets generally are €15/€10