Parks and the outdoors in Leipzig

13 parks, gardens, beaches and walks in and around Leipzig.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

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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
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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.
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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).
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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
Drink
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
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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
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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.
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Parkeisenbahn am Auensee
Take a ride on a miniature railway circling around the Lake Auensee in the northwest of the city.
operates April–October, Mon–Sat 14:00–18:00, on Sun also 10:00–13:00€6.50 for a family of 4
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Plagwitz
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.
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Rosental
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.
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Sightseeing tour
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.
Daily 13:30 (in German also 10:30)€15
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University of Leipzig Botanical Garden
It's the oldest one in Germany and one of the first in the world.
Gardens: Nov–Feb 09:00–16:00; Mar Apr Oct 09:00–18:00; May–Sep 09:00–20:00. Greenhouses: Oct–Apr Tue–Fri 13:00–16:00, Sat Sun 10:00–16:00; May–Sep open until 18:00
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Wildpark
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.
09:00–18:00/19:00/20:00 depending on the seasonFree

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Leipzig (CC BY-SA 4.0).