All of Germany
Leipzig
Germany / Saxony (Dresden & Leipzig) / Leipzig

Leipzig

Bach, the Peaceful Revolution and an Arts City on the Rise

Plan this trip
1 dayIdeal stay₹7,460From / night₹2,770Food / day₹1,280Entry

A trade-fair and music city: St Thomas Church, where Bach was cantor for 27 years and is buried, St Nicholas Church, where the 1989 Monday prayers that brought down the Wall began, the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, the Gewandhaus orchestra, the arcades of the old town, and the galleries of the Spinnerei, an old cotton mill. Cheaper and younger than Dresden, 1 hour 15 from Berlin by ICE and an hour from Dresden.

Highlights

  • St Thomas Church and the Bach Museum
  • St Nicholas Church and the 1989 story
  • Monument to the Battle of the Nations
  • Old-town arcades
  • Spinnerei art galleries
  • A Gewandhaus concert

Things to do

  • St Thomas Church, Bach Museum and the old townMorning · 3h
  • Monument to the Battle of the Nations and its viewing platformAfternoon · 2h 30m
  • St Nicholas Church and the Runde Ecke Stasi museumAfternoon · 2h 30m
  • Gewandhaus or Thomanerchor concertEvening · 2h 30m

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Leipzigvia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Leipzigvia Klook

Tourisma may earn a small commission if you book — it never changes your price.

When to go

Best time: May – September, December

Heads up

Christmas: Shops and Sights Close 24-26 December

Christmas Eve afternoon, Christmas Day and 26 December are Germany's quietest days: shops, most museums and many restaurants close, the Christmas markets end on or before the 24th, and trains run a holiday timetable. Plan arrivals and sightseeing around them. Shops are closed every Sunday too.

  • Christmas markets across Germany — From late November to about 23 December almost every town holds a Christmas market: Rothenburg's Reiterlesmarkt in its medieval square, Berlin's many markets (Gendarmenmarkt, Charlottenburg Palace), Lübeck's and Hamburg's by their town halls, Stuttgart's large market by the old castle. Opening days vary by town and most close on or before Christmas Eve: check before you plan a December trip around one.
  • Bachfest Leipzig — Ten days of Bach's music in June in the churches where he worked, St Thomas and St Nicholas among them. Tickets for the main concerts sell out; many smaller events are free.