Leipzig in 3 days

Augustusplatz, Gewandhaus & Oper Leipzig about 30 minutes

One of Europe's largest urban squares — the Gewandhaus concert hall and Leipzig Opera face off across a GDR-era plaza, beside the 142m Panorama Tower.

Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church) about 30 minutes

Birthplace of the 1989 Peaceful Revolution — Monday peace prayers here grew into the demonstrations that helped bring down the Berlin Wall.

Markt & Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) about 1 hour · heart of the city

Leipzig's grand central square, dominated by one of Germany's finest Renaissance town halls — now the city history museum.

Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) about 45 minutes · heart of the city

J.S. Bach's church and final resting place — he was Thomaskantor here for 27 years, and the boys' Thomanerchor still sings weekly.

Mädlerpassage & Auerbachs Keller about 30 minutes

Leipzig's grandest historic shopping arcade, built around the legendary Auerbachs Keller — the tavern Goethe immortalized in Faust.

Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) about 30 minutes

A monumental 1905 city hall built over the ruins of the old Pleißenburg fortress — reportedly Europe's largest city hall by floor area, with a climbable tower.

Clara-Zetkin-Park about 1 hour

Leipzig's largest inner-city park system, following the old Elster floodplain along the edge of the elegant Musikviertel.

Museum in der "Runden Ecke" (Stasi Museum) about 1 hour and 15 minutes

The actual former regional Stasi headquarters, occupied by citizens in December 1989 before files could be destroyed — offices preserved largely as found.

Bach-Museum Leipzig about 1 hour

Interactive museum on Bach's life and work, right across from the Thomaskirche where he worked for 27 years.

Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig about 1 hour and 30 minutes

A free, thorough museum on divided Germany, life in the GDR, and the 1989 Peaceful Revolution — a natural pairing with the Nikolaikirche.

Museum der bildenden Künste (Museum of Fine Arts) about 1 hour and 30 minutes

A striking glass-cube building housing one of eastern Germany's major art collections — Cranach, Friedrich, and Max Klinger's monumental Beethoven sculpture.

GRASSI Museum complex (Ethnography, Musical Instruments & Applied Arts) about 1 hour and 30 minutes

Three museums under one Art Deco roof — one of the world's largest musical instrument collections, plus ethnography and applied/decorative arts.

Spinnerei (Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei) about 1 hour and 30 minutes

A former cotton-spinning mill — once continental Europe's largest — reborn as a gallery and studio complex, cradle of the "New Leipzig School" of painters.

Mendelssohn-Haus about 45 minutes

Felix Mendelssohn's last home and the place he died in 1847 — the only surviving Mendelssohn residence anywhere, now a small, atmospheric museum.

Bayerischer Bahnhof about 30 minutes

Europe's oldest surviving railway terminus building (1842) — now a brewpub serving Leipziger Gose, the city's distinctive sour wheat beer.

Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations) about 1 hour and 15 minutes

A colossal 91-meter monument to the 1813 Battle of Leipzig — Napoleon's decisive defeat, and the largest battle in Europe before WWI — with a climbable viewing platform.

Panometer Leipzig about 1 hour

A vast 360-degree panorama painting inside a converted gas tank — the panorama on display rotates every 1-2 years.