Stand on the Markt and the Old Town Hall runs the length of the square, its arcades and six gables facing the stalls. Leipzig rewards a visitor who plans around music and recent history: the churches where Bach worked, the rooms where the Monday demonstrations began, and the museums that document the East German years.
The city suits travellers interested in classical music, twentieth-century history and walkable old towns. This guide covers the sights named in the source material, with the practical details you need to fit them into a day.
Top things to do in Leipzig
1. Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus)
Built in 1556 in the Renaissance style, the Old Town Hall stands on the Markt and remains one of Germany's largest buildings of its kind. Its tower follows the ancient ideal of the "golden mean", and the arcades, six gables and tower make it a useful orientation point on the main square. The city administration occupied it until 1904, after which it became the city museum.
The interior is more interesting than the outside view. The first floor covers Leipzig's history from early times to the 1813 Battle of the Nations; the second continues from industrialisation to the present. Look for the Banqueting Hall with its Renaissance interior and open fireplaces, the medieval religious art saved from deconstructed churches, and the rooms fitted with interiors from old patrician houses. The treasure chamber has a steep and narrow staircase, and with luck you may be allowed into the cellar with its chamber of torture and jail. Entry is free, though you still have to obtain a ticket. It is closed on Mondays.
2. St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche)
This is the church where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as cantor from 1723 until his death in 1750, and his remains are buried under a bronze epitaph near the altar. The St. Thomas Boys Choir, founded in 1212, gives regular concerts here on Fridays and Saturdays.
Admission is free with donations welcome. Opening hours vary through the week: Monday to Thursday 10:00-18:00, Friday 10:00-16:00, Saturday 10:00-13:30 and 16:30-18:00, Sunday 11:30-17:30. The church tower is open at weekends only. The Bach Museum is next to the church, so combine the two.
3. Nikolaikirche
Leipzig's largest church was the starting point for the peaceful revolution on 9 October 1989, when 600 Socialist Unity Party members sent to break up the protest joined the protesters instead. Every Monday at 17:00 since 1982 the church has held peace prayers.
Admission is free with donations welcome. It is open Monday to Friday 11:30-18:00, Saturday 11:00-16:00 and Sunday 11:30-14:30.
4. Bach-Museum
Opposite the Thomas Church, this museum is devoted to the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the natural companion to a visit to St. Thomas Church, where he worked for the last 27 years of his life.
It opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-18:00. Tickets are €8 for adults and €6 for concessions, with free entry every first Tuesday of the month.
5. Zeitgeschichtliches Forum
On Grimmaische Straße in the centre, this museum opened in 1999 and deals with East Germany. One permanent exhibition covers life in the GDR and its fall, while a second exhibition changes roughly every two months and takes similar themes.
Entry is free. It is open Tuesday to Friday 09:00-18:00 and Saturday and Sunday 10:00-18:00, and closed on Mondays.
6. Museum in der "Runden Ecke"
Housed in the former headquarters of the GDR secret police, the Stasi, this museum documents the Stasi and its methods of controlling and manipulating people. Displays are in German, with not much English inside.
The €5 admission includes an audioguide, and an English version is available. It is open daily 10:00-18:00.
7. Museum der bildenden Künste
Known as the Bildermuseum, this museum sits in a glass cube on Katharinenstr. 10 and holds paintings from the 15th century through to today. Highlights include work by the local artists Max Beckmann and Max Klinger, as well as Caspar David Friedrich, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Claude Monet.
The permanent collection costs €5 for adults, temporary exhibitions €8, and a combined ticket €10. Entry is free every first Wednesday of the month.
8. New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus)
The seat of the municipal government since 1905, the New Town Hall has a 115-metre tower that can be accessed by tour on weekdays at 14:00. The tower tour costs €3.
Combine it with the Propsteikirche St. Trinitatis opposite, which stands on the city ring.
9. Propsteikirche St. Trinitatis
Dedicated in 2015 and built in the style of New Objectivity, this church is covered in traditional red porphyry stone and is easy to mistake for a modern office building. It is the largest newly built church in eastern Germany since unification. Its 50-metre steeple contrasts with the much higher tower of the New Town Hall next door.
The site is almost on historical ground: the neighbouring New Town Hall occupies the spot of the medieval Pleissenburg, where Martin Luther defended his theses in the Leipzig Debate of 1519. It is open 09:00-18:00 outside services, with free admission and donations welcome.
10. Mendelssohn House
On Goldschmidtstraße 12, this was the home of the composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Regular concerts are held here every Sunday at 11:00.
It is open daily 10:00-18:00. Tickets are €7.50 for adults and €6 for concessions, with free entry every second Thursday of the month; Sunday concert tickets are generally €15 or €10.
11. Grassi Museum
On Johannisplatz 5, the Grassi Museum brings together the Museum of Applied Arts, the Museum of Musical Instruments and the Museum of Ethnology under one roof. Each museum costs €4-5.
It is a good choice if you want to see several collections in a single stop rather than travelling between venues.
12. Russische Gedächtniskirche
The Russian St. Alexej Memorial Church on Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 51a is one of the many traces of the Napoleonic wars in and around Leipzig, built to honour Russian soldiers who died in those campaigns.
Take tram 16 to Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. It is open daily 10:00-16:00, with free admission and donations welcome.
13. Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum
On Kleine Fleischergasse 4, this is a museum about coffee and coffee culture housed in Europe's oldest continuously operating coffee house. Entry is free and it is open 11:00-19:00.
It pairs well with a walk through the old town centre, where the Old Town Hall and the Markt are close by.
14. Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst
On Karl-Tauchnitz-Straße 9-11, this gallery shows changing exhibitions of contemporary art. It opens Tuesday to Friday 14:00-19:00 and Saturday and Sunday 12:00-18:00, with free entry on Wednesdays. Tickets are €8.
Take tram 2, 8 or 9 to Neues Rathaus, or bus 89 to Wächterstraße, and combine the visit with the New Town Hall nearby.
15. Straßenbahnmuseum
The tram museum on Apelstraße 1 holds dozens of historic trolleys that once ran on Leipzig's tram network. Take tram 9 to Historischer Strbf.
It opens only in May to September, on the third Sunday of the month, 10:00-17:00. Tickets are €3.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start on the Markt at the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus), which opens at 10:00 and gives you the city's history across two floors. Walk to St. Thomas Church for the Bach epitaph, then cross to the Bach-Museum opposite, which opens at 10:00.
Afternoon: Continue to the Nikolaikirche, then walk to Grimmaische Straße for the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum. If you have time before it closes at 18:00, add the Museum in der "Runden Ecke" on Dittrichring.
Evening: Head to the New Town Hall for the 14:00 tower tour if your afternoon allows, or visit the Propsteikirche St. Trinitatis opposite, which stays open until 18:00. Finish with the Mendelssohn House, open until 18:00, or take in a concert there on a Sunday at 11:00 if your day falls at the end of the week.
Frequently asked questions
When can I hear the St. Thomas Boys Choir?
The choir gives regular concerts at St. Thomas Church on Fridays and Saturdays. Check the church's schedule, as opening hours vary through the week and the tower is open at weekends only.
Are Leipzig's museums free?
Several are. The Old Town Hall is free, though you still have to obtain a ticket. The Zeitgeschichtliches Forum, Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum and the Schulmuseum are free, and the Bach-Museum, the Museum der bildenden Künste and the Mendelssohn House each offer free entry on one day a month.
Which sights are closed on Mondays?
The Old Town Hall, the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum and the Naturkundemuseum are all closed on Mondays. Plan those for another day of your trip.
How do I reach the Russische Gedächtniskirche?
Take tram 16 to Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. The church is open daily 10:00-16:00 with free admission and donations welcome.
Pick the churches and museums that match your interests, check the days they close, and start building your Leipzig itinerary around them.