Leipzig is the largest city in the German federal state of Saxony, with a population of
approximately 517,000 citizens on 298 sq km. The city was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II. After the war, Leipzig went into Soviet hands. It is today the industrial and major cultural centre of the region. Leipzig offers interesting sightseeing, shopping and lively nightlife.
How to Get There:
Leipzig is the core of transportation in Saxony. Leipzig-Halle Airport is the second largest airport in Eastern Germany after Berlin and offers few direct connections to Paris and tourist destinations around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Domestic destinations include Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Dresden, Cologne, Nuremberg, Munich, Stuttgart, Dortmund and Hamburg. Leipzig's second airport of Altenburg-Nobitz is 50 km south of Leipzig and offers direct connections to Edinburgh, London (Stansted) and Girona-Barcelona. Leipzig's Hauptbahnhof (Europe's largest railway station at 26 platforms) has ICE trains to Frankfurt (3.5 hours), Munich (4.5 hours), Hamburg (3 hours) and Berlin in just over an hour. It also connects to Prague, with a change in Dresden. Leipzig is easily reached by road, being well connected with the Autobahn. Its public transportation system uses trams and buses at 2€ per hour.
What to See:
Old Town Hall(1556), Banquet Hall with Renaissance interior, Auerbach's Keller first opened in 1525, Christmas Market or Leipziger Weinachtsmarkt, Leipzig Zoo, Botanical Garden, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Applied Arts, Museum of Ethnology, Schiller House, Mendelssohn House, Schumann House, St. Thomas Church and Bach Museum, Hauptbahnhof, Voelkerschlachtdenkmal, Augustusplatz, the Mädlerpassage, Nikolaikirche and Naturkundemuseum, the nature museum.
Where to Eat:
Over 192 restaurants beckon the hungry. Zill´s Tunnel, Gosenschenke Ohne Bedenken, Ratskeller, Johann S., Knockx, Thüringer Hof, Zur Neuberin, Tobagi and Saffron are some names recommended.
Hotels:
Leipzig has 220 hotels in all classes; Hotel Garni, Novotel Leipzig City, Ibis Leipzig Zentrum, Galerie Hotel Leipziger Hof, Hotel Ratskeller Leipzig - Plagwitz, Top Hotel Alba Halle and Ibis Leipzig West in the mid-price range; The Apartment-Hotel Rackwitz, Atlanta Boardinghouse Leipzig, Palais Sonnenschein and the Stern Hotel in the low cost range and over 25 hotels in the expensive range. There are 20 B&Bs and Inns. For the backpacker, the Sleepy Lion Hostel and Central Globetrotter Hostel at good prices onwards and a Youth Hostel located in Volksgartenstrasse.
