Germany Trip Plan:
Culture and historical splendor in Leipzig

City Center Leipzig, GNU, author: Jopsens
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 1: Arrival

After your long travel relax in the comfort of your well equipped vacation apartment. From here you will have easy access to all areas of Leipzig, and for your first day nearby grocery shops offer a wide range of local foods and drinks.

Mädlerpassage and Auerbachs Keller in Leipzig, GNU, author: Appaloosa
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 2: Leipzig City Walk

Leipzig is blessed with dozens of historic buildings and your day won't be long enough to discover all at once. Fine architectural documents include the impressive baroque buildings on Katharinenstraße and churches such as Thomaskirche, Nikolaikirche, Paulinkirche und Matthäikirche, or the Alte Waage, where imported goods used to be weighed and taxed. Start your stroll through the town center of Leipzig on the historical Marktplatz. Follow the aroma of coffee and freshly baked rolls, bread and cakes coming from lovely cafes and bars which line the square and crooked little alleyways. The Old City Hall is a beautiful Renaissance building erected in the record time of just nine months! Nowadays it houses a fascinating museum depicting Leipzig's history from medieval times to the present day. The northwest corner of the market square contains two other historic buildings, the Webers Hof, a typical bourgeois home, and the Adler-Pharmacy, where the young German author Theodor Fontane worked as a chemist's assistant. On the western side you'll see the Barthels Hof Leipzig's oldest commercial building and the first structure in the city built in Renaissance style. The large complex Messehaus was home to the world's first underground trade fair. Not far from here in the magnificent Mädler Passage, you find exquisite shopping opportunities and you might like to end your day wining and dining in the Auerbachs Keller, which was featured in Goethe's classic work, Faust.

Gewandhaus Leipzig, GNU, author: Andreas Praefcke
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 3: Augustusplatz and Auenwald floodplain forest

A must see is the area of the Augustusplatz with the Leipzig Gewandhaus forming the southern side. It is the third home of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and has built up a very good reputation worldwide. The north side of the Augustusplatz is taken up by Leipzig Opera House. The New Opera House opened 1960 on the site of the New Theater which was destroyed during the Second World War. Leipzig's Opera House conception goes back to 1693, making it the second oldest musical stage in Germany. It boasts one of the best ballet companies in Europe, an opera choir, a children's choir and a ballet school. Musicals and operetta are performed in the historic Dreilinden House.

If you are looking for an active holiday in Leipzig you will be delighted at the scope of recreational activities possible. About one third of the city's territory is made up of green spaces, wood lands, parks, small gardens and allotments, sports and recreation grounds. The Auenwald floodplain forest stretches in a wide band from north to south right through the city. It is a unique biotope accessible on foot, by bicycle or partly on horseback. Guided tours are available, showing the special flora and fauna of this woodland area with its several water channels feeding Auensee Lake. Near this woodland area, there are a number of riding stables open to beginners and experienced riders.

For a lovely dinner with local Saxony specialties return to the town center and step in the restaurant Barthels Hof, established in 1890, which lies in the inner courtyard of the building complex along side original shops.

Atrium of the Academy of Visual Arts, GNU, author: Leander Seige
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 4: Leipzig's museums and art collections

Leipzig's art treasures, museums and collections have always played an important role in the city's history. They include collections begun by city institutions and the university as well as private collections or privately owned works of art given to the city's public. As a consequence, Leipzig's municipal library now hosts one of the oldest music collections in Germany. The city's list of noteworthy museums and collections includes the Museum of City History in the Old Town Hall and its new extension in Böttchergässchen. The Museum of City History also operates a number of individual museums and sites in the city, including the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, Forum 1813, a museum on the Battle of the Nations, the coffee museum Museum Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum, the Schiller House in Leipzig-Gohlis, the Sports Museum, and the archive of the civic movement Archiv Bürgerbewegung Leipzig e.V.. The Bach Museum opposite St Thomas' Church is dedicated to the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach. The heritage of Felix Mendelssohn is commemorated in Mendelssohn House, the place where this important composer lived and died, and which has been faithfully restored. Another important part of Leipzig's musical and city history can be experienced in Schumann House, where Robert and Clara Schumann spent their first four years of marriage. Leipzig's Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1837 and exhibits include an extensive collection of Cranach paintings unique in the world. The Gallery of Contemporary Art regularly hosts exhibitions of contemporary painting and sculpture. The GRASSI Museum complex on Johannisplatz contains three separate museums; the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Museum of Ethnology and the third in the Grassi complex, the Museum of Arts and Crafts. Recent history is brought to life in the Museum in the Round Corner. Once headquarters of the dreaded East German secret police force of the Ministry of State Security, it now houses the permanent exhibition STASI - Power and Banality. There are many more museums around town and are a vivid proof of the diversity of Leipzig's museums and collections.

If you are looking for some night time entertainment and a little nostalgia visit the Moritzbastei, a youth and student club in the former city bastions extending three Storeys underground. It comprises several vaults and rooms for a wide range of activities ranging from concerts to exhibitions. In the summer, even the roof is put to use used for theater performances, concerts and open-air movie shows. Every autumn, Moritzbastei is used as a venue for the Leipzig Jazz Festival, which enjoys an outstanding reputation in the international jazz community.

Entrance to the Zoo's aquarium
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 5: Leipzig Zoo and the Barfussgässchen

The Leipzig Zoo, founded in 1878 by Ernst Pinkert, is one of the most important Zoological Gardens in Europe and at the same time one of the most popular recreational areas in Leipzig. The Zoo is only a few minutes away from the city center and is world famous for the successful rearing of threatened species. Leipzig Zoo has the ambitious goal to create the Zoo of the future. The core principles employed in achieving this goal involves appropriate animal care to each species and giving the visitor the chance to observe these animals in their natural environments. A visit to the zoo becomes an adventure safari with exciting animal encounters. Pongoland, the world's largest zoo facility for anthropoids, the sloth bear gorge, Makasi Simba the lions' Savannah, a Tiger's Taiga, an African Savannah or the aquarium with its mysterious underwater world will amaze you.

In the evening visit the Barfussgässchen, in the oldest part of the city, which gives you an impression of how close the buildings in the city center formerly stood. Side by side, there are historical buildings of the Renaissance, Baroque and Wilhelminian era, and there are numerous picturesque corners and winding passages. And this is where Leipzig's Drallewatsch is to be found. Drallewatsch is a Saxon dialect word meaning an evening out, going from one pub to the next and maybe a lot more. Culinary culture, cozy, homely restaurants and trendy bars go hand in hand and it's well worth the visit.

Reudnitz Pilsner Premium, GNU, author: MOdmate
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 6: Brauerei Krostitzer and Leipziger Brauhaus zu Reudnitz

The famous brewery Krostitzer promises its visitors a dose of fun as well as a little bit of extra information. They provide guided bus tours on the Ur-Krostitzer beer Express for groups of 15 and more adults and children, and take you into the secrets of brewing. Learn and see the process of beer and champagne making with the experts around the industrial estate. The fun part comes with the free tasting at the end of the tour. Don't forget to collect your surprise gift before you go home in high spirits. Another option to learn about beer history and get a good taste is a visit to the Leipziger Brauhaus zu Reudnitz in the Mühlstrasse 13. German beer adheres to strict guidelines; it must not have any preservative and can contain only three ingredients: barley, hops, and water. The Leipziger Brauhaus is a must see for all beer connoisseurs! The brewery was founded in 1862 by Adolf Schröder and have been producing mouthwatering beers ever since. Witness the age old tradition being carried on and enjoy the taste of a freshly brewed beer.

New Town Hall in Leipzig, GNU, author: Jungpionier
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 7: Departure

Today you need to catch your return flight home. Leipzig has so many different things to offer as you know by now and not all can be mentioned or done in just one week. On top of all Leipzig hosts fairs and trade shows, concerts and opera performances, ballets and special exhibitions in every season and you will have many reasons to come back.

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