-
Alte Spinnerei
'Cotton to culture' is the motto of the Alte Spinnerei, a 19th-century cotton spinning factory turned artist colony. Around 80 New Leipzig School artists, including Neo Rauch, have their studios in this huge pile of red-brick buildings, alongside designers, architects, goldsmiths and other creative types. Their work is displayed in about 10 galleries, including Galerie Eigen+Art (960 7886; www.eigen-art.com), internationally famous for championing young artists.
-
Altes Rathaus
Built in 1556, the arcaded Renaissance Altes Rathaus is one of Germany's most stunning town halls. It houses the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum.
This museum chronicles the ups and downs of Leipzig's history. Some temporary themed exhibits are on display nearby in a new building (Böttchergässchen 3).
-
Arko
The oldest coffee retailer in town (since 1879). This fabulous and eclectic building, with its golden iron spiral staircase, is worth a gander; the luscious beans are wonderful too.
-
Bach Memorial
Outside the Thomaskirche is the 1908 Bach Memorial showing the composer standing against an organ, with his left-hand jacket pocket turned inside-out (with 20 children from two marriages, the great man always claimed to be broke).
-
Bach Museum
Opposite the Thomaskirche, in a baroque house, is the Bach-Museum, which focuses on the composer's life in Leipzig. After all, this is where he wrote the Matthäus Passion, the Johannes Passion and the Weihnachtsoratorium. There are portraits, manuscripts and other Bach memorabilia. Admission includes an audio-guide in English.
-
Galerie Eigen+Art
The work of New Leipzig School artists, including Neo Rauch, is displayed in about 10 galleries, including Galerie Eigen+Art, internationally famous for championing young artists. It's in the southwestern district of Plagwitz; take tram 14 to S-Bahnhof Plagwitz.
-
Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst
Edgy contemporary art in all media is the platform of the Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst with changing exhibits housed in a minimalist container-like space and a late-19th-century villa. The latter is the future home of the gallery's permanent collection of 1950s and '60s German informal art.
-
Kroch-Haus
11-storey Kroch-Haus was Leipzig's first 'skyscraper' and now houses part of the university's art collection. Topped by a clock and two muscular bronze sentries who bash the bell at regular intervals, the motto (in Latin) reads 'Work conquers all'.
-
Leipzig Zoo
Not your run-of-the-mill zoo, the Leipzig version has lots of rare species, plus perennial crowd-pleasers such as tigers, lions and gorillas. The new elephant habitat, built to look like a Cambodian temple, has been a highlight since 2006. Take tram 12.
-
Mädlerpassage
Historic Mädlerpassage is easily among the world's most beautiful shopping arcades. Enter it from Grimmaische Strasse, south of the Markt. A mix of neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau, it opened as a trade hall in 1914 and was renovated at great expense in the early 1990s. Today it's home to shops, bars and restaurants, most notably, Auerbachs Keller.
-
Advertisement
-
MDR Hochhaus
Sticking out like the tall kid in your third-grade picture, is the landmark MDR Hochhaus, a rather attractive skyscraper from 1970, with a viewing platform and restaurant on top.
-
Mendelssohn-Haus
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy lived (and died) in the Combined admission to Mendelssohn Haus, Schumann Haus and the Bach-Museum.
-
Museum der Bildenden Künste
An edgy glass cube is the new home of the Museum der Bildenden Künste, which has a well-respected collection of paintings from the 15th century to today, including works by Caspar David Friedrich, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Claude Monet. Highlights include rooms dedicated to native sons Max Beckmann, Max Klinger, whose striking Beethoven monument is a veritable symphony of marble and bronze, and Neo Rauch, a chief representative of the New Leipzig School.
-
Neues Gewandhaus
At the opposite end of Augustusplatz is the boxy 1981 Neues Gewandhaus, home to the world-famous Gewandhaus Orchestra, which was founded in 1743 and is one of Europe's oldest civic orchestras. Just next door, and sticking out like the tall kid in your third-grade picture, is the landmark MDR Hochhaus, a rather attractive skyscraper from 1970, with a viewing platform and restaurant on top.
-
Neues Rathaus
The neo-baroque Neues Rathaus is one of the world's largest town halls with some 600 rooms and an impressive 114m-high tower. It was completed in 1905 and stands on the foundations the Pleissenburg fortress. Recently renovated, it has a rich interior, including a grand staircase straight out of a Donald Trump dream.
-
Nikolaikirche
Originally Romanesque and Gothic, Nikolaikirche now sports an amazing classical interior with palm-like pillars and cream-coloured pews. More recently, the church was a key player in the non-violent movement that eventually brought down the GDR regime. In 1982 it began hosting 'peace prayers' every Monday at (which are still ongoing) and in 1989 it became the chief meeting point for peaceful demonstrators.
-
Opernhaus
The behemoth, functional 1956-60 Opernhaus is backed by a little park with a pond and a statue of Richard Wagner.
-
Panometer
The happy marriage of a pan orama (a giant painting) and a gas ometer (a giant gas tank). The unusual concept is the brainchild of artist Yadegar Asisi, who creates a new image every 15 months or so. Past examples have included scenes from the Himalayan mountains and ancient Rome. Take tram 16 to Richard-Lehmann-Strasse/Zwickauer Strasse.
-
Petersbogen
A glorious new, glass-covered arcade, where you'll find Leipzig's Casino upstairs.
-
Schumann-Haus
Robert Schumann spent the first four years of his marriage to Leipzig pianist Clara Wieck in the Schumann-Haus. Combined admission to Mendelssohn Haus, Schumann Haus and the Bach-Museum is offered at a reduced price.
-
Advertisement
-
Specks Hof
A shopping arcade. Nearby, you'll pass a water basin that functions as an upside-down bell; ring it by wetting your hands with the water and running them back and forth over two pommels. If you hit it right, the water starts to fizz. Specks Hof itself contains a beautiful series of tile and stained-glass reliefs by Halle artist Moritz Götze.
-
Stadtgeschichtliches Museum
Found in the Altes Rathaus, this museum chronicles the ups and downs of Leipzig's history. Some temporary themed exhibits are on display nearby in a new building.
-
Städtisches Kaufhaus
Site of the city's first cloth exchange (Gewandhaus) and later the inaugural concert hall of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy once led a music school here, and there are now free concerts in the summer. Since August 2005, the central courtyard has featured the Strasse der Stars, Leipzig's version of the Walk of Fame. Michael Schumacher, Joe Cocker and Mariah Carey are among the celebrities whose plaster-cast hands are displayed in a series of cube-shaped cases.
-
Stasi Museum
In the GDR the walls had ears, as is vividly documented in the Stasi Museum, on the all-pervasive power of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi for short), the country's secret police. It's housed in the former Leipzig Stasi headquarters, in a building known as the Runde Ecke (Round Corner).
-
Statue of Goethe
In front of the Naschmarkt is a 1903 statue of Goethe, showing him as a young law student at Leipzig University.
