Leipzig & Western Saxony

The more industrialised western part of Saxony centres on Leipzig, a green, hip and vibrant city with many stories to tell and places to enjoy. Hugely important in the history of music, it was home to Johann Sebastian Bach and Richard Wagner. To the south, Chemnitz is still full of vestiges of GDR-era Soviet influence, including a huge head of Karl Marx in the central square, but is now home to several exciting museums, including the newly opened state-of-the art SMAC museum of archaeology and prehistory. The lovely university town of Freiberg boasts a fantastic collection of minerals and a visitable ore mine, while Zwickau's former Audi factory has been turned into an outstanding museum presenting Germany's complicated 20th-century history as a succession of gleaming retro cars, including the inevitable Trabbies in all shapes and forms.

Explore Leipzig & Western Saxony

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Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Leipzig & Western Saxony.

  • Church

    Nikolaikirche

    This church has Romanesque and Gothic roots, but since 1797 has sported a striking neoclassical interior with palm-like pillars and cream-coloured pews…

  • Museum

    Terra Mineralia

    Occupying a greater part of the 16th-century Freundenstein castle, this astounding collection of minerals makes human-made art seem insignificant compared…

  • Museum

    Museen im Grassi

    The university-run Museen im Grassi harbours three fantastic collections that are often overlooked, despite being a five-minute walk from Augustusplatz…

  • Museum

    SMAC

    Occupying a converted department store, this state-of-the-art museum is a brave attempt to celebrate all those crocks, bones and pieces of primitive…

  • Museum

    Museum der Bildenden Künste

    This imposing modernist glass cube is the home of Leipzig's fine art museum and its world-class collection of paintings from the 15th century to today,…

  • Gallery

    Museum Gunzenhauser

    A former 1930 bank building, built in austere New Objectivity style, is now a gallery of 20th-century art, most famous for its expressionist works by such…

  • Museum

    August Horch Museum

    Zwickau’s top attraction is this amazing car museum that will enlighten and entertain even non-petrolheads. Housed within the original early-20th-century…

  • Gallery

    Asisi Panometer

    The happy marriage of a panorama (a giant 360-degree painting) and a gasometer (a giant gas tank) is a panometer. The unusual concept is the brainchild of…

  • Museum

    Museum für Völkerkunde

    At Leipzig's Ethnological Museum, you can plunge into an eye-opening journey through the cultures of the world.

  • Palace

    Schloss Colditz

    The very name Colditz is enough to send goosebumps down many people's spines, and so it might come as a surprise that the famous WWII-era high security…

  • Cathedral

    Dom St Marien

    Packed with touchingly naive wooden and stone sculpture, Freiberg's outstanding Lutheran cathedral contains the first large organ built by the famous…

  • Cemetery

    Südfriedhof

    Leipzig's largest cemetery is a vast and beautiful park, filled with rosebay shrubs, populated by squirrels, rabbits and foxes and centred on a building…

  • Mine

    Silberbergwerk Freiberg

    People have been digging into the ore-rich rocks near Freiberg for 800 years. The result is a network of mines, one of which – Reiche Zeche – can be…

  • Museum

    Stasi Museum

    In the GDR the walls had ears, as is chillingly documented in this exhibit in the former Leipzig headquarters of the East German secret police (the Stasi)…

  • Museum

    Zeitgeschichtliches Forum

    This fascinating, enormous and well-curated exhibit covers the political history of the GDR, from division and dictatorship to fall-of-the-Wall ecstasy…

  • Monument

    Völkerschlachtdenkmal

    Half a million soldiers fought – and one in five died – in the epic 1813 battle that led to the decisive victory of Prussian, Austrian and Russian forces…

  • Church

    Thomaskirche

    Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor in the Thomaskirche from 1723 until his death in 1750, and his remains lie buried beneath a bronze plate in front…

  • Museum

    Stadtgeschichtliches Museum

    Leipzig's beautiful Renaissance town hall is an atmospheric setting to recount the twists and turns of the city's history from its roots as a key medieval…

  • Museum

    DAStietz

    Beautifully renovated, this former 1913 department store now houses the city library as well as the Neue Sächsische Galerie, which presents contemporary…

  • Monument

    Karl Marx Monument

    Things have rather turned against the founder of Communism since this 7m-high bronze head (one that catches the German philosopher on a very bad hair day)…

Top experiences

Whether it’s a guided tour of a historic landmark, private tasting of local delicacies, or an off-road adventure — explore the best experiences in Leipzig & Western Saxony.

  • Activities