St Thomas Church, Bach's Tomb and the Motet
45 minAll agesAll year
Church · 45 min · Free · Where Bach was cantor and is buried; on Fridays at 18:00 and Saturdays at 15:00 the St Thomas choir sings
From BerlinICE · 1 h 15
Minimum time1 day
MotetFriday 18:00 · Saturday 15:00
Best timeApril – October · Advent
What to do
What to do in Leipzig
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
St Nicholas Church, Where the Peaceful Revolution Began
30 minAll agesAll year
Church · 30 min · Free · The church of the Monday prayers that led to the demonstrations of 1989 and the fall of the Wall
Leipzig Bach Museum
1 h 30Adults and teenagersAll year; closed on Mondays
Museum · 1 h 30 · €14 · Free up to age 18 · Bach's life and music, with rooms for listening, opposite St Thomas
From €14
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Itineraries
Itineraries that pass through
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Leipzig, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Leipzig
All year, because almost everything is indoors. From April to October, with terraces and the Battle of the Nations Monument open until 18:00. In Advent, a Christmas market. Go on a Friday or Saturday to hear the St Thomas choir's motet.
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How you travel
Leipzig your way
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Leipzig without a car
Leipzig makes a perfect train trip from Berlin: the ICE drops you five minutes from the centre, which you can cover entirely on foot inside the ring. For what lies outside, there are trams and the S-Bahn.
60–200 €per person per day, approximate
- Where to stayFive Elements Hostel, on Kleine…
- Getting aroundICE from Berlin, a little…
- Where to eatBayerischer Bahnhof, the Gose brewery…
- ServicesLeipzig Hauptbahnhof
Where to stay
- Five Elements Hostel, on Kleine Fleischergasse
- Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel Handelshof, on Salzgässchen
- Galerie Hotel Leipziger Hof, a walk from the station
Getting around
- ICE from Berlin, a little over an hour and a quarter
- Tram 15 or S-Bahn to the Monument to the Battle of the Nations
- Leipzig Card, with transport included
Where to eat
- Bayerischer Bahnhof, the Gose brewery, every day
- Auerbachs Keller, Faust's cellar
- Thüringer Hof, on Burgstraße
Services
- Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
- Leipzig Tourist Office
Fly to Berlin and take the train to Leipzig
For Leipzig the usual route is to fly to Berlin, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and continue by ICE: from Berlin Hauptbahnhof it is a little over an hour and a quarter. From BER airport, the FEX takes you to Hauptbahnhof in 23 minutes.
- Getting thereBerlin Brandenburg Airport (BER): FEX…
- Getting aroundOn foot through the centre…
- Where to stayFive Elements Hostel, in the…
- ServicesLeipzig Hauptbahnhof
Getting there
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER): FEX to Berlin Hauptbahnhof and ICE to Leipzig
- Leipzig has its own airport, with few connections to Spain
Getting around
- On foot through the centre, inside the ring
- Tram and S-Bahn to the Monument to the Battle of the Nations and to Bayerischer Bahnhof
- Leipzig Card for transport and discounts
Where to stay
- Five Elements Hostel, in the old town
- Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel Handelshof, next to the Market Square
Services
- Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
- Tourist office, on Katharinenstraße
How much does it cost?
People2
Nights3
Who you're with
Leipzig for whoever you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Leipzig with children
Leipzig is easy with children: a pedestrian centre, short distances and an excellent zoo next to the centre. Mix a little music and history with the zoo or the climb up a huge monument.
- What works bestLeipzig Zoo and the tropical…
- Where to stayGalerie Hotel Leipziger Hof, with…
- Where to eatBayerischer Bahnhof, with a terrace…
- Worth knowingThe Bach Museum is closed…
What works best
- Leipzig Zoo and the tropical hall of Gondwanaland
- The climb up the Monument to the Battle of the Nations
- The motet by the St Thomas boys' choir, on Fridays and Saturdays
- The Bach Museum, free up to age 18, with rooms for listening and playing
Where to stay
- Galerie Hotel Leipziger Hof, with parking if you are travelling by car
Where to eat
- Bayerischer Bahnhof, with a terrace and plenty of room
- Auerbachs Keller, with the Faust figures at the entrance
Worth knowing
- The Bach Museum is closed on Mondays
- For the motet, arrive early: the programme goes on sale 45 minutes beforehand and it fills up
What to do as a family
Leipzig with teenagers
Leipzig is the city where the end of the GDR began: it tells teenagers about 1989 in the very places where it happened, with a Stasi you can see in its own offices. And it is a young city, with plenty of life on the streets.
- What works bestThe Stasi Museum in the…
- Where to stayFive Elements Hostel, right in…
- Where to eatBayerischer Bahnhof
- Worth knowingThe Runde Ecke is currently…
What works best
- The Stasi Museum in the Runde Ecke, with an audio guide in Spanish
- St Nicholas's Church, where the Peaceful Revolution began
- The Monument to the Battle of the Nations and its viewing platform
- The Bach Museum, free up to age 18
Where to stay
- Five Elements Hostel, right in the centre
Where to eat
- Bayerischer Bahnhof
- Thüringer Hof
Worth knowing
- The Runde Ecke is currently open reduced hours, from 11:00 to 16:00
- The guided revolution tour, on Saturdays at 14:00, is in German
What to do with teenagers
Where to stay
Where to stay without a carif you're flying
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel Handelshof
Why we like it: Grand hotel in a former trade-fair building in central Leipzig, steps from the Market Square, with a two-floor spa and a French and Mediterranean restaurant.
Galerie Hotel Leipziger Hof
Why we like it: Hotel with more than 300 works by the Leipzig School hanging everywhere, 1.3 km from the station, with covered parking and charging points.
Five Elements Hostel Leipzig
Why we like it: Hostel in the very centre, on Kleine Fleischergasse, with dorm beds from €13, private pods, rooms with bathroom, a kitchen, a bar and 24-hour reception.
From €13
View details
Services for this trip
Where to eat
Where to eat in Leipzig
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
Auerbachs Keller
What to order: a Saxon dish from the menu in the Großer Keller
Gasthaus & Gosebrauerei Bayerischer Bahnhof
What to order: an Original Leipziger Gose with a dish from the brewery
Thüringer Hof
What to order: the seasonal dish; in winter, goose
Map
Everything on the map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Nearby
Near Leipzig
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
51.84° N · 12.33° E
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Dresden
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Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Go on a Friday or Saturday
To hear the motet by the St Thomas choir.
- 2Bach Museum, first Tuesday of the month
Entry is free that day.
- 3Order a Gose
Leipzig's beer: sour, with salt and coriander.
- 4Stop by the tourist office
On Katharinenstraße they sell the Leipzig Card, with transport included.
Leipzig is the largest city in Saxony and the easiest day trip from Berlin by train: the ICE takes a little over an hour and a quarter and drops you five minutes from the centre. It is the city of Bach, who was cantor of St Thomas for 27 years; of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989, which began in St Nicholas Church and ended with the Wall; and a city of fairs and shopping arcades, with Auerbachs Keller, the cellar from Goethe's Faust. The whole centre fits inside a ring that you can walk.
What to see in Leipzig in a day
St Thomas and Bach. Start at St Thomas Church, where Bach is buried, and cross the square to the Bach Museum, €14 and free up to age 18 (closed on Mondays). If you go on a Friday or Saturday, save the afternoon for the motet: the St Thomas boys' choir sings on Friday at 18:00 and Saturday at 15:00, and you only pay for the programme, €3.
The Peaceful Revolution. St Nicholas Church, with its palm-shaped columns, was the starting point of the Monday demonstrations of 1989. Ten minutes away, on the ring, the Stasi Museum in the Runde Ecke shows the secret police in their own offices, with a Spanish audio guide for €5.
Eating in the centre. At Auerbachs Keller, the cellar where Goethe set a scene of Faust, or at the Thüringer Hof, in vaults that have been serving food since 1454.
In the afternoon, outside the ring. The Monument to the Battle of the Nations, 91 metres of stone above the field where Napoleon was defeated in 1813, with a viewing platform at the top; or, with children, the zoo and its indoor jungle. Finish with a Gose, Leipzig's sour, salty beer, at the Bayerischer Bahnhof.
How do you get there from Berlin?
By train, the usual way: the direct ICE from Berlin Hauptbahnhof takes between an hour and a quarter and an hour and twenty minutes to Leipzig main station, one of the largest in Europe, five minutes' walk from the centre.
By car, about 190 kilometres along the A9 motorway, around two hours. The centre is pedestrianised: leave the car in a car park on the ring.
One day or one night?
A day covers St Thomas, St Nicholas, the Runde Ecke and the monument. With a night, you can watch the Friday afternoon motet at leisure, dine at Auerbachs Keller and the next day continue to Dresden, a little over an hour by train.
Where to sleep
In the old town, the Five Elements Hostel, with beds from €13 and private pods, and the Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel Handelshof, next to the Market Square, with a spa. If you come by car, the Galerie Hotel Leipziger Hof, with 300 paintings from the Leipzig School and parking.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do I get from Berlin to Leipzig?
On a direct ICE from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, a little over an hour and a quarter. By car, about two hours along the A9.
When does the St Thomas choir sing?
At the motet, usually on Friday at 18:00 and Saturday at 15:00; the programme costs €3.
What should I see in Leipzig in a day?
St Thomas and the Bach Museum, St Nicholas, the Runde Ecke and the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, with a meal at Auerbachs Keller.
What is Gose?
Leipzig's typical beer, a wheat beer, sour and slightly salty; it is brewed at the Bayerischer Bahnhof.
Can you combine it with Dresden?
Yes: Leipzig and Dresden are a little over an hour apart by train. With two nights you can do both.