unmissable activities and addresses

Cooler than Berlin, Leipzig? In any case, this is what has been rumored for several years. Described as “The cool kid Town” by the New York times in 2020, and subtly renamed “Hypezig”, this city of 600,000 inhabitants is only an hour by train from the capital. Bach's stronghold, starting point of a peaceful revolution which brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989, Leipzig has remained faithful to its roots, while bringing a breath of lightness to the East. It must be said that the former GDR town was relatively spared during the war, and was able to take extraordinary advantage of its 40,000 students, its parks and waterways, and its rich industrial heritage. So, when bathed in the golden light of autumn, Leipzig takes us to discover its baroque town houses which rub shoulders with art nouveau and a few Stalinist shacks, mass is said. Leipzig has nothing to envy of the Haupstatd. We won't tell the Berliners.

Industrial walks

Leipzig's industrial history dates back to the early 19th century, but the days when dreary factories polluted the city seem long gone. Today, there are art galleries, artists' studios, clubs and restaurants nestled in the red bricks.

Baumwollspinnerei

We fell in love with this former 10-hectare cotton mill which today houses 14 art galleries and more than 100 artists' studios. We wander happily from one gallery to another, and enjoy a longer moment in Hall 14, between a contemporary art exhibition and the library. The lunch break will be enjoyed at the Mulle restaurant, in the garden, in the shade of the quinces. The menu is simple, German and inexpensive.

Baumwollspinnerei . Spinnereistr. 7, 04179 Leipzig. Such. : +49 341 4980 222. Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Panometer

Since 2003, this former gas reservoir in the south of Leipzig has been hiding
a modern art museum. 32 meters high which hosts the 360° exhibitions of the Berlin artist Yadegar Asisi. Until fall 2025, climb on a platform and admire Rouen at the end of the 19th century, notably its cathedral, painted 33 times by Monet. This panorama painted in oil on canvas and staged on the 3,500 square meters of the Panometer allows visitors to literally immerse themselves in art.

Panometer Richard-Lehmann-Str. 114, 04275 Leipzig. Tel. : +49 341 35 55 340.

• Also see: the Kunstkrafwerk, a digital art center in a former thermal power station.

Reunification at the museum

A stone's throw from the Music districtwhere the tree-lined streets bear the names of the greatest composers, just on the edge of Johanna Park, nestles the GfZK. This vast center of contemporary art, where it is good to stroll, was created in the GDR thanks to the initiative of the East German art historian Klaus Werner. This museum was really born in 1998, within the walls of Villa Herfurth. The first and only contemporary art museum in East Germany since reunification, it can also pride itself on bringing together art from the East and the West. Today, the collection brings together around 500 local and international contemporary artists. We love the little bakery hidden in bricks, which smells like hot bread just outside an exhibition. (See also “Sleeping”).

GfZK Leipzig Karl-Tauchnitz-Str. 9-11, D-04107 Leipzig. Such. : +49 341 140 810. Tuesday to Friday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free on Wednesday.

Everything for music

Bach, Wagner, Mendelssohn and Schumann lived here: you can't escape music in Leipzig. In the small pedestrian center which gives the city the charm of the province, Saint-Thomas proudly stands where Jean-Sébastien Bach held the post of cantor, and composed most of his works, from 1723 to 1750. The master rests in elsewhere in the church choir since 1950. Some original scores and an organ console, on which Bach played in 1743, are religiously preserved and exhibited opposite, at the Bach Museum.

A few steps away, Mendelssohn lovers can stroll through the only preserved residence of the composer, who died in Leipzig in 1847. This music room is the only Mendelssohn museum in the world.

• Our advice: the city can be visited to the sound of preludes and cantatas by the composers who lived there, thanks to the Leipzig music trail which extends over 5.3 km. Also see: the Schumann Haus.

A breathtaking collection: the Museum of Fine Arts

In this district of central Leipzig, the streets are commercial, and the trams are king. It is a little hidden, between a hotel and a mall, that a 36 meter high glass cube houses one of the most important collections in Germany. THE MdbK in fact has some 4,600 paintings from the end of the Middle Ages to the present day, 1,800 sculptures, and more than 5,000 photographs. The museum notably exhibits old German masters like Lucas Cranach, or romantic painters like Caspar David Friedrich and Andreas Achenbach. Until January 26, 2025, the MdbK houses Impulse Rembrandtan extraordinary exhibition dedicated to Rembrandt. More than 140 paintings and drawings by the Flemish painter and his students are presented here in a play of chiaroscuro light worthy of the master.

Museum of Fine Arts, Katharinenstr. 10, 04109 Leipzig. Tel. : +49 341 216 990.

Ex-fan des 50’s

L’Opera HouseLeipzig Opera House, dominates the north facade of Augustusplatz. Destroyed during the war, then rebuilt at the end of the 1950s, its exterior is Stalinist, but the interior of the place evokes more of an atmosphere of Mad Men. You can almost imagine the curls of blue smoke from a Cuban cigar wafting towards the chandeliers in the shape of post-blooming dandelions. With all due respect to the guardian of the premises who does not like the new furniture, we nevertheless happily flock to this opera house with its renowned acoustics and certain comfort, to applaud a rich and varied program, which reserves a very special place to Richard Wagner, born in Leipzig.
Until the end of 2024, we come to applaud a new ballet by Romeo and Juliet.

Opera House Augustusplatz 12 – 04109 Leipzig. Tel. : +49 34112 61 261.

A trip to “Karli”

The beloved Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, known as “Karli”, favors Lipsians when it comes to partying or having a drink. We take a tour of the former Feinkost canning company, where alternative businesses rub shoulders with a flea market and a summer cinema. Then connoisseurs will recommend an Irish tap at Killywilly or a drink at Puchkin. The last drink will be at the Seeblick Hotel.

Address book

GO THERE

Two options are available to the traveler: take the plane to Berlin then the train to Leipzig (1 hour). There is an airport in Leipzig, but no planes land there from France. By train, TGV to Karlsruhe, then ICE (German TGV) to Leipzig. The station is right in the historic center and close to the hotels. Bahn.de
On site, the Leipzig Card allows you to come and go easily for less than €15.

SLEEP

Townhouse

Facing St Thomas Church, 52 bright rooms and suites. At the Breakfast Club, the buffet is gourmet, local and seasonal. We warm up in the sauna from October to Easter. If you book one of the Renaissance suites, you will stay in the oldest still habitable building in the city.

Townhouse Leipzig a Vagabond Club Thomaskirchhof 13/14, 04109 Leipzig. Tél. : +49 341 496 140.

GfZK

Night at the museum? Fantasy becomes reality, or almost, at GfZK. Artists Christine Hill and Jun Yang have each created an original concept for spending the night, respectively called Hôtel Volksboutique and Paris Syndrome. Two duplex rooms to dream of being an artist. €105 per night for one person, €120 per night for two (free parking included).

gfzk.de Karl-Tauchnitz-Straße 11, 04107 Leipzig. Tel. : +49 1511 2910 909.

AT THE TABLE

mace

If a steak and fries says a lot about a restaurant, that of Macis has nothing to envy of our best French brasseries. This 100% organic table also offers a fish option and a vegetarian option. Dinner is convivial in exposed brick, and the German wine list is exceptional. Customers dine late and the kitchen is open until 10:30 p.m. Dish from €26.

mace Markgrafenstr. 10, 04109 Leipzig. Tél. : +49 341 2228 750.

Auerbachs Keller

This restaurant made famous by Goethe's Faust offers delicious traditional Lipsian cuisine. The cellar should celebrate its 500th anniversary with great fanfare in 2025. Dish from €27.

Auerbachs Keller Mädler Passage – Grimmaische Strasse 2-4 – D-04109 Leipzig. T.: +49 34 1216 100.

Kandler

A pastry café with a thousand delicacies, including the traditional Lerche. Named after the swallow that was once hunted, it works before visiting the Bach museum.

Kandler, Thomaskirchhof 11, 04109 Leipzig. Tél. : +49 34 121 32 181.

GET INQUIRED

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