Whereas Berliners are (in)famous for their brusque treatment of strangers, locals in Leipzig tend to be much friendlier, and the city itself is smaller and far more accessible than the capital. The city’s atmosphere attracts young creatives seeking a more laid back atmosphere, as well as tourists who enjoy the easy accessibility to Leipzig’s many cultural and historical offerings.

Related: 4 budget tips for Cheapos in Leipzig

Leipzig budget travel guide

To help you plan your visit to this Saxonian jewel, we’ve put together a list of must-sees, cheap eats and other ways to save on your trip to Leipzig.

Getting there

Leipzig can be easily reached by virtually all major forms of transportation. The city boasts an international airport, Leipzig/Halle Airport, as well as Leipzig Hauptbahnhof, a major train station.

By train
Although there used to be a discount train operator offering cheap tickets between Berlin and Leipzig, the company has since gone under. Now travelers only have Deutsche Bahn, which costs between €19-40 (Berlin-Leipzig) each way depending on how far you book in advance.

By bus or ride-share
But never fear, there are still several cheap options to reach Leipzig. The cheapest option is with ride-sharing companies like BlaBlaCar. A ride from Berlin should cost well under €10 each way, and you’ll have the added plus of getting to know some locals or fellow travelers as you speed together down the Autobahn.

Hitching a ride with a budget bus company, such as Flixbus, is another great Cheapo option. Tickets between Berlin and Leipzig go for as little as €7.90 each way if you book a week or two in advance and between €9-12 if you decide to hop on more spontaneously.

Biking is a great way to get around Leipzig. Photo: Jorg S

Getting around town

Once you’ve reached Leipzig, the next step is to figure out how to get around the city.

Walking
Luckily the easiest way to explore the city is absolutely free: by foot. Home to a little over a half a million people, Leipzig is also a compact, very walkable metropolis.

Public transit
However, if your feet do get weary, the city also has many bus lines and trams as well as an S-Bahn train system. Day tickets can be purchased either individually (€7.20) or for groups of up to five people (€22.40 for 5).

Biking 
If you’d prefer to get a little sporty, you can also rent bikes at nextbike (Thomasiusstrasse 16) for €1 per 30 minutes or a flat fee of €9 per day.

Leipzig Card
If you plan to visit many museums, you may also want to opt for the Leipzig Card. This tourist card offers you free public transportation within Travel Zone 110 (Leipzig City) as well as an up to 50% discount on museum admission, concert tickets, and additional culture and tourism highlights. The card can be purchased as either a day card (€11.50),  3-day ticket (€22.50) or a 3-day family card (€41.50, for two adults and 3 children 14 and under).

Ride up to the top of the Panorama Tower for a view of Leipzig. Photo: Koss

Affordable attractions & culture in Leipzig

One of the greatest sights in Leipzig is the city itself. The city center and many of the outlying neighborhoods are chock-full of baroque beauties and an array of Wilhelminian-style architecture hailing from the turn of the 20th century.

Panorama Tower
For a great view over the city, whisk up to the 29th floor of the Panorama Tower and take advantage of their viewing deck. Tickets cost €3, which is a price worth paying for the view you’ll get. (Skip the overpriced restaurant.)

Thomaskirche
Leipzig is also a must for all classical music lovers. Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor in Thomaskirche (Thomaskirschhof 18) for over 25 years and the church is also the final resting place of this world-famous composer. The church is still home to the Thomanerchor, a boy’s choir established in 1212 that was once led by Bach himself.

To save, skip the €2 trip up the tower. Instead, just wander around the church (admission free of charge) and see if you can hear one of Bach’s tunes which are often played on the church organ.

Bach-Museum Leipzig
Once you’ve followed in Bach’s musical footsteps in his former haunt, traipse over to the Bach-Museum Leipzig (admission €8), an interactive museum about the life, work and musical legacy of Bach and his family.

Nikolaikirche
Another church offering free admission is the gorgeous Nikolaikirche. Although the church has a neoclassical interior, it has Romanesque and Gothic roots. Besides its beauty, the church also played a key role in the non-violent movement that helped bring down the GDR government.

Classical music
For more classical music highlights, check out Mendelssohn-Haus (Goldschmidtstrasse 12, adult admission, €7.50) and the cheaper Schumann-Haus (Inselstrasse 18, adult admission, €3), two former residences of classical music giants.

Visual arts
If you’re more in the mood for visual arts, two museums offering admission under €10 are the Museum for Bildenden Künste (Katharinenstrasse 10, adult admission €5) and the Galerie für Zeitgenössisches Kunst (Karl-Tauchnitz-Strasse 9-11, adult admission €5/8, free on Wednesdays).

The Museum for Bildenden Künste is home to an enormous, world-class collection of paintings dating from the 15th century to the present, including work of some of Leipzig’s famous native artists such as Neo Rauch and Max Beckmann. The Galerie für Zeitgenössisches Künste boasts two spaces, a late-19th-century villa and a minimalist modern container-like space for its temporary exhibits.

Stasi Museum
For a bit of spooky GDR history, check out the Stasi Museum (Dittrichring 24, admission free of charge), a historical exhibit located in the former headquarters of Leipzig’s East German secret police.

Zoo Leipzig
Leipzig is also home to one of Germany’s best zoos, Zoo Leipzig (Pfaffendorfer Straße 29). Admission is a bit on the pricey side (€18.50 for adults), but is worth it for highlights like Gondwanaland, an artificial jungle filled with rare plants and exotic animals which you can either explore by boat or along paths through the “jungle.”

Clara-Zetkin-Park
For a bit of wild park nature for free, although you’ll only find squirrels and blackbirds rather than rhinos and hippos, take a stroll through Clara-Zetkin-Park (Klingerweg 2).

Renovated buildings in the Plagwitz neighborhood. Photo: Polybert49

Plagwitz neighborhood
Last but not least, make sure you check out the arty neighborhood of Plagwitz. The once-crumbling factories in this old industrial neighborhood have been transformed into artist’s lofts, studios and exhibition spaces, such as the Baumwollspinnerei gallery complex and Kunstkraftwerk.

As German and international creatives are gradually being priced out of the ever-gentrifying Berlin, many have flocked to Plagwitz, sometimes to the chagrin of locals who have sarcastically dubbed the whole phenomenon and buzz “hypezig.” Others have bemoaned the area has lost its underground artistic edge. Either way, the area is definitely still worth checking out for the artistically inclined and curious.

Food & drink on a budget in Leipzig

As is often the case, try to avoid any of the restaurants in the city center, which tend to be overpriced chains in Leipzig. If you find yourself feeling peckish somewhere around Thomaskirche or Hauptbahnhof, pop into a bakery or a grocery store for an inexpensive snack and then have a meal elsewhere.

You’ll find tastier food for better value if you venture out to Plagwitz (see above), which is an easy bike ride from the city center. Here are a few top picks:

Kaiserbad 
Karl-Heine-Strasse 39

Kaiserbad is a hip, relatively new beer garden that serves up traditional German food alongside standard pub fare like pasta, burgers, and salads. Get there for lunch to enjoy a great meal for under €10.

Chumumi
Zschochersche Str. 50a

Another Plagwitz hotspot is this Vietnamese restaurant with old-school Indochinese décor and tasty entrees less than €10.

Gaststätte Kollektiv
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 72

For a bit of former GDR flavor and “ostalgie” flair, check out this restaurant, which serves up traditional Saxon and German dishes, many priced under €10.

Many restaurants in Leipzig also work with the app “Too Good To Go.” To use the app, check out which restaurants are selling meals near closing time at bargain basement prices. The downside is you have to eat late, but the upside is it will be ridiculously cheap. You can book meals from participating restaurants through the app on your smartphone for prices between €2-5.

Cheap hotels in Leipzig

Budget travelers will have an easy time finding an affordable hotel in Leipzig. There are dozens of well-located hotels with double rooms for under $100 per night. Check out this list of over 275 hotels in Leipzig.

Rooms are bright, airy, and affordable at Hotel Freghaus. Photo: Booking.com

Here are a couple of our favorite budget stays in Leipzig:

Hotel Fregehaus
Just a few feet from the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts, this stylish hotel with a historic facade features chic rooms with private bathrooms, free Wi-Fi, and a library. Double start at around $80.

Pension Klingenstr. 23
Hop on a free rental bike or use the shared kitchen to save money on dinner at this popular pension in Plagwitz. Cheapos will love the rates that go for under $40 per night.

Search all hotels in Leipzig

Your Leipzig tips?

Have a tip for ways to save on your trip to Leipzig? Have a question about Leipzig to ask the Cheapos? Join the conversation in the comments section below.

The post A budget travel guide to Leipzig, Germany appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

For a city that makes so much of its association with Johann Sebastian Bach, it’s no surprise that the Bach Museum tops our list of Leipzig museums. Located just by St Thomas’ Church, you can’t miss the Bach Museum. Just follow the crowds who gather by the magnificent statue of Bach just south of the church.

Related: Leipzig budget travel guide

The Bach Story

The Bach Museum (on Thomaskirchhof, open Tue-Sun 10–6) ingeniously maps the lives of Bach and his family. No easy task this, for following his death in 1750, Bach slipped below the musical horizon and was virtually forgotten. So there are perilously few surviving artifacts from Bach’s lifetime, but the curators of the Bach Museum rise magnificently to that challenge. The Bach story is told in a very engaging manner, each room in the museum having a very different demeanor.

Leipzig’s impressive old town hall often hosts exhibits. Photo © hidden europe

Take time for the Bach Museum. Don’t miss the garden at the rear of the building. It also has one of Leipzig’s most appealing small cafés. The Café Gloria (open daily from 10 — including Mondays when the Bach Museum itself is closed) is good for snacks and ices. Above all, it is a great place to relax.

The Musical Trail

Leipzig boasts a number of other museums with a musical theme. The one-time residences of Felix Mendelssohn (Goldschmidtstrasse 12, open daily 10–6) and Clara and Robert Schumann (Inselstrasse 18, open Tue–Fri 2–6 and Sat-Sun 10–6) are both worth a look.

The Museum of Musical Instruments, part of the GRASSI museum complex (at Johannisplatz, open Tue–Sun 10–6) tracks the history of music through the centuries and is a must-do if you cannot quite remember what an Oliphant looks like.

City History

The old town hall (Rathaus) is a standard stop on any Leipzig itinerary. It is a colorful confection — a handsome piece of Renaissance architecture with baroque additions. But too few visitors take time to look at the exhibitions inside.

We heartily recommend the top floor which has a newish (opened late 2011) exhibition called ‘Modern Times’, tracking down the history of Leipzig from the Industrial Revolution to the present day. Like the Bach Museum, this is a very good example of modern curatorial techniques, very effectively breathing life into a difficult history. Map your way through the textile boom, the development of railways, German unification, Jewish life and culture, the rise of nationalist socialism to the German Democratic Republic and Leipzig’s quiet revolution in 1989. This exhibition is open 10–6 Tues–Sun.

Stroll through Leipzig’s city center. Photo © hidden europe

Getting Around with the Leipzig Card

The Leipzig Card secures reduced-rate admission to all the museums mentioned in this article. It also allows completely free use of public transport (S-Bahn, regional trains, buses and trams) in Leipzig. Throw in discounts at restaurants, and the card can be very worthwhile. But you do have to be something of a museum hound to reap real benefits.

A one-day card costs 9.90 EUR and a three-day card is 19.90 EUR.

The New City Tunnel

Integrated public transport in Leipzig takes a big leap forward on December 15, 2013, with the opening of the new City Tunnel, which will allow regular local trains to serve new sub-surface stations in the city center. It links together a number of existing rail routes, allowing new metro-style rail services across the city.

Leipzig has always been an easy city to get around. The new City Tunnel will make it even easier.

The post Exploring Leipzig’s Bach Museum, Rathaus and musical trail appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Bach in Leipzig

Subscription concerts were a feature of the Leipzig cultural scene as early as the 1740s. Even then, the city had great musical assets, among them a celebrated choir school founded in the early 13th century (where Johann Sebastian Bach worked from 1723 until his death in 1750).

Related: Leipzig budget travel guide

But it was the textile merchants of Leipzig who were critical in giving the city its first dedicated concert hall. The hall of the textile guild was called the Gewandhaus. (Gewand is a slightly archaic German word that refers to robes or outer garments).

A memorial to Johann Sebastian Bach is located in front of Leipzig’s St. Thomas’ Church. Photo © hidden europe

The 1981 Gewandhaus

The Gewandhaus building was Leipzig’s first concert hall. Before long there was a resident orchestra — called the Gewandhaus orchestra.

Today Leipzig’s premier concert hall is still called the Gewandhaus — the original concert hall and its immediate successors are long gone, and the present building dates from 1981. It’s worth a visit in its own right, being a superb piece of East German design (yes, the country really did get some things right). The ambitious interior fresco by Sighard Gille is stunning.

Roll-call of musical talent

A Latin inscription above the organ console in the main auditorium recalls a quote from Seneca: res severa verum gaudium ‘True pleasure is a serious business’. And music in Leipzig is most certainly a serious business.

The roll-call of illustrious musicians with Leipzig connections is hugely impressive. Richard Wagner and Clara Wieck (later Clara Schumann) were both born in Leipzig. Felix Mendelssohn had two spells as music director at the Gewandhaus, using his time in Leipzig to revive the reputation of Johann Sebastian Bach (whose work slipped from visibility in the decades after his death). Throw in Georg Philipp Telemann, Edvard Grieg and Gustav Mahler and you begin to see why Leipzig cuts a dash in the musical stakes.

New Gewandhaus Season

We were in Leipzig last month for the opening of a new Gewandhaus season. Gustav Mahler was on the menu. Not any Mahler, but Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, an extraordinarily powerful work. At times ethereal and mystic, elsewhere almost terrifying, this is a work on a grand scale. A piece appropriate to Leipzig, the city that has long recognised that true pleasure is a serious business.

The 233rd Gewandhaus season runs on thru winter to early summer 2014. This article is the third of a series of four on Leipzig. The previous two pieces looked respectively at the Festival of Lights (held on 9 October each year in Leipzig) and at the Memorial to the Battle of Nations in Leipzig. That decisive battle in the Napoleonic Wars took place 200 years ago this month.

The post Exploring Leipzig’s rich musical heritage appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Leipzig was not the best place to be 200 years ago this week. From October 16-19, 1813, European history was shaped in the meadows just south of the city. Over 500,000 soldiers fought over the future of their continent.

Related: Leipzig budget travel guide

October 1813

The Battle of Nations was one of the decisive conflicts — many would say the most decisive one — of the Napoleonic Wars. France had triumphed over five opposing coalitions, before stumbling at Borodino in 1812 (where Napoleon may nominally have won but his forces suffered grave losses in the process) and then being defeated at Leipzig in October 1813.

Outside the impressive Monument to the Battle of Nations.

Some 110,000 men lost their lives at Leipzig. A similar number suffered terrible injuries. The citizens of Leipzig were not mere onlookers in the conflict. In the days and weeks after the battle, the city endured major epidemics. Richard Wagner’s father died from typhus in Leipzig that fall, and before long the Wagner family had left the city. We can but speculate how the course of musical and operatic history might have evolved if the Wagner family had stayed in Leipzig.

Recalling the victims of war

The Battle of Nations is recalled in Leipzig today in a number of monuments. The most beautiful is the Russian Orthodox church at the northern margin of the former battlefield. The church, dedicated to the 14th-century Metropolitan Alexej of Moscow was built by workers from Russia and its opening coincided with the centenary of the Battle of Nations. In the victorious coalition at Leipzig, Russia paid the highest price in terms of war dead.

But the most striking is the more secular memorial erected by the German authorities to also mark the centenary of the battle. At the time, it was Europe’s largest monument and it remains mightily impressive today. There are the predictable flaming swords and firebrands of war. But there are also intensely beautiful sculptures inside the monument where the Hall of Fame has eight huge death masks, attended by sixteen warriors with their heads lowered in mourning.

The monument to the Battle of Nations

The monument is a short tram ride southeast from the city centre. It is worth going at a time when the interior is open to the public, as you can then climb up through the galleries to reach the viewing platform on top of the monument. It affords a magnificent panorama of Leipzig. Opening times are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily in summer (and from just 10 a.m.-4 p.m. from November through March).

This monument alone is good cause to make tracks for Leipzig. But there are many more besides and we shall look at other features of the city in two further articles this month on Leipzig.

The post 200 years on, Leipzig recalls the Battle of Nations appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Horst Sindermann, one-time member of the GDR politburo, recalled the events of fall 1989 in Leipzig a few years later. “We were prepared for everything,” he said. “But not for candles and prayers.”

Related: Leipzig budget travel guide

Leipzig city center with the tower of St Nicholas’ Church in the background.

Praying for change

The peace prayers at Leipzig’s St Nicholas’ Church have a history that dates back over 30 years, but it was only in late 1989 that they caught the attention of the international media. Here was a grass-roots revolution in the making. On successive Mondays there were arrests of activists and others involved in the peace prayers. On October 7, 1989, the GDR celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its foundation. Two days later, the Leipzig evening vigil with candles and prayers attracted huge crowds as never before.

Demonstrations on the streets of Leipzig

Amid an atmosphere of remarkable calm and intense concentration (but coupled with anxiety about how the authorities would react), thousands of Leipzig citizens peacefully demanded a new future for their country. The fragile flame of democracy and change was tended in the small candles carried by each participant.

If there was one turning point in the fate of their country, it was that Monday evening in Leipzig. Violent confrontation was averted, and the more intelligent members of the politburo quickly realized that power was slipping inexorably from their hands.

Recalling the peaceful revolution

Light filled the streets of Leipzig that Monday evening, and the events of 9 October 1989 are nowadays recalled each year in Leipzig’s Festival of Lights. This evening will be something special in Leipzig, but as nothing compared with 9 October 2014 when the GDR’s peaceful revolution will be recalled 25 years on. The city’s inner ring road will be closed to traffic and a series of performances and processions will recall the strong sense of community daring that characterized October 9, 1989.

An echo of 1989: the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig still take place.

For more details about the 2014 events, go to www.leipziger-freiheit.de/lichtfest.

Monday evening demonstrations continue

This evening’s events in Leipzig will be more modest in scale. If you cannot make it today, you can still catch the spirit of protest in Leipzig by visiting Leipzig any Monday evening. The peace prayers still take place at St Nicholas’ Church, perpetuating a long Leipzig tradition. It is a strong reminder that social injustice was not eradicated by the events of 1989.

The post Living History: Leipzig’s Festival of Lights on October 9 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Reforming zeal

Torgau is a place that has, for several hundred years, punched considerably above its weight. It is a mere fleck on the map, a riverside community of less than 20,000 souls. But it is one of those spots which have helped shape European history. Worms and Wittenberg may both claim to have kindled the spark of Lutheranism, but Torgau was the affirming flame that gave early strength to the Reformation.

Reshaping Europe

Those familiar with more recent European history will recall that Torgau witnessed a defining moment towards the very end of World War II. It was here that Soviet Union forces advancing over the Elbe first encountered the Americans who were pushing east across Europe. That was on 25 April 1945.

The encounter was symbolic in many ways. It signaled that Hitler’s days were numbered, but it also anticipated the future Cold War division of Europe. Just as in the days of Martin Luther, Torgau found itself at the heart of a new world order — and played a key role in helping define and map that order.

The palace at Torgau

A place to relax

These various facets of history are beautifully recalled in modern Torgau, with signposted walks and informative leaflets. It’s rare to stumble on a town in eastern Germany that has such high-quality tourist information in English.

History may beckon, but for many it will not be the main reason for traveling to Torgau. The town is, quite simply, a fine place to be. The town’s unhurried demeanor is its prime asset. The historic town center boasts a feast of Renaissance buildings. There are super riverside walks and a galaxy of appealing cafés to pass the time of day.

If you are tempted to stay overnight, the Hotel Goldener Anker on the main market square offers rooms from €45.

Travel details

By road, Torgau is 60 km from Leipzig, 90 km from Dresden and 130 km from Berlin — all three journeys follow secondary highways. These offer a different driving experience from Germany’s modern autobahns — they are quieter, offer a more intimate connection with the landscape and are a delight to drive.

Torgau is easily reached by train, being served by hourly regional services that trundle east from Leipzig. The journey from Leipzig to Torgau takes about 40 minutes. Through fares from Berlin (using the fast train Berlin to Leipzig then on by local service) start at €19.

It is do-able as a day trip from Berlin. If you don’t mind slow trains, there is a good budget route from the German capital using cheaper regional services, with just one change of train at Falkenberg (Elster). Travel time from Berlin to Torgau via Falkenberg is two hours.  The Berlin-Brandenburg Ticket (just €29, valid for up to five people) is the best deal here, though you will have a small supplementary fare (€6.80 per person return) from Rehfeld, which is the last station in Brandenburg, to Torgau.

The post Torgau: A taste of small-town Germany appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

“Berlin with a shade more flair” is how our Leipzig friend describes her home town. This magnificent city, overshadowed in Saxony by Dresden and too close (some say) to Berlin to really pull the crowds, is a place to visit in fall. For hundreds of years, merchants and traders from across Europe made their way to the city’s Michaelmas Fair, held in late September and early October.

Related: Leipzig budget travel guide

Catching the Zeitgeist

Kim Rupp-Gregory, co-editor of Leipzig Zeitgeist magazine, sees more than merely trade in the mood of the season: “Fall in Leipzig is revolutionary. As the leaves turn and become restless the people here revive the spirit of autumn 1989, when they took to the streets in peaceful protest against the East German communist regime. The knife-edge bravery of so many paid off with the subsequent fall of the Berlin Wall and ultimately Germany’s reunification.”

Peaceful Revolution

21 years on, visitors to Leipzig can still catch the buzz of a city that has long punched far above its weight. A well-marked trail through town recalls the highpoints of the peaceful revolution that was wrought on Leipzig’s streets. “Things come to a head on 9 October,” explains Kim. “That’s when the city positively glows for its annual commemorative Festival of Lights.” It’s a chance to mingle with the crowds and just experience Leipzig’s distinctive flavors and style.

Throughout the edgy months of political protest in 1989, Leipzig folk were just a tad more daring than Berliners. Perhaps it was easier to be daring away from the capital. That still holds true today. Liveable Leipzig sticks its neck out, and the many facets of city life are beautifully captured in successive issues of Leipzig Zeitgeist, an unpretentious magazine that is a must for English-speaking residents and visitors.

Leipzig by Bike

Kim’s co-editor on Leipzig Zeitgeist is Christina Nielsen-Marsh who is quick to emphasize that Leipzig residents are still quick to take to the streets, though nowadays it is more for fun than for protest.

“The finest way to see Leipzig is by bike,” says Christina. “My favorite route is to pedal down through Clara Zetkin Park and along the Karl Heine Canal into the western district of Plagwitz for a taste of a more alternative Leipzig.

“Kanal 28” is a great place to refuel and take in the industrial architecture of the area. And, when it comes to industrial architecture, the Spinnerei, also in Plagwitz, is something special – this former cotton mill is now home to a collection of artists, artisans and galleries, and has been attracting local, national and international interest in recent years.

“After an afternoon exploring the city by bike, an evening at Noch Besser Leben drinking a Beton (German for ‘concrete’), or three, will hit the spot, as will the live music at their frequent concerts.”

Getting There

Leipzig-Halle Airport is north-west of the city. Regular trains will whisk you from airport to city center in just 15 minutes. The airport is served by twice-daily flights from both Paris (with Air France) and Vienna (with Austrian Airlines). Ryanair will debut at the airport next month, launching five flights per week to London and three to Rome.

Travel times to Leipzig Hauptbahnhof on direct InterCity or the sleek fast ICE trains from other German cities are as follows:

Berlin (Hourly), taking 70 to 80 min.
Dresden (Hourly) taking 65 to 75 min.
Cologne (Every 2 hrs) taking 6 hrs
Munich (Every 2 hrs) taking 5 hrs 30 min.

The post Germany: Exploring Leipzig in the autumn appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

1. Train ride from Berlin for €14

Interconnex, a private train line that links the Baltic Sea to Saxony, offers tickets as low as €14 from Berlin to Leipzig. From Potsdamerplatz, the direct ride takes just over an hour.

Deutsche Bahn tends to be pricier, but the Schönes Wochenende Ticket on weekends allows up to five people to travel anywhere on regional trains for €37 for a day—a total bargain, though at a sluggish pace (two and a half hours, one way).

2. Classical music for €2

Not to drop names, but perhaps you’ve heard of Johann Sebastian Bach or Felix Mendelssohn? Their careers are inseparable from Leipzig, where they led the world-famous St. Thomas’s Boys Choir (Thomaskirchhof 18). Don’t let the prepubescent singers’ fame intimidate you. The weekly service featuring the choir is open to public and will only set you back €2.

The Gewandhaus Orchestra (Augustusplatz 8), the world’s oldest symphony, is also worth a visit.

3. Historic places

In its ten-century history, Leipzig has seen its share of historic moments. Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Straße des 18 Oktober 100, Admission €6, €4 reduced), or the “Monument to the Battle of the Nations,” is a hefty stone temple that commemorates Napoleon’s defeat in Leipzig. Climb the over 500 steps up its intricate façades for a view of the surroundings.

St. Nikolas Church (Nikolaikirchhof 3) was the epicenter of the democratic protests that eventually brought down the East German government. Toward the last of the church’s Monday night vigils, word of mouth was bringing in up to 70,000 anti-government protesters. Today, it remains a Lutheran church, but its role in bringing down the Iron Curtain merits a visit.

4. Tasting Goethe (and more)

Restaurant Auerbachskeller (Grimmaische Straße 2-4) dates back to at least the 15th century, and young Goethe frequented it as a student in the 1700s. In his play Faust, Goethe uses the basement wine bar as the setting for Mephistopheles’s black magic. Today, it’s just an innocuous restaurant frequented by the well-heeled and tourists alike.

For a more budget option, head down to the district of Südvorstadt, populated by students and young artsy types. Along Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse, budget eateries and bars abound. L’arte della cucina italiana (Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 56a), for instance, sends out delicious €4 pizzas and equally affordable daily specials from its open kitchen. From Südvorstadt, follow the crowd farther south to Connewitz for more underground nightlife fun.

More on Leipzig

Want more ways to save on your trip to Leipzig? Be sure to check out our Leipzig budget travel guide.

The post 4 budget tips for Cheapos in Leipzig appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.