The Baroque beauty of Dresden, the half-timbered streets of Quedlinburg and one of the most famous prisoner-of-war camps in Germany are among the best day trips from Leipzig, the largest city in Saxony.
Leipzig is a brilliant place to visit – one of the best cities in Germany by my reckoning – but it’s also an excellent base for exploring eastern Germany. The places I write about include an astonishing NINE World Heritage Sites, from cathedrals to castles to a culture capital. Not to mention one delisted World Heritage Site and a future one that will likely be inscribed in a few years’ time.
Leipzig is an hour or so northwest of Dresden, and its location opens up several day trip options not possible from Dresden, especially if you’re using public transport. From Leipzig, much of Saxony-Anhalt is within reach, as is the neighbouring region of Thuringia, whose treasures are slowly being discovered by international visitors. Hopefully you’ll come across a few surprises here.
Where To Stay In Leipzig – My Recommendations
***** – Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel Handelshof Leipzig – the grand old 5-star, right in the middle of the historic centre of Leipzig
**** – Hotel Fregehaus – my favourite Leipzig hotel, with rooms around a 400-year-old courtyard, close to all the sights and station
**** – The Westin Leipzig – ideal location a 5-minute walk from the train station and old historic centre
*** – Gästehaus Leipzig – beautiful early 20th-century villa next to the wonderful Johannapark, a few minutes’ walk from the main sights
The Best Day Trips From Leipzig
Dresden
Dresden is the best of all day trips from Leipzig, with one proviso – there’s way too much to see in Dresden to only spend a day there. My son and I visited Dresden on day trips from Prague a couple of times, which only left us wanting more. So the three of us eventually used it as a base to explore eastern Germany for the best part of two months.
The city was the power base of the Electors of Saxony, who accumulated eye-watering wealth. By the late 17th and early 18th centuries Elector Augustus the Strong (August der Starke) was showing the extent of his wealth to the world. He devoted part of his Residenzschloss I(also known as Dresden Castle) to his Historic Green Vault, Europe’s first public museum showcasing some of the amazing treasures he had accumulated. Diamonds, gold, silver, emeralds, rubies – there was no limit to the excess.
You could easily spend the best part of the day visiting the Residenzschloss, whose exhibitions also include the Dresden Armoury, lavish State Apartments, the New Green Vault and one of the finest coin collections in Europe. The stable yard (Stallhof) is also home to the Dresden Medieval Christmas Market over December and early January each year – again, it’s one of the very best in Europe.
Dresden was known as the ‘Florence on the Elbe’, partly because of its outstanding architecture, and also its art treasures. If you’re spending one day in Dresden, I suggest devoting around two hours to visiting Dresden Old Masters Gallery, one of the great art museums of the world, which is part of the Baroque Zwinger Palace complex.
The Dresden skyline is one of the most beautiful in the world, its Baroque domes, towers and spires restored after being reduced to rubble by an Allied bombing raid in 1945. Don’t miss the stunning Frauenkirche, the crowning glory of the city, a graceful domed Baroque church whose reconstruction was finally finished in 2005. There are several other fine churches in Dresden, but if time only allows one, don’t miss the Frauenkirche. Likewise you must make time for a stroll along Brühlsche Terrasse, the riverside promenade once known as the Balcony of Europe.
There is plenty more to see in Dresden besides. Across the Elbe from the Altstadt (Old Town), Dresden Neustadt has a much more alternative feel, particularly the Kunsthof Passage, a network of courtyards with some fantastic wall designs. On the same side of the river. The three Elbe Castles (Elbschlösser) built in the 18th and early 19th centuries overlook the river, and a mile or so upstream Loschwitz is one of the loveliest city suburbs in Europe, like a step back over a century to the Belle Epoque.
For a great overview of the main Dresden sights, check out my Dresden landmarks guide.
Getting there: It’s just over an hour from Leipzig by intercity train, and the Flixbus (from the bus station around the corner from the Hauptbahnhof on Sachsenseite) takes about the same time.
Colditz Castle
A day-long escape to Colditz – rather than from it
Many of the day trips from Leipzig in this article are fairly well known to Germans, but not so to international visitors. But with Colditz it’s the other way around. It’s barely known among the many Germans I’ve met, but Colditz Castle is popular with many with an interest in Second World War history.
Schloss Colditz was founded in the 11th century, and was acquired by the Wettin dynasty, who became Electors of Saxony, early in the 15th century. It later served as a workhouse for the poor, a mental hospital and a sanatorium before being used as a political prison from 1933 until early in World War Two. Thereafter it became Oflag IV-C, a high-security Allied prisoner-of-war camp.
Despite its status, Colditz became known in the west because of a number of escapes from there. French, Polish, Dutch and British officers were confined there, and unusually for the Nazis, they followed the Geneva Conventions on treatment of POWs there.
The Nazis deemed many of the prisoners at high risk of attempting escape, and were proved right. The prisoners came up with many ingenious schemes, including a tunnel out of the Castle and building a glider (which was never used). Many of the prisoners’ schemes – including distilling bootleg alcohol – weren’t discovered for decades afterwards.
The 1955 movie The Colditz Story, starring John Mills, popularized the escape stories, as did the board game Escape From Colditz, which I recall playing with an older neighbour when I was eight or nine years old.
You can tour the Castle and visit the Museum there, which details many of the escape schemes. You can also stay in the Castle, part of which is now a youth hostel.
Getting there from Leipzig: It’s a combined train and bus trip, which takes around 1 hour 20 minutes. Take the hourly (on weekdays – every two hours on weekends) RB110 train from Leipzig Hbf to Grossbothen, the stop after Grimma. From there, walk along Zum Bahnhof, and turn right onto the main road. The stop for the 619 bus to Colditz is 50 metres away, across the road from the Edeka supermarket.
Naumburg
Meet the most beautiful woman of the Middle Ages
The historic town of Naumburg, less than an hour from Leipzig, has always been well off the radar for international visitors, but I rate it one of the best places to visit in eastern Germany. Its Cathedral, Naumburger Dom, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the bridge between Romanesque (rounded arches) and Gothic architecture (pointed arches) in Germany, and also where you’ll see the astonishingly vivid statue of Uta von Ballenstedt, one of the Founders of Naumburg Cathedral.
The statue, one of a series of twelve in the west choir of the Cathedral, is believed to have been carved around the middle of the 13th century. It’s almost 800 years old, and incredibly lifelike. It reminds me very much of my wife Faye, and Uta has become an icon of the town, her face adorning all of its taxis.
Naumburg’s West Choir is the work of the anonymous Naumburg Master, a stone sculptor many years ahead of his time. The exterior of the Cathedral is also spectacular, with twin towers at each end of the building, a landmark visible from many miles away. Check out my guide to visiting Naumburg Cathedral for more detailed information.
The rest of the town is one of Germany’s hidden gems. The GDR era tram from the station to the town centre is a lovely step back in time, with pleasant personal service and features you seldom see these days including a newspaper rack for passengers. The small Old Town has some gorgeous buildings – particularly the Renaissance doorway of the Rathaus (Town Hall) and St Wenzel’s church, which overlooks the Marktplatz (main square).
Getting there: Regular trains (the RB15 or RB20) from Leipzig Hbf take 45 minutes. Don’t miss the wonderful GDR-era tram into the town centre from outside the station.
Halle an der Saale
Halle, only 15 minutes from Leipzig, is perhaps the easiest day trip from the great Saxon city. It’s the second largest city in Saxony-Anhalt, with one of the most beautiful skylines and squares in Germany, and it’s also the birthplace of Baroque composer George Frideric Handel.
Start with the Marktplatz, the market square, and one of the most impressive in the country. The Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen (Market Church of Our Lady) dominates the city centre, with its two 280-foot spires and two towers and separate belltower (the Roter Turm). The late Gothic church is well worth the visit, and there’s a small Luther Museum with the original death mask of the church reformer from 1546.
Halle’s best museum is the State Museum of Prehistory, again one of the foremost of its kind in Germany. Its best-known exhibit is the Nebra Sky Disc, believed to date from the Early Bronze Age around 1800-1600 BC. Its makers would have been contemporaries with the Minoans on Crete, and they shared similar burial customs and skills with others across Central Germany and into the present Czech Republic. The culture is named after Únětice, a village near Prague where a hoard was discovered. The Sky Disc is believed to be the oldest portrayal of astronomical phenomena in the world.
Handel’s House is the other must-see in Halle. Part of the permanent exhibition focusues on the life of Handel, from his childhood (1685 to 1703) in Halle, and his travels and career thereafter, mainly in Hamburg and England. The museum also has a collection of several hundred musical instruments, by far the largest I’ve seen anywhere.
Getting there: regular S-Bahn trains from Leipzig Hbf, which also call at Leipzig-Halle airport a few minutes before Halle (Saale) Hbf.
Merseburg
Merseburg is a small town around 20 miles to the west of Leipzig, just across the provincial border in Saxony-Anhalt. Along with Halle, it’s one of the quickest day trips from Leipzig, despite the necessity of a change of train at Halle – both journeys last around15 minutes.
The city’s two main sights are Schloss Merseburg, the castle-palace that served as an Imperial residence (Kaiserpfalz) of the Holy Roman Emperor. They travelled around their residences across the Empire, perhaps favouring one over others, but never opted to settle in a single residence. The present Renaissance palace replaced a 13th-century building, and also served as the residence of the Bishop of Merseburg, and later the Dukes of Saxe-Merseburg.
Merseburg Cathedral is attached to the Schloss. It was founded in the early 11th century, and some Romanesque elements remain, including the upper level of the twin towers of the west front. Most of the church was built in variants of the Gothic style that followed, including the nave, which was completed between 1510 and 1514.
Getting there: The train is the easiest way to reach Merseburg from Leipzig Hbf. Although you will need to change trains at Halle an der Saale. The journey takes around 50 minutes each way.
Quedlinburg
The ‘birthplace of Germany’ and the best place to see half-timbered houses in the world
You might not have heard of it, but if you love medieval architecture then Quedlinburg should be on your European bucket list. Many people love those cute timber-framed houses, often with their crooked leans acquired over the centuries. In Quedlinburg there are thousands of them, of all sizes and colours – so many streets in Quedlinburg are lined with them, end to end. Walking around is an unforgettable experience, like being in a 17th-century time bubble for a few days.
Quedlinburg is also sometimes called the ‘cradle of Germany’. Heinrich I – known in English as Henry the Fowler – assumed the throne of the new Kingdom of the East Franks in 919, and was crowned in Quedlinburg. The Kingdom was the eastern part of the divided Holy Roman Empire, and the first forerunner of the modern Germany. There was no consciousness of a German nation at that point in time, but retrospectively, historians have looked on it as the first step to German nationhood.
The town is very popular with German tourists, but it remains well off the beaten track for international visitors. You might struggle to finds a guided tour in English, but it’s a very easy place to explore, and a great base for exploring the Harz Mountains and Wernigerode and Goslar to the west.
Getting there from Leipzig: Quedlinburg is one of the longer day trips from Leipzig, a 2-hour journey each way, requiring two changes – one at Halle an der Saale, the other at Halberstadt.
See Also: 20 Best Things To Do In Quedlinburg and 6 Amazing Churches In Quedlinburg To Visit
Lutherstadt Wittenberg
Several places in the rest of this article have strong links to 16th-century church reformer Martin Luther. The Elbe town of Wittenberg was where it all began in 1517 when Luther, at first a monk then a professor, nailed his 95 Theses document to the doors of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church).
The leader of the Reformation in Central Europe lived in Wittenberg for much of his life, from 1505 onwards, before eventually returning to his birthplace Eisleben (see below). He married Katharina von Bora in the Stadtkirche St Marien (pictured), where he also preached many times. He was buried in the nearby Schlosskirche.
You can also visit the Lutherhaus, a palace where some rooms have been decorated and furnished in a style typical of the first half of the 16th century when Luther, Katharina and their six children lived there.
The rest of the restored Altstadt (Old Town) has some beautiful late medieval houses. And for something completely different, there’s a remarkable school building by the late Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, whom many have compared with the famous Barcelona architect Antoni Gaudi.
Getting there from Leipzig: Regional trains from Leipzig Hbf (including the S2 S-Bahn service) take just over 1 hour to reach Lutherstadt Willenberg. Intercity trains take around 30 minutes.
Lutherstadt Eisleben
Where Martin Luther was born in 1483, and died in 1546
Eisleben, an hour northwest of Leipzig, is the other half of the Martin Luther Memorial Sites World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO in 1996.
Even without the Luther association it would be worth the visit to see an unspoilt, untouristed historic German town (there are many like it). It’s in the southern foothills of the Harz Mountains, a mining town before the birth of Luther in the late 15th century. It has some impressive churches, particularly the austere late Gothic Andreaskirche (St Andrew’s Church, where Luther preached his last sermon) and the St Petri St Pauli Church where Luther was baptized in 1483.
The two most-visited sites in Eisleben are the houses where Luther was born and died. The house where he was born (Luthers Geburtshaus) is at Lutherstrasse 15, while the house where he died (Luthers Sterbehaus) is a five-minute walk away on Andreaskirchplatz, next to the church of the same name. The Sterbehaus is not the original building in which he died, but the building built on the site of the house where he died.
The beautiful Markt (Market Square) with a statue of Luther is conveniently located halfway between the two houses. Both Museums are open Tuesdays to Sunday 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, and are closed Mondays. A combined ticket for the two costs a very reasonable €8.00 for adults.
Getting there: It takes between 1 hour and 1 hour 20 minutes to reach Eisleben from Leipzig Hbf. Take the S5 to Halle an der Saale, and change there for the S7 to Lutherstadt Eisleben.
Torgau
Renaissance town with an important place in World War Two history
Torgau is yet another fascinating German town that is barely on the radar for most visitors outside Germany. Apart from World War Two veterans and buffs, the town is one of so many for which time-poor visitors never get around to seeing. Which is a pity as it’s one of the best places to visit on the River Elbe.
Until the dying days of the Second World War, Torgau was best-known as one of the finest Renaissance towns in Germany. The highlight is Schloss Hartenfels, the riverside castle which was home to the powerful Electors of Saxony for part of the 16th century. The Castle houses many administrative offices, but you can walk around the beautiful courtyard and admire some of the sculptures, and the wonderful spiral staircase.
Two parts of the interior are open to visitors – one area is reserved for temporary exhibitions, and the Castle Chapel is open between April and October. The Chapel has been nominated for World Heritage status, as it’s the first church in the world to be purpose-built for Protestant worship. The pulpit is the focal point of the church, and its walls are lined with galleries for congregation members.
Martin Luther advised on the construction of the Chapel, and there’s a further connection to the church reformer in the town. His wife, Katharina von Bora, died in the town at the age of 53, having fled an outbreak of the plague in Wittenberg. She is buried in the town’s main church, Stadtkirche St Marien.
Torgau is where the US Army and Soviet Red Army met on 25th April 1945, as Allied forces gradually closed on Berlin. There are two monuments commemorating the meeting. The Soviet one is on the left riverbank, close to one of the castle entrances. The US memorial is a lower-key affair a 5-minute walk across the river, in a field with a view of the Schloss and town.
Getting there: The S4 S-Bahn train takes 50 minutes to reach Torgau. It also continues to Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
See Also: 10 Best Things To Do In Torgau
Halberstadt
The underlying theme of this article is a simple question – why are there so many amazing places in Germany that are way off the beaten track? Halberstadt is another case in point. It’s also very true of Saxony-Anhalt, for my money one of the best regions to visit in the country. Because it’s around 3 hours from Berlin – too far for most people for a day trip – it gets overlooked time and time again. And that’s why I rate it one of the best unexplored regions in Europe.
Halberstadt is on two long distance travel routes through Germany – the Strasse der Romanik (Romanesque Road) through Saxony-Anhalt, and a section of the Deutsche Fachwerk Strasse (German Half-Timbered Route). Several streets lined with half-timbered houses have survived or been restored, but it’s Halberstadt’s churches which are more likely to captivate you.
The twin-spired Gothic Cathedral is one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in Germany. Inside, it’s reminiscent of some of the great Gothic cathedrals of the Ile de France, the region surrounding Paris. It’s also famous across Germany for its Treasury, with over 650 items including the oldest woven tapestry in Europe. A short walk away, the four-spired Rhenish Romanesque-inspired Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) is a rarity in this part of Germany.
The Evangelical half-timbered church of St Johannis is another unusual sight, and the Romanesque Abbey at Huysburg, just north of the town, is also well worth seeing if you have time.
Finally we cannot leave Halberstadt without mentioning the at the Church of St Burchardi in the north of the town. Cage specified that his piece Organ 2 / ASLSP should be played ‘as slowly as possible’. The piece has already been playing for 25 years at the time of writing. It is due to continue until 2639. Whenever there’s a chord change aficionados flock to the town and church to witness it. Utterly bizarre, but I love the idea all the same.
Getting there: Halberstadt is a 1 hour 45-minute train ride from Leipzig Hbf. You’ll need to change at Halle an der Saale Hbf.
Dessau & Wörlitz
Dessau and Wörlitz are two neighbouring but very different World Heritage Sites on the left bank of the River Elbe, to the west of Wittenberg.
Dessau is part of the Bauhaus World Heritage Site along with Weimar, where the famous art and architectural school was originally founded. The Bauhaus School relocated to Dessau in 1925, remaining there for the following seven years. Modernist and functionalist architecture lovers from all over the world visit Dessau to see the famous building (pictured above) designed by Walter Gropius.
The other principal Bauhaus sights in the town are the Bauhaus Museum (focusing on Bauhaus art) and the Masters Houses (Meisterhäuser) where some of the leading lights of the Bauhaus movement lived and worked.
The Dessau- Wörlitz Garden Kingdom (Gartensreich) is the second World Heritage Site in and around the town. Inspired by the Age of Enlightenment, English landscaped parks and travel in Italy, the landscape extends 4 miles west from the focal point at Wörlitz to Dessau.
This landscape was the brainchild of Prince Leopold III Friedrich-FDranz of Anhalt-Dessau and his friend Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorf, the Gartenreich was the first landscape garden on mainland Europe. It was full of innovations, with Schloss Wörlitz the first Neoclassical building in Germany, and three nearby churches were the first in Germany to be built in the same style.
Getting there: Trains from Leipzig Hbf to Dessau Hbf take around 55 minutes.
Grimma
Grimma is one of the hidden gems of Saxony, only half an hour from Leipzig by train. It’s one of the lower-key day trips from Leipzig, without any World Heritage associations like so many of the others. It’s just a beautiful small Saxon town on the River Mulde that hasn’t made much impression on international visitors yet, but which numerous Germans I’ve met like to keep a bit of a secret.
A day trip is just about enough for Grimma, with a few riverside walks and a picturesque Old Town (Altstadt), with a fine 15th-century town hall (Rathaus). If you’re driving, you could easily combine it with a day trip to Colditz., which is only ten miles (16 km) away.
Getting there: A short train ride from Leipzig Hbf
Erfurt
Erfurt – the capital of the Land of Thuringia – could easily be one of the next cities in Germany to break more into the international traveller’s consciousness.
Its location, to the south of the Allies’ routes across northern Germany in 1945, meant it was spared much of the destruction Leipzig, Dresden and many other cities suffered at the time. What has endured is one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Germany.
Erfurt is best known for its Krämerbrücke, a half-timbered bridge across the Gera river. It’s one of just four in Europe to be lined with shops (these are Venice’s Rialto, Florence’s Ponte Vecchio and the Pulteneny Bridge in Bath, England).
The Altstadt (old town) of Erfurt is fascinating, full of centuries-old houses including the striking Haus zum Stockfisch, which now houses the City Museum.
Erfurt’s Domplatz (Cathedral Square) is one of the most impressive squares in Europe, a sight to bring a swoon of joy to any lover of Gothic architecture. The Dom and St Severi’s Church (Severikirche) stand side by side. The Cathedral is where Martin Luther was ordained in 1507, and he would have seen much of the 14th and 15th century stained glass that day.
Erfurt also has an important place in German Jewish history. The Alte Synagoge (Old Synagogue) is the oldest in Germany, dating from 1034, and was recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The city was also home to Topf & Sohne, the company responsible for building the incinerators for the crematoria at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. Their office building on Sorbenweg 7. The exhibition in the former office building is free to visit, and open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Weimar
Schloss Belvedere
The small Thuringian city of Weimar was where the constitution for the post-World War I Republic of Germany was approved, and many historians have since used the term ‘Weimar Republic’. Weimar is also one of the most culturally important and prestigious cities in Germany, as a result of its 19th century heyday when some of its most important figures lived and worked there.
The most important period in Weimar’s history was in the late 18th and early 19th century, the Age of the Enlightenment. This is when two of Germany’s greatest writers, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, lived and worked there. There are museums dedicated to each of the writers, and they are also commemorated in statues (pictured). Composer Franz Liszt also spent many years in Weimar, and there is also a small museum dedicated to him. Some of the parks in the city are included in the literary Weimar World Heritage Site, including the Park an der Ilm, where Goethe gained a lot of inspiration from his time in his Garden House there.
Weimar was also the original headquarters of the Bauhaus design, art and architectural movement (see also the Dessau section above). Both the Bauhaus Theater – the world’s first Bauhaus building – and the Haus am Horn remain, and are part of the Bauhaus World Heritage Site along with the sites in Dessau.
Getting there: Frequent intercity trains take an hour from Leipzig to Weimar.
See Also: If you’re planning to visit Weimar, Erfurt and / or Eisenach, it’s well worth investing in the Weimar Card Plus, which entitles you to entry to all of the main sights in the three cities and surrounding region.
Eisenach
The World Heritage-listed Wartburg Castle (pictured) is the reason most visitors head to Eisenach. It’s one of the greatest medieval castles in Germany, and parts of the edifice, atop a 400-metre cliff, date back to the 12th century.
As well as being such an imposing fortress, the Wartburg is of great historical significance. Martin Luther was based in the Wartburg for several years, busy translating the New Testament of the Bible into German. The 13th-century St Elizabeth of Hungary also spent much of her life there, betrothed to and then married to Luis IV of Thuringia.
Eisenach was also the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the house where he was born is, after the Bach Museum Leipzig, the best place to learn more about him. The house is furnished in late 17th-century style, as it may well have looked when he and his family lived there. You can also visit the church where Bach was baptised, the Georgenkirche, where Luther also sand in the choir around 180 years before.
There is also a Luther Museum in the house where he lived for three years from the age of 15 to 18 (1498 to 1501).
Getting there: Regular intercity trains from Leipzig Hbf take an hour to reach Eisenach Hbf, taking around 1 hour 10 minutes on average.
Best Day Trips From Leipzig – Final Thoughts
I hope you have found this article useful. Leipzig is within reach of many amazing places, most of which are perhaps new to many international visitors. If you visit this area of eastern Germany I’d advise making time to see Dresden as well as Leipzig, and trying to make it to at least one of the other places I have suggested in this guide.
For more inspiration, take a look at my series of Leipzig guides:
14 Famous Leipzig Landmarks To Explore
Visiting Leipzig City History Museum – outstanding museum, with all the history of this fine city under one roof
How To Visit The Bach Museum Leipzig
Visiting Nikolaikirche Leipzig – the church where the 1989 Revolution began
Visiting Thomaskirche Leipzig – the church of Johann Sebastian Bach
If you’re planning to base yourself in Dresden, check out some of these articles:
14 Best Day Trips From Dresden
How To Visit The Bastei Bridge – one of the most spectacular landmarks in Germany
Things To Do In Görlitz – the gorgeous border city much loved by filmmakers
10 Best Things To Do In Meissen – the porcelain is just the start of it
14 Best Castles Near Dresden To Visit
10 Best Things To Do In Pirna – much-overlooked historic town just outside Dresden
Things To Do In Bautzen – medieval wonders in the ‘capital’ of the Slavic Sorb people
15 Best World War 2 Sites In Berlin
15 Best Cold War Sites In Berlin
Finally, if you plan to visit the Harz Mountains, take a look at these articles: