A local guide to Leipzig: dumplings, variety and delicious G&T

Food

You can find very good Saxon cuisine in Leipzig, which means very hearty dishes often incorporating dumplings (called Klöße or Knödel< /em>) served alongside meat and fish, including carp and trout. At the Ratskeller, near the New Town Hall, you can get almost anything from traditional spiced meat to the Saxon roulade (usually beef filled with bacon, onions, pickles and mustard), and it's really good quality and reasonably priced. There is also a pleasant terrace. Max Enk is more upscale and serves just about everything the region has to offer, including his version of Leipziger Allerlei, which is made with crayfish and morels (rather than the traditional mixed vegetables served as a main dish or side dish). The food doesn't get any more typically Saxon than this.

Inspiration

I really like the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, a former 19th century cotton mill (once one of the of the largest cotton mills on the European continent) which now has restaurants, shops, a cinema, several galleries, as well as more than 100 workshops of architects, jewelers, ceramists and artists. It revitalized the city's art scene when it opened in the early 1990s. German artist Neo Rauch has a studio here, which is open for occasional exhibitions as well as guided tours. There's a full schedule of exhibitions, concerts, films and other events throughout the year, but it's especially worth a visit when all the galleries are open to visitors, which happens three times a year. year. Another must-see is Leipzig's main landmark - the City-Hochhaus, which locals call der steile Zahn ("steep tooth") with 36 floors and a tower designed by Hermann Henselmann in the shape of an open book . The 120 meter high viewing platform puts all of Leipzig at your feet. spacefinder- type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement" class="dcr-1mfia18"/>

Eisenbahnstraße in the eastern district of Volkmarsdorf has a special ambience and is very culturally diverse . From "the most dangerous street in Germany", it has become a popular place for young people and very lively to stroll there. Families have also settled here, and you can find Vietnamese kiosks, Turkish kebabs and Polish delis, as well as cocktail bars like Kune and cafes like Brothers, which is a great place to have breakfast. , especially on Sundays. There are even small underground parties in the street.

Green space

My favorite place is the Palmengarten, a beautiful botanical garden with lots of water where you will want to be linger. It dates from the 19th century, and although the original greenhouse with palm trees and other tropical plants is gone, there are pretty bridges, ponds and a cast-iron pavilion to admire, as well as a theater built in from an old service station. For a long time I also underestimated how beautiful Leipzig looks from the water. A boat trip along the canals reveals that Leipzig is not only "Little Paris", but also "Little Venice".

Nightlife