"Leipzig" Leipzig by PeterVancouver

Possibly the best way to get to Leipzig especially in the winter whilst snow is falling, is by train from Berlin and to pick up a rental car in the city. The railway station in Leipzig is probably one of Europe's largest which has undergone a magnificent transformation in the past few years, becoming a multi-level shopping mall of over 130 shops who, because they're in a train-station, are allowed to stay open until 10pm. The train station is very near city centre so many of the International hotels are within 1000m of the station. During exhibition dates it is essential to book hotel roooms well in advance.
The centre of Leipzig is the Marktplatz, situated between Petersstrae and Grimmaische Strae. The aroma of coffee and freshly baked cakes wafts out of the atmospheric cafés and bars which line the square, many of which spill into the crooked little alleyways nearby.

The Altes Rathaus - a beautiful Renaissance building erected in just nine months - used to be the city hall, but now houses the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum, a fascinating museum depicting Leipzig's history from Medieval times to the present day. The north-western corner of the square contains two other historic buildings: Webers Hof, a typical bourgeois home, and Adler Apotheke, where the author Theodor Fontane worked from 1841 to 1842 as a chemist's assistant.

On the western side of the Marktplatz, you'll see Barthels Hof (1523), Leipzig's oldest commercial building and the first structure in the city to be built in the Renaissance style. Goethe was overwhelmed by the "spacious rooms" which where reminiscent of the country's "great castles". In the nearby Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum Museum and Café, visitors can enjoy a "Schälchen Heeen" (as the locals affectionately refer to their coffee) in one of the oldest coffee shops on the continent. The Messehaus am Markt was home to the world's first underground trade fair - a 5,000 square metre complex where books, watches and hunting instruments were exchanged.

Behind the Altes Rathaus is the Alte Handelsbörse on Naschmarkt, where a bronze statue stands in memory of J.W. Goethe, who studied here between 1765 and 1768. A few steps away in the magnificent Mädler Passage, visitors can wine and dine in Auerbachs Keller, which was featured in Goethes classic work, Faust.

Leipzig is blessed with dozens of historic buildings which are best explored on a stroll through the city. Fine examples include the impressive baroque buildings on Katharinenstrae, churches such as Thomaskirche, Nikolaikirche, Paulinkirche und Matthäikirche, or the Alte Waage, where imported goods used to be weighed and taxed.

Although behind the Iron Curtain for many years until reunification in 1990, Leipzig does not appear to have suffered from those monsterous concrete buildings which sprang up in many other parts of communist East Germany. Indeed much work has been carried out to refurbish the older buildings which were left in disrepair under the communist regime. It is a very pleasant city with a lot to offer the tourist

• In a nutshell:An interesting and attractive city