Leipzig

Bach's Thomaskirche, the 1989 sites and the Plagwitz mills

Two days in Leipzig cover its music and its 1989 story. Day one takes in the Markt, the Thomaskirche where Bach is buried, the arcades, the Nikolaikirche and the Runde Ecke Stasi museum; day two the Völkerschlachtdenkmal, the Panometer and the Spinnerei galleries in Plagwitz. A third day suits the zoo or Wittenberg.

Day one, morning. Start on the Markt in front of the long Renaissance Altes Rathaus, put up in less than a year in 1556 and 1557, and walk two minutes to the Thomaskirche, where Bach is buried in the chancel. Across the square, the Bach-Museum has original manuscripts and lets you listen through his work.

Afternoon. Wander the arcades: the Mädler-Passage with Auerbachs Keller, Specks Hof with its tiled courtyards and the Barthels Hof. Then go to the Nikolaikirche, whose palm-shaped columns watched over the 1989 Monday prayers, and on to the Runde Ecke, the former Stasi district headquarters, preserved as a museum with its surveillance gear. End the day on Augustusplatz with a concert at the Gewandhaus or the Opera, after a sunset look from the City-Hochhaus viewing deck.

Day two, morning. Take tram 15 to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and climb to the top, then continue to the Panometer, a former gasometer showing giant 360-degree panoramas by Yadegar Asisi.

Afternoon and evening. Ride west to Plagwitz. See the galleries in the Spinnerei, then walk or paddle along the Karl-Heine-Kanal past restored factory lofts. Eat in Lindenau or along the Karli in Südvorstadt.

Day three. Spend the morning at the zoo, or take a day trip to Luther's Wittenberg or Händel's Halle.

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations, 91 metres high and completed in 1913 for the centenary of the 1813 battle against Napoleon, is a tram ride south-east of the centre and has a viewing platform at the top.

Leipziger Lerchen, Allerlei with crayfish and salty Gose beer

Leipzig's food is built around coffee and cake, with the Leipziger Lerche, a marzipan-and-cherry tart, as the local pastry. The signature dish is Leipziger Allerlei, spring vegetables that in the full version include crayfish and morels, and the local beer is Gose, a slightly sour wheat beer brewed with salt and coriander.

Saxons are known across Germany as coffee lovers, and Leipzig's coffee-house culture goes back to the early 18th century. Bach even wrote a Coffee Cantata, first performed in a coffee house in the city, about a daughter who refuses to give up her daily cups. Afternoon coffee and cake is still a ritual.

The local pastry to order with it is the Leipziger Lerche, a small shortcrust tart filled with marzipan and a cherry, topped with a crossed pastry lattice. It replaced a real lark pie after the King of Saxony banned songbird hunting in 1876. Quarkkäulchen, little fried patties of curd cheese and potato with cinnamon sugar and apple sauce, are a café and restaurant dessert.

The city's best-known dish is Leipziger Allerlei, a mix of young spring vegetables. In its proper form it includes crayfish and morels in a buttery sauce, though many restaurants serve a much plainer version. East German favourites such as Soljanka, a sour, spicy soup of meat, gherkins and lemon, appear on many pub menus.

To drink, find a glass of Gose, a top-fermented wheat beer brewed with salt and coriander, slightly sour and very refreshing. It came originally from Goslar but became Leipzig's own; the Gosenschenke 'Ohne Bedenken' in Gohlis keeps the tradition alive in a beer garden. Have it pure or with a dash of cherry or caraway liqueur.

For atmosphere, eat in the vaulted Auerbachs Keller; for value and variety, head to the Karli or to the cafés of Plagwitz.

Book Fair, Bachfest and the 9 October Lichtfest in a dry city

Leipzig is one of Germany's drier cities, with January highs around 4C and summer highs near 25C. Its main events are the Book Fair in March, the Wave-Gotik-Treffen at Whitsun, the Bachfest in June, the Lichtfest on 9 October marking the 1989 march, and the Christmas market on the Markt.

Leipzig sits in the rain shadow of the Harz and is one of the drier cities in Germany. Winters are cold and grey, with January averaging a high of 4C and a low of -2C, but February brings only about 25mm of precipitation. Summers are warm, reaching 25C in July and August, and July is the wettest month at roughly 76mm, often in short storms.

The Leipzig Book Fair in March is the city's oldest public event, paired with 'Leipzig liest', a reading festival with hundreds of events around town. At Whitsun, the Wave-Gotik-Treffen brings tens of thousands of goth, industrial and steampunk fans for four days of concerts, with a Victorian picnic in the Clara-Zetkin-Park that is worth seeing even if the music is not for you.

June belongs to the Bachfest, ten days of concerts in the Thomaskirche, the Nikolaikirche and other venues, with musicians and pilgrims arriving from around the world. In summer the flooded lignite mines south of the city, the Neuseenland, become the local beaches.

Every year on 9 October, the Lichtfest recalls the night in 1989 when about 70,000 people marched around the Ring and the security forces did not shoot. Candles, light installations and a gathering on Augustusplatz fill the evening. In late October the DOK Leipzig documentary festival follows, and in December the Christmas market on the Markt, held since the 15th century, takes over the old town.