Things to do in Leipzig, Germany: One day three ways

PENNY PINCH

European students flock to Leipzig for the low rent, the late nights the world-class music and beer. Travellers come for many of the same reasons, and you can squeeze a lot of affordable enjoyment from this medieval hub of commerce and culture. Start at Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum, a multi-storey maze of German, French and Arabian-style coffee houses built in 1720 that still does the city's best Leipziger Lerche – a kind of marzipan strudel ( $15, see coffe-baum.de/start/index.php). There you can also join the Leipziger Notenspur (see notenspur-leipzig.de), a tourist walking trail that links the key sites of local music history. Stop off at the Bach Museum (see bachmuseumleipzig.de, $12) for a primer on the famous composer who spent much of his career in this city. You can pay your respects across the street at St Thomas Church, where Bach worked as a choir director and where his remains are buried. The in-house boys' choir is still going after 800 years, performing Bach motets and cantatas in the church during weekend services (see thomaskirche.org, $3). To hear what today's young Leipzigers are listening to, take tram 9 out to Conne Island. This cult suburban venue hosts regular live gigs, club nights and movie screenings, with a great onsite cafe serving cheap, tasty meals (see conne-island.de, $20). Hotel Alt Connewitz has comfortable rooms nearby (see hotelaltconnewitz-leipzig.h-rez.com, from $65).

Total: $115

EASY DOES IT

Don't sweat it if you stayed out late and need a lie-in – Cafe Waldi serves breakfast until 4pm in a kitsch, cosy room of big sofas and cuckoo clocks (see cafewaldi.de, $15). If you're ready to confront the darkest chapter of local history, you could learn about East German secret policing tactics at the Stasi Museum (see runde-ecke-leipzig.de, free, book in advance for English-language tours). If it's a nicer day, you might prefer to visit the Komodo dragons at Zoo Leipzig, which is more advanced and much less depressing than some of Europe's older zoos (see zoo-leipzig.de, $25). After a hearty, heavy German dinner, enjoy a few pints of Leipzig Gose at Ohne Bedenken, the historic tavern where that much-loved local beer is still brewed (see gosenschenke.de/en, $50). Then spend the evening wandering the busy, arty cavern of wine cellars and summer terraces at Moritzbastei (see moritzbastei.de, $30), and take a triangular corner room for the night at Hotel Vivaldi (see hotel-vivaldi.de, $100).

Total: $220

SPLASH OUT

The gourmet breakfast omelettes and spicy Mexican coffee come especially recommended at Cafe Grundmann, and its well-preserved art deco interior make it easy to imagine the Leipzig of the early 20th century (see cafe-grundmann.de, $25). You can venture much further into the city's past with a shopping spree around Specks Hof, a beautiful medieval trading palace that still sells top-quality handmade accessories etc (see speckshof.de, budget for at least $75). Instead of the standard walking or bus tours, you can drive yourself around the city in a GDR-era Trabant while listening to English-language commentary (see trabi-stadtrundfahrt.de, $60 per person). After safely returning the car, head to Sixtina absynth bar (see sixtina.net, $25) to start your evening with a green glow, then take a box for the symphony at Gewandhaus Leipzig, one of the world's great classical concert venues (see gewandhaus.de, $120). Then settle in for a late meal at Auerbach's Keller, a 16th-century restaurant once frequented by the great German writer Johann Von Goethe, who set a scene here with the devil in his masterpiece, Faust (see auerbachs-keller-leipzig.de, $50). A suite at the historic Hotel Furstenhof lets you sustain that air of old-world mystery and finery for the rest of your stay (see hotelfuerstenhofleipzig.com/en, from $440).

Total: $745

The writer was a guest of Hotel Vivaldi.