Do any of the German residents or enthusiasts here have any recommendations of attractive places near Leipzig that can be reached by public transport in less than 90 minutes or so? I'm going in mid-September.
NB: Please don't say "Dresden" or any place that is closer to Dresden than it is to Leipzig, as I'm planning to "do" Dresden on a separate trip later.
Try the Garden Realm of Wörlitz.
There's at least a few cool castles in Saxony between Leipzig and Dresden, but I don't know the details.
Let's see...
Towns:
Torgau* - a provincial town with a preserved old town (Altstadt) and a mighty castle on the banks of the Elbe. The castle church is the first Protestant church ever, the tomb of Luthers wife Katharina von Bora is at the town church, and there is a big exhibition about the Protestant Reformation right now
Naumburg** - another town with a preserved old town, more impressive but without a castle. The Gothic cathedral however is a top sight and offers some of the best known statues of the Middle Ages
Erfurt*** - the capital of Thuringia offers one of the best and biggest preserved old towns of the country
Weimar*** - a small preserved town with a castle surrounded by palaces and parks (and sadly a KZ too), and a centre of the German culture. Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Nietzsche, Liszt and Cranach lived and worked here, the Bauhaus was based here, and the whole place is just very pleasant.
Halle** - the big city next to Leipzig. One of Germanys most underrated places, even by Germans, but the old town is actually surprisingly diverse and interesting. Go there if you are interested in architecture or want to see the Nebra Sky Disc.
Wittenberg** - home of the Protestant Reformation. A small town with many preserved palces related to the Reformation, like Luthers, Melanchthons or Cranachs house. Due to the coming celebrations soem of these sights could be closed however.
Dessau** - the old town was destroyed in WW2, but the Bauhaus buildings are all still there.
Castles
There are many castles around Leipzig, but sadly most of them are very difficult to reach by public transport. There is the Neuenburg high above the valley of Saale and Unstrut (vineyards) for example, but although the town of Freyburg is both close to Leipzig and Naumburg it takes 90min to get there. The best idea would be to rent a bike at Naumburg and explore the valley and the castle this way.
And there is Colditz castle of course, but again: it's very difficult to get there by public transport, and it takes more than 90min. Colditz is also just one of many (better) castles in this area, but without a car it's almost imposible to see them.
And the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm is highly recommended!
I was there over 10 years ago and don't know the situation now, but Zwickau was where first Audis and then Trabants were made. On the outskirts of town (about a 20 minute walk from the center) was a car museum; if you like Trabants or very old Audis, it's great fun. Zwickau was about 90 minutes by train from Leipzig, so it meets your criteria.
Weimar was nice, but I really liked Erfurt.
Hi,
From personal experience I heartily recommend as listed above Weimar, called Deutschlands Dichterstadt (city of poets), Halle an der Saale, Meißen, (yes, it's accessible by S-Bahn from Dresden), and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. See the historical plaque at Torgau an der Elbe where US troops pushing towards Leipzig linked up with the Soviets in 1945, thus cutting Nazi Germany in two.
At the Leipzig Hbf there is a bus among others at that bus station immediately outside the Hbf. that goes to Colditz. How close to the castle itself I don't know.
Thanks everyone. Worlitz looks interesting as do some of the others.
Am I correct in understanding that there is a single day regional rail ticket that covers all of Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Thuringen?
Eisenach might be on the far end, being 1 hour and 39 minutes on the limited stop IC train. Pretty town with a big market square, birth place of JS Bach, historic Wartburg Castle accessible by city bus.
"Am I correct in understanding that there is a single day regional rail ticket that covers all of Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Thuringen?"
Yes - here are the details: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/prices/germany-regional/saxony-anhalt-ticket.shtml
Note the restrictions: not good on weekdays before 9 AM (weekends any time) and not good on non-regional trains (ICE, IC, EC). It's a great deal.
