Leipzig or Dresden as base?

I would chose Dresden. The city itself seems more attractive also more sightseeing nearby.

Dresden is probably the better known of the two cities. But don't underestimate Leipzig! It has A LOT to offer. And it boasts Europe's largest train station. You definitely get great connections for day trips to other places. Dresden is a not as well connected.

Dresden has alot to offer,great museums,The Green Vault is one of the best in Europe and the Old Paddle Wheeler boats on the Elbe river,also Agustus The Strong Hunting Lodge as well as Meissen known for its China.We stayed at the Steinberger De Luxe in the old town square where the Church of Our Lady is located. Very good public transportation in town as well as trains to other towns in the area
Mike Shingle Springs,Ca

Both cities are pleasant. The Altstadt of Leipzig is much better preserved, but unlike Dresden Leipzig lacks real highlights. Dresden is beautifully situated on the banks of the Elbe river, Leipzigs city is divided from north to south by parks, gardens and forests. Dresdens museums are much(!) better. From both cities you can do day trips to nearby towns. In Leipzigs case Naumburg, Torgau, Wittenberg, Erfurt or Weimar, in Dresdens case Meissen, Pirna, Freiberg, Bautzen and Görlitz. Dresden is surrounded by vineyards (Radeubeul and Pillnitz), the vineyards near Leipzig (Unstrut valley) are a few kilometers away. If you want to walk in the mountains, Saxon Switzerand is 45 minutes away, while the Harz mountains are ~2h away from Leipzig (the latter offer wonderful towns full of half-timbered houses, like Quedlinburg).

Thanks, everybody. Sounds like the consensus is Dresden.

You don't mention any walking impediment, but I'd say that Dresden demands less walking than Leipzig (not counting on-foot museum time ... ). As others wrote, they are both fine cities with plenty of attractions and day-trips to from. They are also very different, so I would consider seeing both. Note that as attractive as Dresden is, much of it is (faithfully) reconstructed. And the trendy, East Village-y part of Dresden isn't walkable from the old town, but transit is good. I think Leipzig might be less expensive. It's an oversimplification, but I would describe Leipzig as a town of musical history and Dresden as a town of art history. But the Dresden Opera is very important, and modern Leipzig was crucial to the fall of the East German state. Don't miss some beautiful cemeteries, and the railway-gardens in Leipzig.

Historically Leipzig is a city of trading and printing. For centuries the city was the place of the biggest trade fair of Central Europe, and almost the entire printing industry of Germany was located there. These two industries shaped the city, and their influence is still visible today. In the late 19th century almost the entire old town was razed down and rebuilt to create more space for the trade fairs. That's why only the cellar of Germanys most famous restaurant, Auerbachs Keller, is preserved, while the building itself was removed in the early 20th century and the area was turned into the Mädlerpassage, a shopping mall.
The printing industry was located outside of the old town, in the so called "Graphische Viertel" (graphic quarter), which hosted 848 publishers, 113 music stores, 44 antiquarian shops, 201 bookbinderies and 189 print shops. Many famous publishers can be found on Leipzigs cemeteries, like Brockhaus, Reclam or Baedeker.

I know both cities pretty well. Both have their advantages but Dresden has got so much more to offer than Leipzig. You've got huge parks, you can walk along the Elbe river - if you want to all the way down to the Czech border... You can take steam boat rides on the river to the most beautiful castles and palaces... You've got the Luisenhof restaurant on top of the cable car overlooking the city and the river valley... And if you do want to day-trip Bautzen and Görlitz (both are must-sees in my eyes) are very, very close.