Leipzig and Dresden

I would stay two days in each place. It's been a long time since I've been to Leipzig, but I really enjoyed Dresden when I visited there a few years ago.

Pam

It really depends on your age group and your interest. The cities are quite different from each other. From Dresden you can visit Swiss Saxony and should definitely reserve a full day for the river cruise to that area. From Dresden you can also daytrip to either Görlitz or Zittau and actually both are quite worthwhile. Leipzig is more modern and can be seen as the Frankfurt of the East (while Dresden is called the Florence of the North).

I'm a bit partial to Leipzig. My aunt has been living there all her life and we visited regularly throughout my childhood. I went back 6 months ago and was sad that we only had 2 days to spend there. The city has changed tremendously since the famous Monday demonstrations took place in 1989. The history of the city is once again shining!

And the people of Leipzig don't really like being compared to Frankfurt (Main) and prefer to call it their "little Paris" as Goethe did or "Venice of the North" - especially since you can take a gondola along the canals once again in summer time.

I'd recommend to coordinate your schedule with the calender of events at the Gewandhaus and the Thomas Church (where Bach worked for 27 years and the famous Thomaner Choir is performing to this day). And double check to see if there's something on at the opera in Dresden. And then make a decision which nights to stay in which city.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions on Leipzig and Dresden. They were very useful. I am so hoping to hear music, especially in Leipzig. Happy travels.

Annelies,

If you have the time, spend 2 full days in both Dresden and Leipzig. I first saw Dresden in 1992 as part of a tour from Berlin...the Frauenkirche area was still a heap of rubble. I have been back extensively in 2009 and 2010. Dresden has got to be Germany's most beautiful city, at least as a Grossstadt. Although I have visited Leipzig, I don't know it as well as I do Dresden. But I'm going back next summer to see more of Leipzig. As point out above, both places are famous and renown culturally and historically.

See the huge monument dedicated to the victory of the Allies over Napoleon, the Voelkerschlachtdenkmal, for the Battle of Leipzig, when they caught him in a concentric battle. The small museum is also at the monument...the scaffolding was still on the monument when I saw this site again at the end of May 2010. You can reach the site, Voelkerschlachtdenkmal, by taking the streetcar across from the train station, which is a marvel in and of itself.

Dresden has a classical music festival in May of each year. I attended some concerts there last year, and it was great. While next year's program has not been announced yet, you can check out the festival's website at http://www.musikfestspiele.com/cms/

When tickets do go on sale, you can buy them online. Earlier is always better than later, as most of the programs usually sell out.