Leipzig

The vibe & who it suits

Leipzig is the city that keeps outgrowing its own reputation: Bach wrote at Thomaskirche, peaceful protesters gathered here in 1989 to help bring down the Wall, and today former cotton mills at the Spinnerei house galleries instead of looms. It's cheaper and scruffier than Berlin but running the same current — students, artists and a serious techno scene fill converted industrial spaces along the canals. The pace is unhurried enough that you can cycle from Baroque church to graffiti-covered courtyard in twenty minutes flat.