Night life

A prime venue for Leipzig visitors looking for action in the evenings and also in search of a little nostalgia is the Moritzbastei, a youth and student club extending three storeys underground. These fortifications at the foot of the University tower were excavated in 1974 - 76 by students from the University in their spare time and turned into a club. It now comprises several vaults and rooms, and hosts a wide spectrum of activities ranging from concerts to exhibitions. Even the roof is used in the summer - for theatre performances, concerts and films shows. Every autumn the Moritzbastei is used for the Leipzig Jazz Festival, which enjoys an outstanding reputation in the international jazz community.

The Market Square is an attractive backdrop for open-air events in the summer. A host of temporary restaurants and bars with their own unique atmosphere contribute to making the square the city's cultural heart during concerts and Classic Open.

Head south from the city centre, and you're bound to find somewhere just to your liking. As well as an attractive array of shops, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse has acquired about 30 restaurants and bars in recent years, including some especially popular with the in crowd.
Keep going and you'll reach the busy junction known as Connewitzer Kreuz, the home of Kulturfabrik Werk II, which now belongs to Leipzig City Council and is used as an event centre. The listed disused factory buildings there show-case jazz concerts, children's revues and dances amidst a unique atmosphere.

Leipzig's own "theatre land" offers a symbiosis of theatre and fashionable pubs and is another popular place to go in the evening - not just among theatre-goers.

Rock concerts, discos and other events for youngsters are held regularly at clubs and event centres in almost every borough of the city.

The Krystallpalast variety theatre is located in the centre of the city at Magazingasse 4. The musical revues, which can be enjoyed at close quarters there bring together music, theatre, dance and entertainment. They hark back to the roaring twenties, and do full credit to Leipzig's reputation as a "Little Paris". Leipzig contains a broad selection of satirical revue bars and small theatres. The two oldest ones, Pfeffermühle and academixer, have recently been joined by Leipziger Funzel and SanftWut. Another popular venue is Schaubühne Lindenfels on Karl-Heine-Strasse, which offers a fascinating blend of theatre, cinema, cabaret, food and drink.

Every year in October, the Lachmesse comedy festival attracts comedians and theatre troupes from all over Germany and even abroad to Leipzig, and has now become the largest international event of its kind. Later on in the same month, film-makers and fans from all over the world meet up at the International Leipzig Festival of Documentary and Animated Film. Featuring hundreds of films and also hosting workshops and the like, the festival has been firmly inscribed on the film sector's calendar ever since it began back in 1957.

In November and May every year, Leipzig hosts Europe's biggest pub festival - Honky Tonk. Over 100 bands perform at almost as many venues, ranging from fashionable pubs to top restaurants.