Self-Guided Walking Tour in Leipzig

Eleven stops on foot through Leipzig, from the Altes Rathaus on the Markt out to the 1813 battle monument and back to the Naschmarkt. This page gives you the full map, the walking time for every leg, real prices and opening hours for each stop, and shorter versions if you only have half a day.

11 Stops9.7 km~4 hours walkingHalf a day to a full day with stops
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Leipzig Walking Tour at a Glance

This route is built for anyone who wants Leipzig's real stories without a group or a fixed schedule. It links the two things the city is known for, Bach and the peaceful revolution of 1989, then ends where the old town eats and drinks. Every interior on the walk is optional: you can treat the whole thing as a free outdoor stroll and only pay for the museums and towers that genuinely pull you in.

StartOld City Hall (Altes Rathaus)
FinishNaschmarkt
Route typeA near-loop through the compact centre with one deliberate spur. Stops 1 to 5 cluster inside the medieval ring within a few hundred metres of each other, then the route swings south-east to the battle monument before doubling back north-west through the eastern museums, Augustusplatz and the churches, closing one minute from where you began.
Realistic timeWalking alone, the whole thing is under three hours on foot. With quick looks inside the churches and the outdoor squares it becomes a comfortable half-day of three to four hours. Add the Bach Museum, the Grassi and the battle monument and you have a full, satisfying day.
DifficultyEasy and flat overall, roughly 9.7km if you walk every leg. The old-town lanes around the Markt and Thomaskirche are cobblestone and uneven, so flat closed shoes help. The long spur out to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal is better done by tram than on foot, and the climb inside it is steep stone stairs.
Cost to followThe outdoor route costs nothing: every square, passage and church nave is free to enter. You only pay for what you choose inside. The Bach Museum is €14, the battle monument €12 including its museum and viewing platform, the town-hall tower €5, and the Nikolaikirche recorded commentary €3.
Best for:

Travellers who want Leipzig's Bach and 1989 stories on their own clock, walkers happy with a flat 9.7km, and anyone who prefers picking one or two museums over ticking every box.

The Route

Free Walking Tour Map of Leipzig

11 stops9.7 kmabout 4 hours
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The 11 stops along this route

  1. Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus) in Leipzig, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour
    1Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus)
  2. Mädlerpassage in Leipzig, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour
    2Mädlerpassage
  3. St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) in Leipzig, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour
    3St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche)
  4. Bach-Museum Leipzig in Leipzig, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour
    4Bach-Museum Leipzig
  5. Neues Rathaus in Leipzig, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour
    5Neues Rathaus
  6. Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal) in Leipzig, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour
    6Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal)
  7. GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts Leipzig (GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst Leipzig) in Leipzig, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour
    7GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts Leipzig (GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst Leipzig)
  8. Augustusplatz in Leipzig, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour
    8Augustusplatz
  9. St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche) in Leipzig, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour
    9St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche)
  10. Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig, stop 10 on the self-guided walking tour
    10Museum der bildenden Künste
  11. Naschmarkt in Leipzig, stop 11 on the self-guided walking tour
    11Naschmarkt
  12. That's the complete route.

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Your Leipzig Walking Tour, Stop by Stop

  1. 1

    Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus)

    Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus) in Leipzig, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour

    Start on the Markt with the long ochre facade of the Altes Rathaus filling the entire east side of the square. The tower sits off-centre, deliberately, and the whole thing reads as one of Germany's great Renaissance secular buildings, finished in the 1550s. The city moved its administration to the New Town Hall in 1905, so this one now holds the city history museum. The permanent exhibition is free and open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. Step inside even for ten minutes to see the festival hall upstairs. Skip the paid guided tour unless you are a history obsessive. On Tuesdays and Fridays the weekly market sets up right in front of you on the Markt, 9:00 to 17:00, which is the best free snack stop on the route. From the south-west corner of the square, duck into the covered passage that opens almost immediately on your left.

    Hours
    Mon: Closed | Tue-Sun: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
    Price
    Free (permanent exhibition); guided tours chargeable
  2. 2

    Mädlerpassage

    Mädlerpassage in Leipzig, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour

    The light changes the moment you step inside. Mädlerpassage is the grandest of Leipzig's covered shopping arcades, a glass-roofed corridor of marble and brass that the city's whole Passagen culture grew out of. Halfway along you reach the bronze figures of Faust and Mephisto by the stairs down to Auerbachs Keller, the cellar tavern Goethe wrote into Faust after drinking here as a student. Tradition says rubbing the foot of the Faust statue brings luck, so it gleams. The passage is free and runs Monday to Friday 10:00 to 19:00, Saturday until 18:00, closed Sundays, though the Auerbachs Keller restaurant opens daily. The restaurant is touristy and not cheap, so see the statues, photograph the cellar entrance, and move on unless you want the full Goethe lunch. Leave by the far end onto Grimmaische Strasse, turn right, and walk a couple of minutes west toward the church spire.

    Hours
    Mon-Fri: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM | Sat: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Sun: Closed (Auerbachs Keller restaurant open daily)
    Price
    Free
  3. 3

    St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche)

    St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) in Leipzig, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour

    The white Gothic gable and steep roof of the Thomaskirche rise ahead, and this is the one stop nobody should skip. Johann Sebastian Bach was cantor here from 1723 until his death in 1750, and his grave is set into the floor in front of the altar, usually marked by fresh flowers. The Thomanerchor, the boys' choir Bach once led, still sings here. Entry is free, open Monday to Thursday 10:00 to 18:00, shorter hours later in the week and on Sunday morning. Time your visit for a motet if you can: the Friday and Saturday performances by the choir are the real reason to come. The €3 guided church tour is good value if one is running. Stand at the grave, look up at the organ, then walk straight out the door and across the small square. The Bach Museum is the building directly facing you.

    Hours
    Mon-Thu: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Fri: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Sat: 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM, 4:30 – 6:00 PM | Sun: 11:30 AM – 5:30 PM
    Price
    Free; guided church tours €3
  4. 4

    Bach-Museum Leipzig

    Bach-Museum Leipzig in Leipzig, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour

    Across the Thomaskirchhof sits the Bosehaus, a merchant's house from Bach's own era, now the Bach Museum. This is the serious counterpart to the church you just left: original manuscripts, a treasury vault, and a listening room where you can sit and work through his music. There is an organ console you can play and a wall where you pick out individual instruments from a recording. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. Admission is €14 for adults, €9 reduced, free for under-18s, and free for everyone on the first Tuesday of the month, which is worth planning around. Give it an hour, more if you actually love the music. If Bach is just a name to you, the free church across the way may be enough and you can save the ticket. When you are done, head south down Burgstrasse toward the larger streets and the tall tower coming into view.

    Hours
    Mon: Closed | Tue-Sun: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
    Price
    €14 adults, €9 reduced, children under 18 free (free admission first Tuesday of each month)
  5. 5

    Neues Rathaus

    Neues Rathaus in Leipzig, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour

    The mood shifts from intimate to monumental. The Neues Rathaus is a vast stone pile finished in 1905 on the site of the old Pleissenburg castle, and its tower, at just under 115 metres, is the tallest town-hall tower in Germany. This is where Leipzig's mayor and administration actually work, so you walk into a functioning civic building rather than a museum. The interior is free to enter Monday to Thursday 7:00 to 18:00, Friday until 16:00, closed weekends. The tower tour costs €5 and gets you the best rooftop view over the old town, though tour times are limited so check before you count on it. Even from the street the scale is the point: stand back across the road to fit the tower in one frame. From here you face the longest leg of the day, the detour out to the battle monument, best done by tram from the nearby stop rather than on foot.

    Hours
    Mon-Thu: 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Fri: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Sat-Sun: Closed
    Price
    Free to enter; tower tours €5
  6. 6

    Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal)

    Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal) in Leipzig, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour

    Nothing prepares you for the size. The Völkerschlachtdenkmal heaves up out of the parkland southeast of the centre, a 91-metre wall of dark stone and brooding stone figures, the largest monument in Europe. It marks the 1813 Battle of the Nations, where the allied armies broke Napoleon, fought across these very fields with hundreds of thousands of men. Inside is a cavernous crypt and a Hall of Fame; the FORUM 1813 museum next door fills in the history. Open daily 10:00 to 18:00 April to October, until 16:00 November to March. Entry is €12 adults, €10 reduced, and that ticket covers the museum and the climb to the viewing platform. Take the stairs to the top for the long view back over Leipzig. This is the one detour worth making, about 3.8km from the ring, so use the tram rather than walking both ways. Head back toward the centre and aim for the Grassi complex on the eastern edge.

    Hours
    Apr–Oct: Daily 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Nov–Mar: Daily 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
    Price
    €12 adults, €10 reduced (includes FORUM 1813 museum)
  7. 7

    GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts Leipzig (GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst Leipzig)

    GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts Leipzig (GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst Leipzig) in Leipzig, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour

    Back near the ring, the Grassi is an Art-Deco brick-and-stone complex from the 1920s that holds three separate museums under one roof: applied arts, ethnography, and musical instruments. The applied-arts collection is among the oldest and most important of its kind in Germany. The musical-instruments museum pairs neatly with the Bach morning if you have the appetite for more. Open Tuesday 10:00 to 18:00, Wednesday until 20:00, Thursday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. The permanent exhibitions are free, special exhibitions vary, and there is a €3 deal on the first Wednesday of the month. The courtyard and stairwell are worth a look even if you do not go in. Pick one museum rather than trying all three; the building is bigger than it looks. From here it is a short walk west to the broad open square that anchors modern Leipzig.

    Hours
    Mon: Closed | Tue: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Wed: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Thu-Sun: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
    Price
    Free (permanent exhibitions); special exhibitions vary, €3 on first Wednesday of the month
  8. 8

    Augustusplatz

    Augustusplatz in Leipzig, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour

    Suddenly there is sky. Augustusplatz opens up at roughly 40,000 square metres, one of the largest city squares in Germany, ringed by three of Leipzig's cultural heavyweights: the Opera house at one end, the Gewandhaus concert hall at the other, and the spiky glass University tower in between. It is free, open all hours, and it is where the 1989 Monday Demonstrations gathered before they swelled into the protests that helped bring down the East German state. The square reads as resolutely modern after the medieval lanes, all post-war architecture and tram lines, which is exactly its character. The Gewandhaus foyer is free to step into on weekday late mornings and holds a small exhibition on the orchestra. There is no ticket to buy here, just space to cross and a sense of scale. Walk back toward the old town and the next church, the one where the revolution actually began.

    Hours
    Open 24 hours
    Price
    Free
  9. 9

    St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche)

    St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche) in Leipzig, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour

    From the outside the Nikolaikirche looks plain. Step inside and the columns flare into pale green palm-frond capitals and pink trim, an extraordinary Neoclassical interior hidden behind a sober Gothic shell. This is the oldest and largest church in the old town, and the more important of Leipzig's two great churches for recent history. From 1982 its Monday peace prayers grew week by week until, in autumn 1989, tens of thousands gathered outside and the candle-lit marches began that ended East Germany without a shot. Entry is free, open Monday to Friday 11:00 to 18:00, Saturday until 16:00, shorter on Sunday. The €3 audioguide is the best way to get the 1989 story straight, and a tower climb is €5. Stand under those green columns and let the room do its work. Then walk north a couple of minutes toward the glass cube on the far side of the lanes.

    Hours
    Mon-Fri: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Sat: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Sun: 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
    Price
    Free; audioguide €3, tower excursion €5
  10. 10

    Museum der bildenden Künste

    Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig, stop 10 on the self-guided walking tour

    A sheer glass cube rises out of the old streets on Katharinenstrasse, deliberately at odds with everything around it. This is the MdbK, Leipzig's main art museum, in a 2004 building with over 10,000 square metres of hanging space, one of the largest exhibition houses in the country. The collection runs from old masters through Caspar David Friedrich to the contemporary Leipzig School painters like Neo Rauch. The permanent collection is free, which makes this the easiest cultural stop of the day to justify. Open Tuesday 10:00 to 18:00, Wednesday from 12:00 to 20:00, Thursday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. Special exhibitions cost €8 adults, €4 reduced. The atrium with its full-height glass walls is worth walking through even on a tight schedule. Give the permanent floors an hour. From here it is a short walk back to the Markt and the small square tucked behind the Altes Rathaus.

    Hours
    Mon: Closed | Tue: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Wed: 12:00 – 8:00 PM | Thu-Sun: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
    Price
    Free (permanent collection); special exhibitions €8 adults, €4 reduced
    Website
    mdbk.de ↗
  11. 11

    Naschmarkt

    Naschmarkt in Leipzig, stop 11 on the self-guided walking tour

    The loop closes where it started. Naschmarkt is the small square pressed up against the back of the Altes Rathaus, once the fruit market that gave it its name, the word coming from the German for nibbling. Facing you is the Alte Handelsbörse, the old merchants' exchange from the 1680s, the finest Baroque building in Leipzig, with a statue of the young Goethe standing in front of it. The square is free and open at all hours. In the warmer months tables spill across it from the surrounding bars and cafes, and in December it becomes part of the Christmas market. This is the right place to stop walking and start sitting: grab a coffee or a beer at one of the terraces, look up at the Goethe statue, and let the day settle. You are one minute from where you began, with the whole old town behind you.

    Hours
    Open 24 hours
    Price
    Free

How Long Does This Walking Tour Really Take?

The ring portion of the walk, done at a steady pace with quick looks inside the churches, is a comfortable half-day of three to four hours. What stretches it is the museums and the spur: the Bach Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts each deserve a proper hour, the Grassi could eat another, and the tram out to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal plus the climb to the platform burns about two hours on its own. Do all eleven stops properly and it is a full day on foot.

Done at a steady pace with quick looks inside the churches, the ring portion is a comfortable half-day, roughly three to four hours. The thing that stretches it is the museums. The Bach Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts each deserve a proper hour, and the Grassi could eat another. Add the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and you are looking at a full day, because the tram out and back plus the climb to the platform burns about two hours on its own.

The natural break is at the end, on the Naschmarkt, where the terraces behind the Altes Rathaus are made for sitting with a coffee and the young-Goethe statue for company. If you need an earlier pause, the Gewandhaus foyer on Augustusplatz has a quiet bench and a free exhibition, and the weekly market on the Markt (Tuesday and Friday, 9:00 to 17:00) is the cheapest grab-and-go on the route.

Full Route, Shorter Walk or Two-Day Version?

You do not have to walk all of it. The eleven stops split cleanly into a tight central ring and one long spur to the battle monument, so there are three sensible ways to run the day depending on how much time you have and how far you want to travel from the centre.

Full route

All eleven stops

Stops 1 to 11, about 9.7km, a full day on foot (six to eight hours with the museums and the monument)

Everything: the Markt cluster, then the tram spur out to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and back, then the eastern museums, Augustusplatz and both revolution churches. Use the tram for the two long legs to and from the monument rather than walking them, and start by 10:00 so every interior is open as you arrive.

Compact centre

Ring only, monument skipped

Stops 1 to 5, then 7 to 11, cutting the monument spur, roughly 3.5km of walking, a tight half-day

Drop stop 6, the battle monument, and its two long tram legs of 4km and 3km. What is left is the entire medieval core plus the eastern museums and churches, all within short flat walks of each other. This is the version to pick if you only have an afternoon or do not want to leave the centre.

Two-day split

Bach day, then revolution day

Day one stops 1 to 5 (the Markt, Bach and the New Town Hall); day two stops 6 to 11 (the monument, museums and 1989 churches)

Split at the New Town Hall, stop 5. Day one stays inside the medieval ring around Bach and the two town halls, an easy morning. Day two starts with the tram out to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal, then works back through the Grassi, Augustusplatz, the Nikolaikirche and the art museum. This spreads the museum time so nothing feels rushed.

You can walk it in reverse, starting at the Naschmarkt and ending on the Markt, and the distances are identical. The given direction is recommended because it does the intimate Bach stops first while you are fresh, saves the monument spur for midday, and ends on the Naschmarkt terraces where sitting down with a coffee makes a natural close to the day.

Is This Leipzig Walking Tour Right for You?

Leipzig is one of the easiest German cities to do without a guide: the centre is compact, the streets are flat, and the stories are told inside the churches and museums by their own free or cheap recorded commentarys. Here is who this particular route suits and how to bend it if it does not quite fit.

A good fit if you…

  • Music travellers who want Bach's church, his grave and the Bach Museum in one morning
  • History-minded walkers drawn to the 1989 peaceful revolution and the 1813 battle monument
  • Anyone comfortable with a flat 9.7km day, or a shorter 3.5km ring if the monument is skipped
  • Budget travellers, since the whole outdoor route is free and you pay only for the museums you actually want

Adapt the route if you…

  • If you only have an afternoon, take the compact-centre version and skip the monument spur entirely
  • If cobblestones or long distances are hard on you, ride the tram between the ring and the monument and stick to the smooth squares
  • If Bach is just a name to you, see the free Thomaskirche and save the €14 Bach Museum ticket
  • If it rains, lean on the covered Mädlerpassage and the indoor stops: both churches, the Bach Museum, the Grassi and the free art museum

Tickets & Skip-the-Line in Leipzig

Most of this route is free open space, so there is very little you need to book ahead. Only a handful of stops charge admission, and none of them normally sell out. Here is what costs money, what it costs, and when each place is actually open.

Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus)The permanent city-history exhibition is free; only the guided tours are chargeable. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. No ticket needed to step inside. official ticket site ↗
St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche)Entry is free; the guided church tour is €3 when one is running. Open Monday to Thursday 10:00 to 18:00, Friday to 16:00, Saturday 10:00 to 13:30 and 16:30 to 18:00, Sunday 11:30 to 17:30. Time your visit for a Thomanerchor motet if you can. official ticket site ↗
Bach-Museum Leipzig€14 adults, €9 reduced, under-18s free, and free for everyone on the first Tuesday of the month, which is worth planning around. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. No timed slots needed; just turn up.
Neues RathausFree to enter Monday to Thursday 7:00 to 18:00, Friday to 16:00, closed weekends. The tower tour is €5 and gives the best rooftop view of the old town, but tour times are limited, so check before you count on it. official ticket site ↗
Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal)€12 adults, €10 reduced, and that one ticket covers the FORUM 1813 museum and the climb to the viewing platform. Open daily 10:00 to 18:00 April to October, and 10:00 to 16:00 November to March. official ticket site ↗
GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts Leipzig (GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst Leipzig)The permanent exhibitions are free; special exhibitions vary in price, with a €3 deal on the first Wednesday of the month. Open Tuesday 10:00 to 18:00, Wednesday to 20:00, Thursday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays.
St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche)Entry is free; the recorded commentary that tells the 1989 story straight is €3, and a tower excursion is €5. Open Monday to Friday 11:00 to 18:00, Saturday to 16:00, Sunday 11:30 to 14:30. official ticket site ↗
Museum der bildenden KünsteThe permanent collection is free, which makes it the easiest cultural stop to justify; special exhibitions cost €8 adults, €4 reduced. Open Tuesday 10:00 to 18:00, Wednesday 12:00 to 20:00, Thursday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays.
Everything elseThe remaining stops, the Mädlerpassage, Augustusplatz and the Naschmarkt, are free open spaces with nothing to book. The passage runs Monday to Friday 10:00 to 19:00 and Saturday to 18:00; the two squares are open around the clock.
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Tips for Walking in Leipzig

  • Reach the start at the Markt by tram or S-Bahn to Markt or Augustusplatz stop; both put you within two minutes of the Altes Rathaus. Start by 10:00 so the churches and museums are all open as you arrive at each.
  • The old-town lanes around the Markt and Thomaskirche are cobblestone and uneven, so wear flat closed shoes. The ring and the tram ride out to the monument are smooth, but the climb inside the Völkerschlachtdenkmal is steep stone stairs.
  • For restrooms, use the city history museum inside the Altes Rathaus (free, open Tue to Sun 10:00 to 18:00) near the start, or the Museum of Fine Arts near the end; both are clean and free with entry.
  • Cheapest reliable bite is the weekly market on the Markt on Tuesday and Friday, 9:00 to 17:00, for a Bratwurst or a slice of cake under €5. For a sit-down treat, Auerbachs Keller in the Mädlerpassage is the famous option but pricey, so go for the atmosphere, not the bill.
  • Best photo is the Völkerschlachtdenkmal: stand back at the reflecting pool on its north side and shoot the full monument with the water in the foreground in late-afternoon light. In the old town, frame the Faust and Mephisto bronzes in the Mädlerpassage with the glass roof above them.

Why Walk This Route?

Leipzig is built for walking, and it does not waste your time getting started. The medieval core sits inside a ring road that traces the old city walls, and almost everything you came to see is packed into the few hundred metres around the Markt. You can stand at the Old Town Hall and be at Bach's church in four minutes, at the square where the Berlin Wall started cracking in another six. There is no metro hop, no funicular, no neighbourhood you have to write off. This walk strings together the things that actually matter and skips the filler.

Why follow a route instead of wandering? Because Leipzig's two big stories, Bach and 1989, are spread across separate corners of the ring, and the order you hit them in changes the day. Do the music first, then the peaceful-revolution churches, then end where the city eats and drinks. This route does that. It also makes one deliberate detour out to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal, the giant 1813 battle monument, which sits 3.8km southeast and is the one stop worth leaving the ring for.

The whole loop runs about 9.7km. Drop the monument and the museums you are not in the mood for, and you have a tight half-day. Do all eleven stops properly and it is a full, satisfying day on foot.

Common Questions

Is Leipzig safe to walk around?

Yes, the old town and the ring are safe day and night and this whole route stays in well-trafficked areas. The main station and the eastern districts can feel rougher late at night, and the usual pickpocket caution applies in the crowded passages and on busy trams, but there are no scams targeting tourists on this walk. Keep your bag zipped on the tram out to the monument.

What if it rains during my Leipzig tour?

Leipzig handles rain better than most cities because the covered passages, the Mädlerpassage chief among them, let you cross the centre under glass. Lean into the indoor stops: the Bach Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts with its free permanent collection, the Grassi, and the interiors of both churches. The Völkerschlachtdenkmal is largely indoors too. You can do nearly the whole route barely getting wet.

What's the best time of day for this walking tour?

Start at 10:00. Everything opens around then, the churches and museums are quiet, and you reach the Völkerschlachtdenkmal with the best afternoon light on its west face. Aim to catch a Thomanerchor motet on Friday at 18:00 or Saturday at 15:00 if your dates allow, and end on the Naschmarkt terraces as the evening crowd arrives.

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