Leipzig, verdict by verdict

Leipzig is Berlin's cheaper, calmer cousin, with a claim on German history that few cities match: Bach's choir at St. Thomas Church, Napoleon at the Battle of Nations Monument, and the 1989 Monday demonstrations that helped end East Germany. The old town wraps arcades and courtyards around the Markt, and the cafes and bookshops are priced for locals rather than visitors.

The catch is energy. Leipzig is quieter than Berlin and winds down earlier, so nightlife-first trips belong there instead; the famous monument is a tram ride out rather than next door, and anyone expecting a pretty riverside old town or Bavarian architecture should recalibrate. Substance over scene is the deal on offer.

One to two days covers the flat, walkable, friendly centre: the old-town arcades, the Bach Museum and the Gewandhaus for music travelers, and the Panometer panorama in a converted gasworks, the surprise most visitors never hear about. A third day reaches Dresden or Weimar by train. May to September brings warm streets and festival season, December the market around the Markt, and the City Tunnel puts the Hauptbahnhof minutes from the centre.