After the Magdeburg Marathon: Leipzig
The Route: Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof → Leipzig Hauptbahnhof → Leipzig/Halle Airport Logistics: Direct Intercity train, no change. A short hop that still opens up onward travel by air. Marathon Month: October Duration: 1 night
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof ──(~60 mins direct train)──> Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
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Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) ◄──(~15 mins regional/S-Bahn)──┘
The Magdeburg Marathon's finish inside the Messe complex leaves runners close to Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof by tram, which makes Leipzig an easy first move rather than a special detour. October in Leipzig coincides with the new university term, which fills the city's bars and restaurants with a working-week rhythm rather than the tourist calendar, and the weather at this point in the year tends toward mild, changeable days better suited to a city with plenty of indoor options than to a long walking tour. A direct Intercity service covers the route in around an hour; regional trains take closer to 90 minutes with a change but are covered by the Deutschlandticket if keeping cost down matters more than speed.
Night One: Leipzig
Leipzig grew rich on trade fairs and printing rather than any single monument, and that history still shapes the old town's layout: a dense grid of arcades and passages, the Mädlerpassage among them, threading between grander civic buildings. The Promenadenring, a flat, paved pedestrian park that traces the line of the city's former medieval fortifications around the old town, is the obvious recovery walk. It runs for roughly 3.5 km with almost no gradient, plenty of benches, and enough green space to make a slow lap feel like a proper outing rather than a forced errand.
The Nikolaikirche, the church at the centre of the 1989 Monday demonstrations that helped bring down the East German government, sits inside the ring and is free to enter, with a light, plain interior that rewards a short, unhurried visit. The Völkerschlachtdenkmal, a monument commemorating the 1813 Battle of the Nations and one of the largest of its kind in Europe, stands further out toward the south of the city; reaching the viewing gallery near its top involves a genuine staircase, so treat it as an optional add for a second day rather than a certainty on the evening of arrival. Entry runs to a modest fee, and prices vary, so check the current rate before visiting.
Augustusplatz itself, one of the largest squares in Germany, sits at the eastern edge of the ring, flanked by the Leipzig Opera on one side and the Gewandhaus concert hall on the other. Neither building demands a ticket to appreciate from the outside, and the square's open paving makes it an easy add to a slow evening walk without extending the route by much. The Markt, the old town's main square a short walk further in, holds the Renaissance Altes Rathaus and gives a natural point to break the walk for coffee or a rest.
Where to stay: Motel One Leipzig-Augustusplatz sits directly on the square of the same name, close to the opera house and the Gewandhaus concert hall, and suits a one-night stop where minimal onward walking matters. Steigenberger Grandhotel Handelshof, in a converted 19th-century trading house near the Markt, is the more characterful option for a runner willing to pay a little more for a central, historic setting.
Where to eat: Auerbachs Keller, tucked into the Mädlerpassage and famous for its appearance in Goethe's Faust, serves traditional Saxon dishes in a genuinely old cellar setting and works well for a first proper meal after the race. Bayerischer Bahnhof, built into part of the city's oldest surviving railway station building, brews its own Gose, a sour, lightly salted wheat beer specific to Leipzig, alongside a straightforward food menu, and makes a good lower-key alternative.
Getting to Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ)
Leipzig/Halle Airport sits directly on the regional rail network, with regular trains from Leipzig Hauptbahnhof covering the journey in around 15 minutes. Runners flying onward rather than travelling further by rail should check the current timetable the night before, since departures run at intervals rather than continuously through the day.