Leipzig nightlife is smaller than Berlin's, cheaper at the door and spread over a handful of districts. Connewitz and the Karli in the south have the alternative clubs and most of the bars, Plagwitz and Lindenau in the west have Täubchenthal, Elipamanoke and the Felsenkeller, and the old-town Drallewatsch is for a drink first. The Distillery, the city's oldest techno club, reopened on the Alte Messe site in 2025. Parties start between 22:00 and 23:30, most doors cost €10–20, and many rooms are run by collectives with awareness teams. Worth knowing: after the day timetable ends, night buses and trams leave Hauptbahnhof together at 01:11, 02:22 and 03:33.
Ranked by popularity. Tap a card for opening hours, door tips, getting there and tickets.
For the drinks before and after. Hours, prices and the best nights are on each page.
The scene runs on collectives, not on velvet ropes. Many of the rooms that matter are run by associations or small teams: Conne Island since 1991, Werk 2 in an old factory in Connewitz, the Moritzbastei inside a 16th-century bastion. Expect awareness teams, house rules about consent and, at Elipamanoke, a sticker over your phone camera.
It is smaller than it was. The Institut fuer Zukunft closed at the end of 2024 and Mjut a year earlier, both under rising costs. The Distillery, founded in 1992, lost its old home in 2023 and reopened at the Alte Messe in August 2025. Fewer rooms means you plan around who is playing, not around which club is open.
The west and the south are two different nights. Plagwitz and Lindenau have Täubchenthal, Elipamanoke and the Felsenkeller a few tram stops apart. Connewitz and the Karli have Conne Island, Werk 2, Absturz and most of the bars. Pick one side per night and use the centre for a drink before or after.
The Distillery's two floors at the Alte Messe, Elipamanoke's Danley-equipped rooms in Plagwitz and the club nights at Absturz on the Feinkost site.
Conne Island, Werk 2, Täubchenthal and the Felsenkeller book touring bands, and smaller rooms such as Noch Besser Leben and Horns Erben fill the gaps.
Doors of €10–20, an €11 community ticket at Elipamanoke and student discounts at the Moritzbastei.
Irish pubs on the Karli and Barfußgäßchen, with an English quiz at Noels Ballroom on Tuesdays and a free quiz at Kildare City Pub on Mondays.
Connewitz is the left-wing, self-run end of the city, and the Wave-Gotik-Treffen, the world's largest Gothic festival, began at Conne Island in 1992.
Semester-opening parties at the Moritzbastei and Täubchenthal mark the start of October, and both are strictly 18+.
Not for you if you want glamour, bottle service or a dress code to dress up for. Leipzig's best rooms are run for the music and the crowd, and a big commercial club scene is hard to find.
Pubs open. Noels Ballroom from 18:00, the naTo pub and Horns Erben from 18:30.
Concerts start at the Felsenkeller, Werk 2 and Täubchenthal, usually with doors at 19:00.
The Karli and Barfußgäßchen are at their busiest, and the first party doors open.
Club nights begin at Absturz, the Moritzbastei and the bigger rooms.
First night departure from Hauptbahnhof. The next ones leave at 02:22 and 03:33.
Most clubs wind down between 05:00 and 06:00.
The 1992 techno club reopened in a trade-fair hall at the Alte Messe in August 2025. Saturday is the main night; Friday leans towards bass and drum and bass.
Conne Island and Werk 2 are both near the Connewitzer Kreuz, and Ilses Erika is close by for an indie disco afterwards.
A house-made cocktail at Last Word, a gig at Naumanns in the 1890 Felsenkeller, then techno at Elipamanoke in Plagwitz.
The Moritzbastei was dug out by students in the 1970s and opened in 1982. Parties start around 23:00 and are strictly 18+.
Over 30 bars and restaurants in the old-town lanes between Richard-Wagner-Platz and Burgplatz, with Kildare City Pub and Bellini's side by side on Barfußgäßchen.
Killiwilly's hundred whiskies, the naTo pub next door and live music at Horns Erben on Arndtstraße, then Absturz from 23:00.
Karl-Liebknecht-Straße is lined with pubs and bars: Killiwilly, the naTo, Noels Ballroom, and Horns Erben on Arndtstraße. Absturz keeps the club nights going on the Feinkost site.
Conne Island, Werk 2 and Ilses Erika within a short walk of the Connewitzer Kreuz. Left-wing, self-run and the place for punk, hip hop and indie nights.
Former industrial streets with Täubchenthal for concerts and hip hop nights, Elipamanoke for techno and Last Word for cocktails.
The 1890 Felsenkeller with Naumanns, and Noch Besser Leben's living-room gigs on the corner of Merseburger Straße.
The Drallewatsch lanes for pubs and cocktails, and the Moritzbastei for student parties under the old city wall.
The old trade-fair grounds in the south of the city, now home to the Distillery's two floors.
Parties are 18+ and you need photo ID. The Moritzbastei refuses parental consent forms, and some doors do not accept a driving licence as ID, so bring a passport or national ID card. There is no dress code to speak of, but there are house rules: Elipamanoke tapes your phone camera, bans sports jerseys and large bags and runs a no-nipple policy for everyone, and the Felsenkeller does not let backpacks into events. Ask before you touch anyone on the floor.
Most club nights cost €10–20. Under the City at Absturz asks €13–15, pay what you can. Elipamanoke sells youth presale tickets at €11–16 to anyone 23 or under and keeps €11 community tickets at the door. Electric Ballroom at Noels Ballroom is €5 at the door, and the jazz session at Horns Erben is free. Students get discounts at the Moritzbastei.
At night, LVB's Nightliner buses N1–N9 and the night trams leave Hauptbahnhof together at 01:11, 02:22 and 03:33, with extra departures at 01:45 and 03:00 at weekends and on public holidays. Night tram N17 runs every night between Lausen and Paunsdorf-Nord via Hauptbahnhof, and N10 runs to Lößnig at weekends. A single ticket for the city zone costs €3.80 and is valid for one hour.
| Club entry | €10–20 |
| Beer (0.4 l, pub) | €4.50–5.50 |
| Cocktail | €6.50–15 |
| Cloakroom | €1–2 |
| Single tram or night bus ticket | €3.80 |
| Taxi across town | €15–25 |
| Döner at 04:00 | €6–8 |
| Hostel bed, weekend | €25–40 |
A pub on the Karli, an €11 community ticket, three drinks and the night bus home.
A cocktail in Plagwitz, a €15 club door, four drinks, the cloakroom and a night tram.
Dinner, a gig, a headline night at the Distillery, drinks until five and a taxi.
That is when the night buses and trams leave Hauptbahnhof together. At weekends there are extra runs at 01:45 and 03:00.
The Felsenkeller does not allow bags into events, Elipamanoke bans large bags, and the Moritzbastei makes you check jackets and bags on full nights.
Elipamanoke keeps a limited number of €11 tickets at the door for anyone who cannot afford the normal price. No questions asked.
Parties are 18+, and some doors refuse driving licences and health insurance cards as ID.
Phone cameras are taped at the door of Elipamanoke, and the club asks you to leave the sticker on all night.
Older maps still show Kurt-Eisner-Straße. The club is now at Eggebrechtstraße 2 on the Alte Messe.
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is the largest railway station in Europe by floor area, and it is where the night buses and trams meet.
The Moritzbastei was built in 1551–1553. Students excavated it from the 1970s and opened it as a cultural venue in 1982.
The Wave-Gotik-Treffen began at Conne Island in 1992 with around 1,500 people. It is now the world's largest Gothic festival.
The Drallewatsch was set up by local landlords in 1996. Readers of the Leipziger Volkszeitung chose the name, a Saxon phrase for going out on the town.
There is no fixed closing hour. Absturz lists 23:00–06:00 on Friday and 23:00–05:00 on Saturday, and most club nights wind down between 05:00 and 06:00.
The Südvorstadt along the Karli for bars, Connewitz for alternative clubs and gigs, and Plagwitz and Lindenau for Täubchenthal, Elipamanoke and the Felsenkeller. The Distillery is on its own at the Alte Messe.
For techno, the Distillery and Elipamanoke. For gigs and parties, Conne Island, Werk 2 and Täubchenthal. For a student night, the Moritzbastei.
Usually €10–20 at the door. Elipamanoke's youth presale runs €11–16 for anyone 23 or under, and Under the City at Absturz asks €13–15, pay what you can.
Night buses and trams leave Hauptbahnhof together at 01:11, 02:22 and 03:33, with extra runs at 01:45 and 03:00 at weekends. A single ticket costs €3.80.
Not in the usual sense. The rules are about behaviour: no filming, no sports jerseys or big bags at Elipamanoke, no backpacks at the Felsenkeller, and consent first on the dancefloor.
See which clubs and bars are open right now, who is playing and where to get tickets. Live in four cities, with more on the way.
