During the 18th Century, a wave of Francophilia swept across Europe. Suddenly, every monarch had to…read morehave their own version of Versatile. The former Prussian Prince, now King Friedrich II (Der Große Kurfürst, oder Alte Fritz) was no exception. He also btw, decreed the learning of French which was all the rage. According to historians, it also created a bit of controversy as well. In this environment, Sanssouci was built. Der Große had his architect, Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff design & build for him a small, but modest summer palace and vineyard in Potsdam. The front of the Schloss, with its elaborate tiers for the vines, is very impressive. You can also see it's distinctive golden rotundra from below. The Schloss itself is magnificent and yes, it is like a miniature Versatile. Tres Bon, und Beeindruckend!

Perfekte Potsdam Schloss- und Gartenanlage. Um das Schloss von innen zu sehen muss mann einen…read moreEintritt bezahlen. Review: 5+

The Park is directly behind the Sanssouci Sloss and near the parking lot…read more We came here mostly for Friedrich Der Große's summer place but, if you have time and the weather is kind, it's a very enjoyable and relaxing stroll.

For a city the size of Potsdam, the size of this park and the number of buildings on its grounds…read moreare impressive, clearly constructed centuries ago to be a playground for royalty. Sanssouci Palace was designed and built between 1944-47 for Frederick the Great of Prussia to be a summer palace, in a Rococo style and is rather small with only 10 rooms, more of a casual residence rather than a full-blown palace. The terraced gardens and fountains were modeled after Versailles with grape vines imported from France, with Frederick being a proponent of harmonizing art with nature. The extensive gardens and park grounds were built after the main palace was completed following a similar horticultural theme, entailing planting fruit trees and establishing nurseries, and building a number of smaller reception rooms, temples, decorative buildings, fountains, etc. Ironically even though fountains were built around the park, the systems only fully worked once hydraulic technology advancements allowed broader installation of functional water pumps across the park in the mid-19th century. Further expansion and development occurred under later rulers, when Charlottenhof Palace was built. The park itself is free to visit, though tickets need to be purchased for individual sites within (palaces, picture gallery, Orangerie) or together as a combo ticket--some buildings (including the castles) require timed entry so book in advance for best time selections. Options are available on the website or in person at the ticket counters in Schloß Sanssouci or at the info booths in the park. Walking from east to west, edge to edge of the park can take about 40 minutes walking straight across. However if you're walking around trying to see the various large and small sites, you could spend a full day within the park. The paths are paved, pretty flat, and disability friendly. Not all of the larger buildings have bathrooms so plan accordingly in advance. Sanssouci Palace is on the east side and Neues Palais is on the west side and it's easily ~25-30 mins to walk between the two. Charlottenhof and Orangerieschloß are respectively in the more south and north areas in the park.

The main train station in Potsdam is very convenient from a tourist's perspective--about a 45…read moreminute commute from Berlin's Hbf, it's also centrally located in relation to the city center, within several minutes by car or bus, or walkable within 25-30 min to the Dutch Quarter neighborhood depending on where you're headed. From the train station, connections to other modes of transportation are directly outside the station. You could take the N14 or N17 bus to a location about a 5 min walk from Park Sansoucci, and another 12 minutes to Schloß Sansoucci. Headed in a different, I took tram 96 to bus 603 that takes you to a bus stop that's a 5 minute walk to the entrance of Schloß Cecilienhof; this route takes about 35 minutes. Inside the station, there are plentiful retail and food options, no lack of things to keep you occupied if you are waiting for your train to arrive. The layout of the station is very straightforward, from the main entrance you go up a set of escalators and there's a walkway straight that leads to all platforms. Good thing is there's no lack of signs with train info. The interior of the station is also very clean. A good number of attractions and restaurants are located within a 15 minute walk of the station as well, including Museum Barberini, Filmmuseum Potsdam, St. Nikolaikirche Potsdam.

This is main railway station of Potsdam. It took you really close the the center city, there couple…read moretrains from or to Berlin will pass by here. Usually it's about 30 mins in between. The station itself beside trains station, it's also a super mall. You could find a lot different shops and restaurants here, even like Media Markt you also could find it here. It's really convenient. If you have to wait for your train, then you just hang around and do some shopping. In front of the station, there are tram stations and bus stations. There are so many different line here that allow you to travel with it all around the city Potsdam. If you already have the area C of Berlin ticket, the you don't have to buy other ticket here, but remember to check your ticket is that only one direction and couple times. If you got only one time, then you got to buy a new ticket when next time you take any public transportations again. I found the system quite fair though. From the railway station to the city center of Potsdam usually took around 4-5 mins by public transportations. If you come here to visit, that's actually save a lot time. So you could start at the city center, explore all the famous sightseeings here. Don't miss the beautiful Sanssouci castle and garden. And Potsdam itself is a very beautiful city as well. At the end, personally I like this station a lot, quite well-organized and clean. There are information stand and free map for people who needs help. And definitely it won't to be bored, even I have to wait here. Instead of just siting here, I could go to do some shopping or just check out some new books in the book shop. Fantastic!

A bit off the beaten path, this structure is an UNESCO world heritage site, originally built by…read morePrussian monarch Friedrich Wilhelm IV in the mid 19th century as a viewing platform of the surrounding area. The architecture has Roman and Greek influences and is reminiscent of an ancient Roman temple, with the immediate grounds laid out in an English garden format. During WWII the building fell into disrepair and the subsequently was renovated starting the mid-1990s to mid 2000. It is now open to the public via ticketed self-tour, timed tours (seasonal), and special events for both community and private functions. When I went on a Saturday morning the grounds were fairly empty, maybe a dozen or so other visitors. You could spend 20-30 min or more here. Tickets were €8 for a regular adult price, €6 if I recall correctly, including the discount if you have separately booked the Berlin Welcomecard or the Sansoucci+ package though the ticket is not included in that package. Bathrooms are available though parking is not, it's recommended to take public transportation and then walk. This can be anywhere from a 15-30 minute walk depending on where you're coming from. I came from the direction of Schloß Cecilienhof and that was about 25 minutes with about 10-15 minutes of uphill. Coming from the north or west the walk is shorter from the main road though still takes you along a path in the park/woods.

From the owner: Belvedere auf dem Pfingstberg - Potsdams schönste Aussicht…read more Der Pfingstberg im Norden Potsdams ist mit 76 Metern die höchste Erhebung der Stadt. Hier befindet sich das Pfingstbergensemble mit Potsdams schönster Aussicht, welches seit 1999 Teil der UNESCO-Welterbestätte Schlösser und Parks von Potsdam und Berlin ist. Neben dem bis 1863 nach Plänen König Friedrich Wilhelms IV. erbauten Aussichtsschloss Belvedere und dem 1800 nach Plänen Schinkels errichteten Pomonatempel ist auch die Parkanlage Peter Joseph Lennés dort zu finden. Nach dem II. Weltkrieg wegen der Nähe zur KGB-Zentrale gesperrt und verfallen, wurde das Ensemble von 1992 bis 2005 restauriert. Heute können Besucher dort viel "Kultur in der Natur" erleben, neben einer neuen zweisprachigen Ausstellung zur Geschichte, Hörführungen für Kinder und Erwachsene und Kunstausstellungen im Pomonatempel zum Beispiel auch samstags und sonntags (Mai-September) um 15 Uhr Kleinkunst. Der Neue Garten, das Schloss Cecilienhof und die russische Kolonie Alexandrowka sind nahe. Öffnungszeiten: April-Oktober: täglich, 10 bis 18 Uhr März, November: samstags und sonntags, 10 bis 16 Uhr Anfahrt: Tram 92 oder 96 bis Haltestelle "Puschkinallee" oder "Am Schragen" oder Bus 638 bis Haltestelle "Potsdam, Am Pfingstberg" bzw. Bus 603 bis "Höhenstraße" Parkplätze: am Volkspark Potsdam (ehemaliger BUGA-Park), erreichbar von der Nedlitzer Straße über Straße Esplanade und am Schloss Cecilienhof (erreichbar über Straße Am Neuen Garten)