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The New Palace at the end of a long avenue in Sanssouci Park
Red-brick gabled houses with white joints and shutters in Potsdam's Dutch Quarter
The richly decorated Lower Concert Room in the New Palace
The rebuilt Barberini palace on Potsdam's Alter Markt, home of the Museum Barberini

Things to do in Potsdam: 9 experiences

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Photo: Romzig, CC0

Holländisches Viertel, Mittelstrasse

Wander the red-brick lanes of Potsdam's Dutch Quarter

Check dates and prices

Photo: Angel Miklashevsky, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sanssouci Park, west end

Tour Frederick the Great's New Palace at the end of Sanssouci Park

Tours in Potsdam

Photo: Richard Mortel, CC BY 2.0

Alter Markt

See Monet and the Impressionists at the Museum Barberini

Photo: Oursana, CC0

Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, sits on the Havel lakes just south-west of Berlin. The Prussian kings made it their garrison town and summer residence, and filled its parks with palaces that are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Between them lie a compact centre, a Dutch quarter, a Russian village and a bridge where the Cold War exchanged its spies.

Sanssouci Palace and its terraced gardens are on the Germany page; this page adds the rest of the city.

9 things to do in Potsdam

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Red-brick gabled houses with white joints and shutters in Potsdam's Dutch Quarter

Wander the red-brick lanes of Potsdam's Dutch Quarter

Holländisches Viertel, Mittelstrasse

1 to 2 hoursGo alone or with a tour

About 150 brick houses built for Dutch craftsmen in the 18th century, now full of small shops, cafes and bars.

Check dates and pricesPrivate two-hour walk through Potsdam and Sanssouci
Been there?
The richly decorated Lower Concert Room in the New Palace

Tour Frederick the Great's New Palace at the end of Sanssouci Park

Sanssouci Park, west end

2 hours with the walk through the parkTimed entry

A huge Baroque palace built after the Seven Years' War to show that Prussia was still rich, with some of Europe's most lavish rooms.

Tours in Potsdam
Been there?
The rebuilt Barberini palace on Potsdam's Alter Markt, home of the Museum Barberini

See Monet and the Impressionists at the Museum Barberini

Alter Markt

2 hoursBook ahead

An art museum on the Old Market whose permanent Hasso Plattner Collection of Impressionism is always on view, beside changing exhibitions.

Been there?
A carved wooden house of the Alexandrowka Russian colony among its gardens

Walk among the wooden houses of the Alexandrowka Russian colony

Russian Colony, north of the centre

1 hourNo booking needed

Thirteen Russian-style log houses built for a Prussian regiment's Russian singers, set in orchards on the north edge of Potsdam.

Been there?
The green steel trusses of the Glienicke Bridge seen from the Potsdam side

Cross the Glienicke Bridge, where East and West swapped spies

Glienicke Bridge and the Havel shore

1 to 1.5 hours with the border trailFree

The steel bridge between Potsdam and Berlin that was closed by the Wall and used for Cold War spy and prisoner exchanges.

Been there?
The neo-Gothic Babelsberg Palace above its terraced gardens

Walk Babelsberg Park above the Havel to its neo-Gothic palace

Babelsberg, on the Havel

1.5 to 2 hoursFree

A landscape park on the Havel shore by Lenné and Pückler, with a neo-Gothic palace and views to the Glienicke Bridge.

Been there?
The twin towers and arcades of the Belvedere on the Pfingstberg

Climb the Belvedere towers on the Pfingstberg for Potsdam's best view

Pfingstberg, north of the centre

1 to 1.5 hoursNo booking needed

An Italian-style hilltop palace whose viewing towers look out over Potsdam, with Schinkel's little Pomona Temple in its garden.

Been there?
The cell block of the former prison at the Lindenstrasse memorial

Visit the Lindenstrasse memorial, a prison under two dictatorships

Lindenstrasse 54, city centre

1.5 hoursNo booking needed

A former prison in central Potsdam that served Nazi terror justice and later became the Stasi's remand prison.

Been there?
Sanssouci Palace at the top of its vineyard terraces in Potsdam

Climb the vineyard terraces to Sanssouci Palace

Potsdam

Timed entry

Arrive at Frederick the Great's summer palace the right way, on foot up the vineyard terraces he planned it on in 1743.

Tours in Potsdam
Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Potsdam yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Potsdam is an easy trip from Berlin: the S-Bahn and regional trains run from central Berlin to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof. Potsdam lies in fare zone C of the Berlin network, so buy an ABC ticket or use the Deutschlandticket.

  • Getting around

    Trams and buses run from the Hauptbahnhof to the centre, Sanssouci Park and the New Palace. The Dutch Quarter, Alexandrowka and the Pfingstberg are within walking distance of each other north of the centre, and a bike helps between the parks.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, two days: one for Sanssouci Park and the New Palace, one for the centre, the Dutch Quarter, Alexandrowka and the Pfingstberg, ending at the Glienicke Bridge. As a day trip from Berlin, pick Sanssouci and the Dutch Quarter.

  • When to go

    April to October is the main season: palaces open without guided tours, and the Pfingstberg and the Alexandrowka museum keep summer hours. In winter the New Palace opens only on guided tours in German, and several smaller sights close.

  • Where to base yourself

    Most visitors stay in Berlin and come for the day. To sleep here, the centre around the Dutch Quarter and Brandenburger Strasse puts restaurants and the parks within walking distance.

Questions travellers ask

Is Potsdam worth a day trip from Berlin?

Yes. The S-Bahn and regional trains make it easy, and a day covers Sanssouci, the Dutch Quarter and one more sight. The New Palace, Babelsberg and the Glienicke Bridge are worth a second day.

Do I need to book the New Palace?

Yes, it is visited on fixed admission times and daily numbers are limited, so book online. From November to March it is shown only on guided tours in German.

Can I visit Cecilienhof, where the Potsdam Conference took place?

Not at the moment. The palace foundation says Cecilienhof is closed until further notice for restoration work.

Where is the best view of Potsdam?

From the towers of the Belvedere on the Pfingstberg, open from March to October, or from the Glienicke Bridge across the Havel.

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