Potsdam

The single-storey yellow palace sits above vineyard terraces, and the view down the steps is as much the point as the rooms inside. Entry is tied to a fixed time slot, and inside you walk through the king's original 18th-century apartments and the oval Marble Hall; a free multilingual SANSSOUCI app (also in children's versions) serves as the guide. Tickets per day are limited, so book online for a morning slot in season, and note that bags cannot be left at the entrance and there is no luggage storage. From Potsdam Hauptbahnhof take bus 695 (X15 adds weekend service April-October) to the stop Potsdam, Schloss Sanssouci; the alternative is tram 91 to Luisenplatz and a walk down the avenue to the Grünes Gitter entrance.

Single ticket adult €14; reduced €10. sanssouci+ day ticket (all Potsdam palaces open that day, not special exhibitions) adult €22, reduced €17; sanssouci+ Family (2 adults + up to 4 children) €49; free with annual pass (official site, 2026)

The round pavilion is one of the most photographed spots in the park: gilded figures in Europeans' idea of Chinese dress stand around the outside, and inside a painted ceiling shows an imagined Chinese party while porcelain sits on wall consoles. It is small, so the visit is short and the exterior is the real highlight - you can enjoy that for free even when the house is closed. It is about 660 m south-west of Sanssouci Palace, an easy walk; the nearest stop is Potsdam, Charlottenhof Bhf/Geschw.-Scholl-Str. (about 1.3 km on foot).

Single ticket adult €5; reduced €4; sanssouci+ day ticket €22 / €17; free with annual pass (official site, 2026)

Built in the 1760s to show off Prussian power, the palace is far grander than Sanssouci. The grand tour takes you through the Grotto Hall with its shell-covered walls, the Marble Hall, the theatre and the newly restored Lower Royal Suite; Prince Henry's Apartment is a separate ticket in the summer season. Admission is by timed slot, from April to October you can tour on your own or with a guide, but from November to March only guided tours run (German, with translations available). It is a long walk from Sanssouci Palace, so take bus 605 (towards Golm) to Potsdam, Neues Palais or the free park shuttle in season.

Grand tour adult €14; reduced €10. Prince Henry's Apartment €8 / €6. Combined €16 / €14. sanssouci+ day ticket €22 / €17 (official site, 2026)

Built as an orangery in the 1740s and turned into a guest palace in the 1770s, the building holds elaborate banquet rooms: the Jasper Hall is lined with precious stones and the Ovid Gallery has gilded wall reliefs of scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The guest apartments have inlaid wood panelling and a Green Lacquer Cabinet. It sits right next to the Historic Windmill, so it combines well with the palace visit; the nearest stops are Potsdam, Schloss Sanssouci and Potsdam, Orangerie/Botanischer Garten.

Single ticket adult €8; reduced €6; sanssouci+ day ticket €22 / €17; sanssouci+ Family €49 (official site, 2026)

The church was modelled on early-Christian basilicas in Rome and has a 42 m campanile you see across the park. Inside, look for the 13th-century Venetian-Byzantine mosaic in the apse, the Christ statue after Thorvaldsen and the tombs of Frederick William IV and his wife beneath the nave; the cloister and the adjoining Marly Garden are pleasant to stroll through. Entry is by donation and the church closes during services, events and major holidays, so check the posted times - it is close to the Grünes Gitter entrance, reached from the Hauptbahnhof by tram 91 to Luisenplatz and a short walk.

Free; admission by donation (official site)

Crown prince Frederick William, later king, had this small villa built as a private summer retreat, and its architecture and garden are meant to read as one. Inside you see rooms in bright colours and the corner room with blue-and-white stripes that looks like a tent. Visits run as tours (German, with information in other languages), it is only open in the summer months, and it lies in the quiet southern part of the park - the nearest stop is Potsdam, Schloss Charlottenhof.

Single ticket adult €8; reduced €6; sanssouci+ day ticket €22 / €17 (official site, 2026)

The church is free to enter and has a Schinkel interior on a Greek-cross plan; on many days an organ matinée runs from about 11:15 to noon. For the view, climb the 223 steps (no lift) to the walkway 42 m up, which circles the dome and has panels naming the buildings below. Next door, the Landtag sits in the rebuilt City Palace; its courtyard is open daily 8:00–20:00, while the foyer and exhibitions are weekdays only, with a photo ID needed on plenary days; no public roof terrace is advertised. From the Hauptbahnhof it is about a 10-minute walk (roughly 700 m to the Landtag), or take tram 91, 92, 93, 96, 98 or 99 to Alter Markt/Landtag.

Church free; dome climb adult €7, child 6–14 €3 (church website, 2026)

Soldier-king Frederick William I had these brick houses built in the 18th century to attract Dutch craftsmen, and the result is the largest closed ensemble of Dutch-style architecture outside the Netherlands. You simply stroll the lanes around Mittelstraße: unplastered brick walls, white joints, curved gables, plus craft shops, cafés and a place serving Dutch pancakes and poffertjes. It is free and always open; shops mostly keep normal retail hours, so visit in the daytime. From the Hauptbahnhof take tram 91, 92, 93, 96 or 99 to Alter Markt/Landtag, then walk roughly 0.8 km north (distance from the Nikolaikirche).

Free (open street ensemble)

Frederick the Great had the gate built after the Seven Years' War, with two different faces: the outer side towards Sanssouci by Unger and the town side by Gontard, both inspired by Rome's Arch of Constantine. Luisenplatz in front has a fountain, trees and café terraces, and hosts wine festivals and a Christmas market; Brandenburger Straße is the promenade that runs from the gate into the centre. All of it is free and open at any time. It lies about 1.5 km west of the Nikolaikirche, so take a tram to Alter Markt/Landtag and continue on foot or by local transport; check a journey planner for the best connection from the Hauptbahnhof.

Free

Built in 1841–43 to look like a mosque, the building hid an 81-horsepower steam engine (Borsig) that pumped water to the Sanssouci fountains, shooting the great fountain 38 m high. Visits are only by guided tour of about half an hour through the decorated rooms, on a few fixed days: in 2026 the first Sunday in October (4 Oct) and 31 Oct, 10:00–17:30; in other years, first Sundays May–October. Tickets are sold only at the site's cash desk; get off at the Feuerbachstraße stop (the exact line from the Hauptbahnhof isn't given by the sources).

Adult €5; reduced €4; combo SANSSOUCI+ €22/€17; family pack €49 (SPSG, 2026)

Nauener Tor (1755, by Büring after a sketch by Frederick II) is one of the earliest neo-Gothic buildings on the continent; it was rebuilt, restored in 1996/97 and is ringed by cafés, with a market on the adjacent square on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Jägertor (1733, at roughly 52.4027, 13.0527) is the only gate kept in its original form, with hunting figures on its decoration. Both are just exteriors, free and visible at any time, best combined with the Dutch Quarter, which borders the Nauener Tor; to reach it, take a tram to Alter Markt/Landtag and walk about 0.8 km north.

Free

Alexandrowka is a Russian colony in northern Potsdam, recognised as UNESCO World Heritage, whose timber houses in Russian style stand in their own gardens. The Museum Alexandrowka (house no. 2) shows how the colony was built and lived in, with panels, objects and two 30-minute films, and there is a café in the former stable and a garden planted with old fruit varieties. Up on the Kapellenberg stands the Alexander Nevsky Church (1829), still used by an Orthodox congregation; the page gives no visiting hours for the church, so you may only see it from outside. It is a short walk from the Pfingstberg and Neuer Garten, so it fits into a northern-Potsdam day. From Hauptbahnhof take bus 604, 609 or 629, or tram 92 or 96, to the stop Am Schragen.

Colony free to walk; museum adult €3.50, reduced €3.00, under 14 free with parents (official site, 2026)

The bridge over the Havel between Potsdam and Berlin was where East and West swapped spies in 1962, 1985 and 1986, which gave it the name Bridge of Spies. Villa Schöningen, an Italian-style villa from 1843 right at the foot of the bridge on the Potsdam side, shows changing contemporary art exhibitions, has a sculpture garden and a café, and began life as a Cold War museum about the bridge. Treat this as a short stop: look at the bridge, walk the lakeside Schwanenallee and, if the villa is open, step in for an exhibition. The Berlin side with Glienicke Palace is a separate place. Bus 316 stops at Glienicker Brücke (check VBB for the connection from Hauptbahnhof).

The bridge is free. Villa: adult €9; reduced €7; under 18 free; bridge and garden walk free (Potsdam city listing)

The mill is a 1990s reconstruction of the 18th-century windmill after the original burned in 1945, and it stands next to the palace. Inside, a small exhibition shows how grain was milled in Brandenburg, bread baked from Sanssouci flour is sold, and a gallery runs round the outside. The visitor centre here also has the toilets and the same-day palace tickets, so most visitors come through even if they skip the exhibition.

Adult €5; reduced €3 (children from 7, students, disabled visitors); family ticket €15; included in sanssouci+ (official site, 2026)

Frederick the Great hung his collection in this long hall east of the palace, with gilded ornament, yellow and white marble floors and stucco allegories of the arts and sciences overhead. The best-known picture is Caravaggio's Doubting Thomas, and you also find five Van Dycks and seven Rubens works among nearly 180 paintings. It is a good, quiet, rain-proof stop after the palace terraces; the visit is self-guided with the free SANSSOUCI app.

Single ticket adult €8; reduced €6; sanssouci+ day ticket €22 / €17; Potsdam Family ticket €30 (official site, 2026)

The palace is a reconstruction modelled on Rome's Palazzo Barberini and hosts changing international art exhibitions. Entry is by time slot, and a free app audioguide is offered in several languages. Bags and jackets must go into the lockers or coat check, and the café is on site. Tram 91, 92, 93, 96 or 99 from the Hauptbahnhof reaches Alter Markt/Landtag, right at the museum; walking takes roughly 10–15 minutes.

Adult €16 Mon/Wed–Fri, €18 Sat/Sun; reduced €10; under 18 free (free slot must still be booked); students under 25 free Thu from 14:00 (official site, 2026)

The museum sits in the Old Town Hall (1753–55) on Alter Markt and keeps a collection of around 270,000 objects, with a focus on 19th–21st century art, photography and everyday culture. The permanent exhibition "Potsdam. Eine Stadt macht Geschichte" is free, while special exhibitions cost €5. It is on the same square as the Nikolaikirche: tram 91, 92, 93, 96 or 99 from the Hauptbahnhof to Alter Markt/Landtag.

Permanent exhibition free; special exhibitions adult €5, reduced €3; under 18 free (tourist board, 2026)

The permanent show, "Traumfabrik: 100 Jahre Film in Babelsberg", covers a century of film-making at the nearby studios, and special exhibitions rotate. The museum also runs a cinema (from 17:00 Tue–Sun) with silent films with live music and children's films at 15:00 on Saturdays and Sundays (€5). From the Hauptbahnhof it is about 900 m: tram 91, 92, 93 or 96 (or bus 605, 631, 650, 694) to Alter Markt/Landtag, right next to the Landtag.

Museum adult €12; reduced €8; under 18 free; cinema €8/€5, children's films €5 (official site, 2026)

This 1970s modernist building shows art from the former GDR from the Hasso Plattner collection, with rotating exhibitions; until 7 Feb 2027 the main show is on the artist Annemirl Bauer. There is also a café-bar that you can use without a museum ticket, plus concerts and workshops. It is a 5-minute walk from the Hauptbahnhof: follow signs towards Friedrich-Engels-Straße, cross Heinrich-Mann-Allee and climb the stairs past the blu swimming pool.

Adult €10; reduced €8; under 18 free; free on the last Sunday of the month; combo with Museum Barberini €20/€12 (official site, 2026)

This early neoclassical palace stands on the Heiliger See inside the park laid out for Friedrich Wilhelm II. The visit is a guided tour in German (other languages via the free SANSSOUCI app) through rooms such as the staircase hall, the grotto room, the oval hall and the oriental cabinet fitted out like a tent with a divan; a new multimedia exhibition in the south wing can be seen without waiting. Strollers cannot be taken into the rooms. It is a longish walk from the nearest tram stop (about 700 m from Birkenstr./Alleestr.), so combine it with a stroll through the park. Getting there: stop Potsdam, Birkenstr./Alleestr., then about 700 m on foot.

Adult €8; reduced €6; Sanssouci+ day ticket €22 (reduced €17); family ticket €49 (official site, 2026)

The Einstein Tower sits in the Wissenschaftspark Albert Einstein and is still an active solar telescope, which is why the inside is rarely open. Exterior viewing is possible in daylight any day, but you must register at the entrance of the science park. Interior tours are run by Urania Potsdam together with the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics on the first Saturday of the month (listed 3 October, 7 November and 5 December 2026), about 90 minutes, €12 (€10 reduced), up to 15 people, booking by phone (0331 291741) or email only; the later dates show a waiting list. There is no on-site parking; bus 691 runs on weekdays only, and there are no toilets for visitors at weekends.

Exterior free; interior tour €12, reduced €10 (Urania Potsdam, 2026)

Displays cover native animals across four floors, from tiny insects to a brown bear, and an aquarium holds around 40 local fish species. Free rallies for children are offered at the entrance, and there are bookable programmes. From the Hauptbahnhof, take tram 91, 92, 93, 96, 98 or 99 to Alter Markt/Landtag, or bus 695 or 605 to the Naturkundemuseum stop. Entry is cheap, so it makes an easy rainy-day stop with kids.

Adult €4; reduced €3; children 6–18 €2; family €10 (2 adults + up to 4 children) (official site, 2026)

Built for the 2001 garden show on the former Bornstedter Feld military grounds, the hall holds about 20,000 tropical plants, a butterfly house, an aquarium area and animals such as iguanas, snakes, frogs, praying mantises and free-running geckos. It is warm and dry inside whatever the weather, so it makes a good rainy-day stop with children. The step-free path and lifts let you do the whole circuit with a stroller; there is a café and a restaurant on site. Tickets can be bought online, and the butterfly house closes its doors slightly earlier than the hall. From Hauptbahnhof take tram 96 to the stop Volkspark (right in front), or tram 92 to Campus Fachhochschule and walk 300 m.

Adult €20; reduced €16; child 6–17 €13; child 3–5 €9; under 3 free; family (2 adults + up to 3 children) €42 (box office, official site, 2026; online slightly cheaper plus fee)

Next to the world's oldest large-scale film studio, the park has over 20 film-themed attractions: the stunt show in the Vulkan arena, a medieval town built for a film, a Janosch Panama boat ride, 4D cinemas, a Jim Knopf playground and a 'Prinz Eisenherz' restaurant dressed with props. Plan 4–5 hours and bring your own food if you like (glass bottles are not allowed); leashed dogs are welcome outdoors. The season runs roughly from spring to early November, with a daily calendar on the official site and some days closed, so check the date before going. In the evenings of 9 October–7 November 2026 the park turns into a scary 'Horror Nights' evening event (Fri–Sat 18:30–23:30) that is not meant for small children; dogs are not allowed then. From Hauptbahnhof take bus 601 or 690 to the stop Filmpark, or the S-Bahn to Babelsberg station and the same buses; address Großbeerenstraße 200.

Adult €25 online, €30 at the gate; child 4–16 €18 online, €22 at the gate; under 4 free; family €84 online, €93 at the gate (official site, 2026)

The park mixes formal French-style gardens near the terraces with Lenné's 19th-century landscape gardening, and the main avenue is dead straight for about 2 km, so a walk from Sanssouci Palace to the Neues Palais is easy to follow but long - allow generous time each way, or use the free shuttle between Grünes Gitter and the Neues Palais (April-October, daily 11:00-17:30). The park itself costs nothing, and the palaces, Chinese House and other pavilions scattered through it are separate paid visits. Wear comfortable shoes, bring water, and stay on the paths - the official site warns of falling branches after drought damage. The palaces and pavilions in the park are separate stops in the planner - this stop is the walk itself: the terraces, the Great Fountain and the main avenue.

Free (park entry is free; palaces inside need their own tickets)

The garden lies in the north of the park on former fruit and vegetable terraces, and has about 3,000 m2 of tropical and subtropical greenhouses: palm house, epiphytes, useful plants, cacti, a Victoria house with giant water lilies, and orchids and ferns. Outdoors you find the Paradiesgarten, an alpine garden and a heath garden, and a Persius atrium pavilion from 1845/46. The garden is cheap and good in bad weather, since the greenhouses are warm; the stop is Potsdam, Orangerie/Botanischer Garten. The outdoor areas are free and the show greenhouses cost only a couple of euros.

Show greenhouses adult €2; reduced €1; under 6 free; open-air areas free (listing, 2026)

The hill was built as a water reservoir for the fountains in the 1740s and then dressed up with a Doric rotunda, columns, a stone pyramid and a ruined wall as romantic fake antiquity. The Norman Tower on top gives a 360 degree view over the park, but it is open only during special events and exhibitions - the hill itself is free and always reachable inside the park hours. It is a nice, quiet detour north of the palace; the nearest stop is Potsdam, Schloss Sanssouci.

Free (hill and ruins); Norman Tower admission not published, open only during events

The belvedere is a two-storey rotunda with balconies and a dome, built to recall Nero's palace, with a stucco-marble upper hall and a reconstructed ceiling painting; it burned out in 1945 and was rebuilt with a foundation's help. It has no regular hours: it opens only during events and exhibitions (the official page listed 3 October 2026, 10:00-17:00), so check the German events page before you go. Outside it is a quiet corner of the park, close to the Drachenhaus; the nearest stop is Potsdam, Drachenhaus.

Admission price not published on the official page (check the event details)

The island between two arms of the Havel is laid out as a demonstration garden begun in 1937 by Karl Foerster, with over a thousand kinds of perennials and more than 250 iris varieties in the water garden. Along the paths you pass sculptures, and there is an island café and a children's playground, which makes it an easy break with kids. It is free and open daily from 7:00 until dusk; the entrance is at Lange Brücke, close to the Hauptbahnhof and the boat pier.

Free

The cruise starts and ends at the Weisse Flotte pier at Lange Brücke 6, right beside the Hauptbahnhof, and runs 1.5 hours past Park and Schloss Babelsberg, through the Glienicke Bridge to the Jungfernsee. Departures run through the day (on a 3 October timetable from 10:00 to 16:00), with commentary also in English and food on board. The company operates March to December; check the day's timetable, as departures vary. Wheelchair users should confirm the ship in advance: MS Sanssouci has a lift to the upper deck.

From €23 adult; family tickets Mon–Fri €57.50 (parents + up to 5 children) or €34.50 (one parent + up to 3 children) (Weisse Flotte, 2026)

The tower is open with a multimedia exhibition on war and peace, dictatorship and democracy, linked to the church's history. A lift or 365 steps take you up to the platform at 57 m for a view over the old town, which closes at 17:30. It stands on Breite Straße, the same street as the Filmmuseum; from the Hauptbahnhof take a tram to Alter Markt/Landtag and walk along Breite Straße. Note: the foundation says it will change its operations from 2027, so check the hours before a later visit.

Adult €12; reduced €7 (7–17, students, disabled); under 6 free; family ticket €25 (official site, 2026)

Laid out from 1787 in the English landscape style, the 100-hectare park is the quiet northern counterpart to Sanssouci: open meadows, lake views and shady paths rather than formal terraces. Look for the Gothic Library at the southern end (you can only peek through the ground-floor windows), the small pyramid that served as an ice store, and the lakeshore path past the Marmorpalais. Cecilienhof, the palace of the 1945 Potsdam Conference, is currently closed for renovation, but the grounds are open and you can still walk around the outside. Allow a relaxed half day; there are several tram and bus stops around the edge, so you can cross the park in one direction and leave from another. From Hauptbahnhof use the Potsdam public transport to the stops Schloss Cecilienhof, Gotische Bibliothek, Birkenstr./Alleestr. or Glumestr. (line numbers: check VBB).

Free (official site, 2026)

Friedrich Wilhelm IV had this Italian-inspired viewing palace built on the Pfingstberg by 1863, and its towers give one of the widest views over Potsdam, the lakes and the surrounding parks. Next to it the Lenné-designed grounds invite a walk, and Schinkel's tiny Pomona temple (1801) hosts changing art exhibitions on weekend afternoons only. The tower access is by several flights of stairs, so go on a clear day; the hilltop is also a good place for sunset in summer when it is open until 19:00 at weekends. From Hauptbahnhof take tram 92 or 96 to Puschkinallee or Am Schragen, or bus 603 to Höhenstraße, then walk up.

Adult €8; reduced €6; under 7 free (official site, 2026)

Designed by Lenné and then Prince Pückler-Muskau, the hillside park runs down to the Havel and has terraces, a rose garden, artificial waterfalls, a column on the highest point and the neo-Gothic Babelsberg Palace as its centre. The palace interior is not open for normal visits (only for special events), so count on seeing it from outside. Other buildings to look for are the Flatowturm tower, the Gerichtslaube, the little palace and the steam-engine house; from the upper paths there are views across the Havel to Glienicke Bridge. The park is large and hilly, so wear sturdy shoes; some path sections between the Havelhaus and the Kleines Schloss are closed for construction until late November 2026, with alternative routes signposted. Nearest stops are Potsdam, Schloss Babelsberg and Potsdam, Alt Nowawes (check VBB for the line from Hauptbahnhof).

Free (official site, 2026)

Built in 1853–56 with a medieval gate tower in Frankfurt as its model, the Flatowturm is a lookout with a wall-walk style walkway at the top. The view takes in the Havel, the Belvedere on the Pfingstberg and the Marmorpalais. It is open only on Saturdays and Sundays from May to October (plus 3 and 31 October), 10:00–17:30, and closed in winter. The nearest stops are Potsdam, Schloss Babelsberg and Alt Nowawes, followed by roughly a 1.5 km walk through the park, so plan it together with the park rather than as a separate trip.

Adult €5; reduced €4; Sanssouci+ day ticket €22 (official site, 2026)

Built in 1770-72 as a house for the royal vintner, the pagoda is named for the gilded dragons on its curved roof corners. Today it serves seasonal food, cakes and German and international wines in two historic indoor rooms (about 90 seats) and three sun terraces (about 160 seats). It sits on Maulbeerallee between the Paradiesgarten and the Belvedere Klausberg, a pleasant coffee stop in the west of the park; the stop is Potsdam, Drachenhaus. Opening days and hours are not published online - phone 0331 505 38 08 to check and to reserve.

Restaurant - prices not published; main courses and cakes paid on site