Potsdam in 4 days

Sanssouci Palace (Schloss Sanssouci) about 1 hour and 30 minutes

Frederick the Great's small rococo summer palace on top of vineyard terraces, visited on a timed-entry tour.

Sanssouci Park (Park Sanssouci) about 1 hour · heart of the city

A free, roughly 300-hectare royal park around the palaces, with a 2 km main avenue from the old obelisk to the Neues Palais.

Chinese House (Chinesisches Haus) about 30 minutes

A small gilded rococo pavilion in the park, ringed by life-size golden figures, built in the fashion for chinoiserie.

New Palace (Neues Palais) about 1 hour and 30 minutes

Frederick the Great's huge showpiece palace at the western end of the park, with the Grotto Hall, Marble Gallery and a palace theatre.

Brandenburg Gate, Luisenplatz and Brandenburger Straße about 45 minutes

Potsdam's own triumphal-arch gate (1770/71) closes the Brandenburger Straße promenade at leafy Luisenplatz.

Dutch Quarter (Holländisches Viertel) about 1 hour · heart of the city

About 150 red-brick gabled houses built for Dutch craftsmen, now full of small shops, cafés and galleries.

St. Nikolaikirche and Alter Markt (with the Landtag in the rebuilt City Palace) about 45 minutes

Schinkel's domed church dominates Potsdam's old market square, with a 42 m viewing walkway around the dome.

Museum Barberini about 1 hour and 30 minutes

Art museum in a rebuilt Italian-style palace on Alter Markt, with international temporary exhibitions.

Potsdam Museum – Forum for Art and History (Potsdam Museum – Forum für Kunst und Geschichte) about 1 hour

City-history museum in the Baroque Old Town Hall; the permanent exhibition on Potsdam's story is free.

Russian Colony Alexandrowka (Russische Kolonie Alexandrowka) about 1 hour

A UNESCO-listed colony of Russian-style log houses from the 1820s, with a small museum and an Orthodox church on the hill.

Belvedere on the Pfingstberg (Belvedere auf dem Pfingstberg) about 1 hour and 30 minutes

Italian-style hilltop belvedere with towers and a panorama over Potsdam's palaces and lakes, plus the small Pomona temple.

Neuer Garten (New Garden) about 2 hours and 15 minutes

A big, free landscape park on the Heiliger See and Jungfernsee, with the Gothic Library, an ice-house pyramid and two palaces.

Marmorpalais (Marble Palace) about 1 hour

Early neoclassical lakeside palace in Neuer Garten with richly decorated rooms and a Turkish-style tent room.

Babelsberg Park (Park Babelsberg) about 2 hours and 15 minutes

A free 124-hectare UNESCO landscape park on the Havel, with a neo-Gothic palace, waterfalls and views of Glienicke Bridge.

Filmpark Babelsberg about 4 hours and 30 minutes

Theme park at the historic film studios with stunt shows, original sets, 4D cinemas and a Jim Knopf playground.