# Potsdam A day trip from Berlin by train: Sanssouci Palace and its park, the Neues Palais, the Dutch Quarter and a boat on the Havel. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/germany/brandenburg/potsdam · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Potsdam is the capital of Brandenburg and was the summer residence of the Prussian kings: a city of palaces and gardens on the banks of the Havel, adjoining the south-west of Berlin. It is the day trip from Berlin that is best done by train: half an hour and you are at the station, and from there everything is covered on foot, by tram or by boat. Its palaces and parks are a World Heritage Site, together with those of Berlin. ## What to see in Potsdam in a day Sanssouci Palace. The summer palace of Frederick the Great, small and rococo, at the top of six curved vineyard terraces. The €14 ticket comes with a fixed time slot and sells out: buy it online before you go. Closed on Mondays. Sanssouci Park. Go down the terraces and follow the main avenue west, among fountains and statues, to the Neues Palais, the great baroque palace with its shell-covered grotto hall. If you are going into both, the €22 sanssouci+ ticket works out better. The Dutch Quarter. In the afternoon, return to the centre along the pedestrian street and walk the four blocks of red-brick houses built between 1733 and 1742 for Dutch craftsmen. Shops, cafés and galleries. With more time, the palaces boat tour, an hour and a half on the Havel, or a walk to the Glienicke Bridge, where spies were exchanged during the Cold War. Cecilienhof Palace, site of the 1945 Potsdam Conference, is closed for building work with no reopening date. ## How do you get there from Berlin? By train, the RE1 regional from Berlin Hauptbahnhof takes about 25 minutes to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof; the S7 S-Bahn takes longer but stops at many Berlin stations. You need an ABC ticket, because Potsdam is in zone C. From the station, take the tram to the centre or the park. By car, it is about 35 kilometres by motorway or via the Wannsee road and the Glienicke Bridge. In the centre, park in a garage and forget about the car. From BER airport, without going through Berlin: the RB22 regional goes straight to Potsdam every hour. ## How much time do I need? One day covers Sanssouci, the walk through the park and the Dutch Quarter. With a night, you add the Neues Palais, the boat and the Neuer Garten without rushing, and you see the park first thing, before the groups from Berlin arrive. ## Where to eat and sleep The Café Heider, from 1878, next to the Nauen Gate, is open every day with hot food and cakes from its own bakery. The Drachenhaus is a café in a pagoda from 1770 inside the park. The Meierei brews its own beer beside the lake, in the Neuer Garten. To sleep, the Hotel am Luisenplatz is at the park gate and accepts dogs, and the Hotel Brandenburger Tor, on the pedestrian street, has parking. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Werder (Havel) (a 8.7 km), Berlin (a 26.6 km), Brandenburg an der Havel (a 34.3 km), Neuruppin (a 60.9 km) ## Qué hacer - **Sanssouci Palace and Its Vineyard Terraces** (1 h · All ages · Desde 14 € per person, with entry time): What it is Sanssouci is the summer palace that Frederick the Great had built at the top of a hill in Potsdam, above six curved terraces covered in vines. It is small, of a single storey, and inside it is pure rococo. Below begins the great park that bears its name. Opening times and tickets From April to October it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:30; in November and December, from 10:00 to 16:30. On Mondays it is closed. Entry costs €14 (€10 reduced) and comes with a fixed time; the sanssouci+ ticket, at €22, is valid for all the open palaces in Potsdam that day, and there is a family one at €49 for two adults and up to four children. Places per day are limited: buy online. Otherwise, the historic windmill visitor centre sells that day's tickets from half an hour before opening. The visit You go round on your own with the free SANSSOUCI app, which has an audio guide in Spanish. Bring your own headphones: they do not lend them. - **Neues Palais and the Grotto Hall** (1 h 30 · Adults and teenagers · Desde 14 € per person): What it is At the other end of the park, about two kilometres' walk from Sanssouci Palace, Frederick the Great built the Neues Palais after the Seven Years' War: an enormous palace, to show off. The main visit takes in the grotto hall, covered in shells and minerals, the marble hall and the royal rooms. Opening times and tickets From April to October, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:30; from January to March, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 16:30; in November and December it changes and opens Wednesday to Monday from 10:00 to 16:30, closing on Tuesdays. The main visit costs €14 (€10 reduced); it is included in the €22 sanssouci+ ticket. Tickets are limited: buy online. - **Walk through Sanssouci Park, from the Palace to the Neues Palais** (2 h · 5 km · All ages · Independent walk): What it is Sanssouci Park links Potsdam's palaces in a walk of gardens, fountains, statues and pavilions. The main avenue runs straight from Sanssouci Palace to the Neues Palais, about two and a half kilometres, and on either side appear the Chinese House, with its golden figures, the picture gallery and the greenhouses. How to do it Start at the historic windmill, next to Sanssouci Palace, where the visitor centre is. Go down the vineyard terraces to the great fountain, follow the avenue west to the Neues Palais and come back by another path. For a coffee or a cake, the Drachenhaus, a pagoda from 1770 high in the park. - **Potsdam's Dutch Quarter** (45 min · All ages · Free): What it is Four blocks of red-brick houses with gables, in the centre of Potsdam, which King Frederick William I had built between 1733 and 1742 to attract Dutch craftsmen. They were built by the master builder Jan Bouman, from Amsterdam: there are 134 houses, divided by Mittelstraße and Benkertstraße. How to see it Enter through the Nauen Gate and walk along Mittelstraße, the street with the most shops, cafés and galleries. It is the mid-morning or afternoon walk between the palaces; ten minutes on foot from the entrance to Sanssouci park along Brandenburger Straße. - **Boat Tour of the Palaces on the Havel** (1 h 30 · All ages · Desde 23 € per person): What it is Potsdam is surrounded by water: the Havel opens out here into lakes. The palaces tour leaves from the Lange Brücke harbour and in an hour and a half passes the Babelsberg park and palace, goes under the Glienicke Bridge, the one with the spy exchanges, and enters Lake Jungfernsee. How it works The boat company Schifffahrt in Potsdam sells tickets at its ticket office at Lange Brücke 6, ten minutes' walk from the station, and on its website. It costs from €23 for adults. For families there is a €57.50 ticket (the parents and up to five children aged 14 or under), valid on weekdays and on the 10:00 departure at weekends. - **Glienicke Bridge, the Spies' Bridge** (30 min · All ages · Free): What it is An iron bridge from 1907 over the Havel, on the road from Berlin to Potsdam. Down the middle ran the border between the GDR and West Berlin, and agent exchanges of the Cold War took place here; the last on 11 February 1986. Today you cross it on foot from one side to the other, with the lake on either side. How to get there From central Potsdam, by tram towards the Glienicker Brücke, or on foot through the Neuer Garten, the park beside the Heiliger See. Cecilienhof Palace, where the Potsdam conference was held in 1945, is in that park, but it is now closed for building work with no reopening date. ## Dónde comer - **Café Heider** (Café, Potsdam, €€). Qué pedir: the cake of the day in the afternoon; at midday, the seasonal hot food - **Drachenhaus** (Café, Potsdam, €€). Qué pedir: cake and coffee on the terrace; at midday, the seasonal dish - **Gasthausbrauerei Meierei im Neuen Garten** (Restaurant, Potsdam, €€). Qué pedir: the Meierei Hell with a Berliner Boulette or the Thursday pork knuckle ## Car-free: Potsdam without a Car Potsdam is the easiest day trip from Berlin without a car: half an hour by train, and everything else on foot, by tram or by boat. Sanssouci Park is covered on foot. Presupuesto orientativo: 70–160 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir without a car - **Hotel Brandenburger Tor** (Hotel): At the entrance to the centre The Hotel Brandenburger Tor is a four-star boutique hotel at number 1 Brandenburger Straße, Potsdam's pedestrian street, next to the city's Brandenburg Gate. From here you walk to Sanssouci Park, the Dutch Quarter and the restaurants in the centre. The rooms It has superior rooms, luxury rooms and suites. Breakfast is served in the hotel. How to get there and park If you come by car, the hotel has parking in its courtyard, which is unusual in the centre. Without a car, from the main station of Potsdam it is about 20 minutes on foot, or a tram to Luisenplatz, a step away. - **Hotel am Luisenplatz** (Hotel): At the park gate The Hotel am Luisenplatz is on Luisenplatz, next to the town-side entrance to Sanssouci Park: you leave the hotel and in a few minutes you are on the park's avenues. Potsdam's pedestrian street begins on the same square. The rooms It has single and double rooms, palace doubles, suites, family rooms for four and apartments. Buffet breakfast is served in the Das Wiener restaurant next door, at Luisenplatz 4, and depending on the rate is extra. It accepts animals in standard rooms and apartments, for €15 per animal per day. How to get there and park Check-in is from 15:00 to 21:00 and check-out until 11:00. If you come by car, the supervised public Contipark garage is opposite, paid. Without a car, take the tram from the main station to Luisenplatz. ### Servicios - **Potsdam Hauptbahnhof**: Potsdam's main station: RE1 regional and S7 S-Bahn from Berlin, RB22 regional from BER airport, and trams to the centre and Sanssouci. ## By plane: Fly to Berlin and Take the Train to Potsdam For Potsdam you fly to Berlin: BER airport has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities. You do not need to go through central Berlin: the RB22 regional goes direct from the airport to Potsdam every hour and continues to Park Sanssouci station. From Berlin, by train, it is 25 minutes. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Hotel Brandenburger Tor** (Hotel): At the entrance to the centre The Hotel Brandenburger Tor is a four-star boutique hotel at number 1 Brandenburger Straße, Potsdam's pedestrian street, next to the city's Brandenburg Gate. From here you walk to Sanssouci Park, the Dutch Quarter and the restaurants in the centre. The rooms It has superior rooms, luxury rooms and suites. Breakfast is served in the hotel. How to get there and park If you come by car, the hotel has parking in its courtyard, which is unusual in the centre. Without a car, from the main station of Potsdam it is about 20 minutes on foot, or a tram to Luisenplatz, a step away. - **Hotel am Luisenplatz** (Hotel): At the park gate The Hotel am Luisenplatz is on Luisenplatz, next to the town-side entrance to Sanssouci Park: you leave the hotel and in a few minutes you are on the park's avenues. Potsdam's pedestrian street begins on the same square. The rooms It has single and double rooms, palace doubles, suites, family rooms for four and apartments. Buffet breakfast is served in the Das Wiener restaurant next door, at Luisenplatz 4, and depending on the rate is extra. It accepts animals in standard rooms and apartments, for €15 per animal per day. How to get there and park Check-in is from 15:00 to 21:00 and check-out until 11:00. If you come by car, the supervised public Contipark garage is opposite, paid. Without a car, take the tram from the main station to Luisenplatz. ### Servicios - **Potsdam Hauptbahnhof**: Potsdam's main station: RE1 regional and S7 S-Bahn from Berlin, RB22 regional from BER airport, and trams to the centre and Sanssouci. ## By car: Potsdam by Car From Berlin you reach Potsdam in less than an hour by car, but in the city the car is a nuisance: leave it in the hotel car park or in a garage and get around on foot. It makes sense if you then continue to the Spreewald or the rest of Brandenburg. Presupuesto orientativo: 80–170 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Hotel Brandenburger Tor** (Hotel): At the entrance to the centre The Hotel Brandenburger Tor is a four-star boutique hotel at number 1 Brandenburger Straße, Potsdam's pedestrian street, next to the city's Brandenburg Gate. From here you walk to Sanssouci Park, the Dutch Quarter and the restaurants in the centre. The rooms It has superior rooms, luxury rooms and suites. Breakfast is served in the hotel. How to get there and park If you come by car, the hotel has parking in its courtyard, which is unusual in the centre. Without a car, from the main station of Potsdam it is about 20 minutes on foot, or a tram to Luisenplatz, a step away. - **Hotel am Luisenplatz** (Hotel): At the park gate The Hotel am Luisenplatz is on Luisenplatz, next to the town-side entrance to Sanssouci Park: you leave the hotel and in a few minutes you are on the park's avenues. Potsdam's pedestrian street begins on the same square. The rooms It has single and double rooms, palace doubles, suites, family rooms for four and apartments. Buffet breakfast is served in the Das Wiener restaurant next door, at Luisenplatz 4, and depending on the rate is extra. It accepts animals in standard rooms and apartments, for €15 per animal per day. How to get there and park Check-in is from 15:00 to 21:00 and check-out until 11:00. If you come by car, the supervised public Contipark garage is opposite, paid. Without a car, take the tram from the main station to Luisenplatz. ## As a family: Potsdam with Children Potsdam works very well with children if you ration the palaces: one a day, and the rest park, boat and cake. Everything is close and flat, except the Sanssouci terraces. ### What works best The palaces boat tour, an hour and a half on the Havel The walk through Sanssouci Park, with fountains and the Chinese House The Dutch Quarter, with shops and ice cream Sanssouci Palace: it is short and there is a family ticket ### Where to sleep Hotel am Luisenplatz, with family rooms for four ### Where to eat Café Heider, with cakes and homemade ice cream Drachenhaus, in the park, with terraces Meierei, with a children's menu ### Keep in mind The family sanssouci+ ticket costs €49 for two adults and up to four children The boat family ticket is only valid at weekends on the 10:00 departure The Sanssouci vineyard terraces have steps: a baby carrier is better than a pushchair ### Qué hacer as a family - Sanssouci Palace and Its Vineyard Terraces - Walk through Sanssouci Park, from the Palace to the Neues Palais - Potsdam's Dutch Quarter - Boat Tour of the Palaces on the Havel ## With young children: Potsdam with Small Children With small children, Potsdam is a day of park and water rather than palaces: the interiors are not designed for them and come with a fixed time. Choose one palace at most and leave the rest for playing. ### What works best The boat on the Havel, sitting and watching the palaces go by The avenues and fountains of Sanssouci Park The streets of the Dutch Quarter, free of cars ### Where to sleep Hotel am Luisenplatz, with family rooms, next to the park ### Where to eat Café Heider, with homemade ice cream all year Drachenhaus, with terraces in the park ### Keep in mind You can go along the park avenues with a pushchair; along the vineyard terraces, you cannot The palaces ask for quiet and no touching: with under-sixes, a short visit ### Qué hacer with young children - Walk through Sanssouci Park, from the Palace to the Neues Palais - Potsdam's Dutch Quarter - Boat Tour of the Palaces on the Havel ## Consejos ### Buy your Sanssouci ticket online Time slots are limited and sell out in season. ### Do not go on a Monday Sanssouci and almost all the palaces are closed. ### Download the SANSSOUCI app It has an audio guide in Spanish; bring headphones. ### Get an ABC ticket The Berlin AB ticket does not get you to Potsdam. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How do I get from Berlin to Potsdam? On the RE1 regional from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, about 25 minutes, or on the S7 S-Bahn. With an ABC ticket. ### How much does it cost to enter Sanssouci? €14, with a fixed time slot. The sanssouci+, at €22, is valid for all the palaces open that day. ### Which day is Sanssouci closed? Mondays. ### Can you visit Cecilienhof? Not for now: it is closed for building work with no reopening date. ### Is it worth sleeping in Potsdam? Yes, if you want to see two palaces and the boat without rushing, and the park first thing. ### Can you go with children? Yes: they enjoy the boat, the park and the Dutch Quarter, and there is a family ticket for the palaces.