The City of Potsdam, 30 minutes by train from Berlin, is filled with charming architecture, bikes and trams, elegant palaces, tree-lined streets and a thousand years of history. As you may recall from your European studies, this is where Prussian King Frederick the Great built Sanssouci , his 18th century “without a care” palace complex, the Potsdam Conference was held at the end of World War II and the Soviet Red Army was present during the Cold War.
The best way to think of Potsdam is in three zones:
• the Innenstadt (city center), where the city’s administrative buildings are located and the workers who served the palace used to live;
• the outlying residential areas, where the more well-to-do resided;
• and the palaces and parks, where the royalty stayed and hunted.
Since the city is very spread out, including the city center, getting from one place to another is best by tram, bus tour, or bike.
Quick trip of a day or more
Potsdam is an easy S-Bahn ride from Berlin. But, to get a feel for it, you must spend a couple of days there or focus on only a few highlights. I was there for 48 hours, arriving and departing from the Potsdam Hauptbahnhof (main train station). My hotel was half a kilometer from the train station and across from the Alte Marktplatz (the Old Market Square).
Innenstadt and Vorstadt: the City Center and beyond
I spent my first evening in the heart of the Innenstadt and Vorstadt (the city center and beyond), which I got to by tram and explored on foot. The most interesting parts were the Old Market Square, das Holländische Viertel (the Dutch Quarter), Luisenplatz just outside of Potsdam’s own Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) and the streets and shops in between.
Here, you can enjoy an ice cream, indulge in traditional German fare, or even sample some international food. On my first night, I went to an old-fashioned restaurant, Café Heider, and ate entirely too much schnitzel (22.90 euros) – one portion is enough for a family of four!
World War II and the Cold War
For my second day, I decided to take the Potsdam City Tour (20 euros) to see the Cold War, World War II, and Prussian sights. Because of the large distances from one point to another, the hop-on, hop-off bus was a good choice. I also knew I would learn a lot from the multi-lingual audio tour.
I got on at the Hauptbahnhof (the pickup point is out back). The tour looped through the city, past some of the sights I have mentioned, as well as Potsdam’s first museum of modern art (Museum FLUXUS+), stately mansion and other highlights until we came to the outskirts and Glienicker Brücke (the Glienicker Bridge) of Cold War fame. The bridge was showcased in the Tom Hanks thriller “Bridge of Spies.” Then we continued by the Marble Palace and the Neuer Garden to Cecilienhof.
Schloss Cecilienhof
My first hop-off, Stop 9, was at Schloss Cecilienhof, where the Potsdam Conference was held in July and August 1945. Cecilienhof Castle is surrounded by beautiful landscaping and paths where walkers, bikers and tour groups pass. The 100-year-old castle estate has a café and beer garden where you can have something to eat or drink.
After a cup of coffee and a snack at the courtyard café, I was ready to buy my ticket for the museum. Since I entered around lunchtime, I had the exhibits almost entirely to myself, which was wonderful. I did the self-guided tour, entered the rooms where the treaties were signed, found out about the conference in detail and saw the timelines for how virtually the entire world was engulfed in the Second World War. Then, I walked back to the bus stop outside the castle grounds. (You must walk a bit to get to and from the bus stop and the castle.)
Sanssouci Complex: Palaces and parks
From Cecilienhof, the tour bus threaded its way through more of Potsdam’s gorgeous manor-filled neighborhoods, past the Russian Colony, and into the 18th Century Sanssouci Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Center of Culture, which includes the Rococo Sanssouci Palace, the Orangerie, expansive parks and the Baroque New Palace.
My second hop-off was as we returned to Sanssouci Palace, Stop 14, one of the most popular tourist destinations, where you will also see an old, huge windmill standing tall. Some musicians in period costumes played the flute and other instruments, giving the environment a more authentic feel.
Since I had done a formal tour of Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, “the favorite retreat of seven generations of Hohenzollern rulers” (construction began in 1695), I opted to stay outside Sanssouci Palace, strolling on the grounds and relaxing at the Historic Mill (Zur Historische Mühle), a restaurant across the way. After a pleasant afternoon, but wishing I had more time there, I climbed back on the double-decker tour bus. We wound our way back to the city center until we reached picturesque Luisenplatz, where I disembarked for dinner, having pizza in the treelined square.
Potsdam Museum: A thousand years of history
On my final day, I visited the Potsdam Museum in Old Market Square, which is free to enter and opens at noon. Several eateries are also nearby where I had breakfast. In one hour, you can delve into the city’s history, from the Middle Ages to the present, and learn about the good, the bad, the impressive and the heartbreaking, including what life was like under two dictatorships, German and Soviet.
The Red Army only left Potsdam in 1994, a mere 30 years ago. The townspeople and town are still rebuilding and in recovery from the bombing and ensuing rubble at the end of World War II.
Recommendations
Even if all you did were visit the Potsdam Museum and wander around the Old Market Square, or just take the City Bus Tour, you would get a good sense of the city’s historical importance and architectural beauty. As a quick trip from Berlin – under one hour – with less than a 10th of the population, I’m glad I went to Potsdam.
Mary Porcella is a Europhile who has lived in Germany, Norway, Italy, and the U.S. She is a writer, editor, and photographer. She loves seeing new places, returning to old haunts, and meeting up with family and friends. As of today, her travels have taken her to 20 European countries, and she hopes to visit the rest.
