Sanssouci Park & Palace

Location

Berlin
Germany
52° 24' 11.9988" N, 13° 2' 18.9996" E
DE
General info: 

Between 1745 and 1747 Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, built a German version of the Versailles to serve as his summer residence. The king wanted to get away from the Berlin hustle and located the palace a little further away from Berlin to get his needed peace. In fact the name of the palace comes from French phrase “sans souci private://that translates to “without concernsprivate://.

The rococo styled palace is amazing. But the park surrounding it does not lag behind at all. The 2,5 long park was initiated immediately after completion of the palace. A baroque flower garden with lawns, flower beds, hedges and trees was created. 3,000 fruit trees were planted in the park, and greenhouses and nurseries laid out, producing oranges, melons, peaches and bananas. Statuary and obelisks were also erected, with representations of the goddesses Flora and Pomona. Frederick had several temples and follies erected in the same rococo style as the palace itself.

Hint: Get there early: there is a 2000 person/day entry limit at the palace.

Getting there: 

Potsdam is about 45 minutes from Berlin by S-bahn. Bus 695 and 606 are running from Potsdam Hauptbahnhof (south side) to Sanssouci.

Costs: 

Entrance to the park is free.
Admission to the Palace:
1st Apr to 31st Oct: 12€, discounted 8€
1st Nov to 31st. Mar: 8€, discounted 5€

Interesting places nearby

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Santa Caterina is a small, traditional village sitting at the heart of the vast Stelvio National Park, the largest protected natural reserve in Italy.

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The sunny and spacious skiing-area Sarn-Heinzenberg is located between 1300 metres and 2160 metres highness in the heart of Graubuenden. Here you find mostly moderate and easy slopes.

Whoever goes for skiiing-vacation in Savognin can look forward to extra wide slopes for the whole family. The tracks are well prepared and rank among of the most beautiful ones in the whole alpine area.

The skiing area Schattwald Zöblen in the Tannheimer valley is equipped with very well prepared tracks. Whoever is on vacation in the skiing area Schattwald Zöblen gets the opportunity of slopes in every difficulty and every skills.