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

The skiing area Postalm at the Wolfgangsee in the Salzkammergut offers tracks in all difficulties and for everyone’s skills.

Snow paradise in the Bavarian Forest with 13 ski-lifts with well-kept slopes.

BASE: 1968ft
SUMMIT: 5249ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1653ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 3
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 3

BASE: 4429ft
SUMMIT: 6233ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1804ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 16
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 8
Surface: 10

Ski slope is located close to the city, on the north-western side of the mountain. Destination is next to city park. Ski resort has two chair-lifts, three ski slopes with a total length of about 2,800 with vertical drop 110 m.

The Präbichl, the ski resort for beginners and experts, offers a great variety of winter sport opportunities.

The resort Racibor / Oravský Zámok is located in the mountains of Oravská Magura. It is only 1 kilometer away from the Oravský castle. There are slopes in intensity from very light to moderate.