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 elegant town of Merano / Meran is linked by two-stage cable car to its own extensive ski area and is also on the 265km Ortler ski pass, which brings in another ten neighbouring centres.

Right on the Swiss border and serving six traditional villages in the locality, this is a year-round multi-sports resort. There is a snowpark for boarders and night-skiing is possible several evenings per week.

Zar mountain has ski trail with length of 1600m is one of the longest ski slopes in the Beskid Mountains. Ski resort has artificial snow system, slopes are prepared every day. Lighting and sound system allows to ski to the late hours.

BASE: 2624ft
SUMMIT: 3736ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1204ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 7
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 1
Surface: 6

BASE: 2493ft
SUMMIT: 2788ft
VERTICAL DROP: 295ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 2
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 2

BASE: 2575ft
SUMMIT: 2788ft
VERTICAL DROP: 213ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 2
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 2