This 6-hour day trip to the stunning city of Potsdam is a must for anyone visiting Berlin. Once the home of the German emperors, before being trapped behind the Berlin Wall during the Cold War, Potsdam is a photo-perfect town filled with palaces, lakes and exquisite gardens.
Your Potsdam, City of Emperors Tour meets in front of the Starbucks at the Brandenburg Gate (S/U-Bahn Brandenburger Tor).
One of Germany’s most beautiful towns
This day trip from Berlin is the perfect way to see Potsdam, one of Germany’s most beautiful towns. Starting at the iconic Brandenburg Gate, your expert local guide will take you on the train to Potsdam, about 45 minutes away from Berlin. From there, you will stroll over to the Alten Markt (Old Market), where the Potsdam City Palace has now been rebuilt following its destruction in WWII.
Palaces, lakes, and gardens
After that, you’ll take a tram out to the beautiful Havel river, where you’ll look across the water to take in sites like the Babelsberg Palace (now home to the famous Babelsberg film studios), and the infamous Bridge of Spies, where spy swaps took place during the Cold War. Then, you’ll stroll through the stunning Neuer Garten (New Garden), finding yourself at the beautiful Cecilienhof Palace (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), where your guide will tell you how the German Crown Prince lived there before the royal family abdicated at the end of WWI, and how in 1945, Stalin, Truman, and Churchill (later Atlee) decided the fate of post-war Europe at the famous Potsdam Conference.
Your Potsdam, City of Emperors Tour starts in front of the Starbucks at the Brandenburg Gate (S/U-Bahn Branden burger Tor)
Marvel at the stunning Sanssouci Palace
Discover the intrigue of the infamous Bridge of Spies
Take perfect photographs of the gorgeous Babelsberg Palace
See various palaces of the German royal family and learn about their abdication at the end of the WWI
Hear about the decline of Potsdam during its time in Communist East Germany
Stroll through the perfectly manicured gardens and along the glistening lakes
Learn about the famous Potsdam Conference that took place at the end of WWII
You can stay and explore Potsdam further on your own, or return with your guide on the train to central Berlin
We had three days in Berlin and during this time did three walking tours with Sandemans. As usual we kicked off with the free tour, followed up with the Third Reich tour, and finished with the Red Berlin tour. The guides were Mark, Steve, and Rob M respectively. All were thoroughly professional and knew their stuff. Their approaches to the subject matter was individual and that helps to maintain the interest when one takes multiple tours in the same city.
Despite researching well before we left to travel to Europe we learnt things and saw things on these tours that we would not otherwise have done.
I would recommend each of these tours, either in a sequence as we did, or a stand alone if your interest in Berlin is not as wide as ours was.
We started at the East Berlin meeting point – Starbucks at the Brandeburger Tor, then took a train and a bus to Potsdam. We saw some nice things like Bridge of Spies, Cecilienhof, Sanssouci or the Dutch Quarter. The tour was guided by Rob W. from Sandeman’s New Berlin.