Sanssouci Palace and gardens, Potsdam, Germany

Sanssouci was the summer retreat of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, and remains the most famous of the many palaces scattered through Potsdam’s royal parks just south-west of Berlin. Built in a light, playful Rococo style between 1745 and 1747 to the king’s own ideas, the single-storey palace is small and deliberately intimate — only around a dozen rooms — conceived as a private place to escape the cares of state, which is exactly what its French name, “sans souci,” means: “without a care.” It crowns a spectacular sweep of six curving vineyard terraces above the town, and together with the great landscaped park around it and its many further palaces, Sanssouci was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990 as one of the finest palace-and-garden ensembles in Europe.

What to See

The palace itself is the highlight, its intimate suite of rooms among the masterpieces of German Rococo: the exuberant Marble Hall, the king’s library and study, and the famous guest room known as the Voltaire Room, all glittering with gilded stucco, mirrors and playful ornament. Below the palace, the terraced vineyard gardens tumble down to a great fountain and formal parterres, while the surrounding Park Sanssouci — laid out over some three square kilometres — is dotted with further royal buildings to discover on foot. Chief among them is the vast Neues Palais (New Palace), Frederick’s grand show-palace at the western end of the park, along with the gilded Chinese House, the Orangery Palace, the Roman Baths and the Picture Gallery, Germany’s oldest surviving royal museum building. Frederick himself lies buried, as he wished, in a simple grave on the vineyard terrace beside his palace and his beloved dogs.

How to Get There and Practical Information

Sanssouci lies in Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, about 25 kilometres south-west of central Berlin and easily reached as a day trip. Take a regional train or the S-Bahn to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof, then a local bus or tram towards the park, or enjoy the pleasant 20 to 30 minute walk through town to the palace; the park has several entrances. The park itself is open daily and free to enter, though a donation is invited, while the palaces are ticketed — and entry to Sanssouci Palace in particular is by timed slot with a limited number of tickets each day, so booking online in advance is strongly recommended. The grounds are large, so comfortable shoes are essential; a full day allows time to combine the main palace with the Neues Palais and a stroll through the gardens, and note that most of the palaces close on Mondays.