Potsdam

Time

Choose your start time

Duration

6 hours

Meeting Point

The lobby of your hotel

Prices

6hr

€559

Highlights

  • Get a hotel pickup and travel with your guide to the city of Potsdam – a world-famous UNESCO Heritage City
  • Learn about the rise of Prussian military might under Kings like the Soldier King and Friedrick the Great
  • Experience royal palaces and gardens, Cecilienhof Palace (where the Potsdam Conference was held in 1945), Bridge of Spies and Sansoucci Palace

Our guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel and escort you to Potsdam, using Germany’s efficient public transportation system. Along the way, discuss the early years of Potsdam and hear all about the trials and tribulations of the Hohenzollern royal family.

Hear about why Potsdam was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1990. Not only is the city incredibly picturesque, with its many palaces, lakes, manicured gardens, statues and water fountains dotted over hundreds of green acres, but it is brimming with an equally fascinating history.

Stroll around the Dutch Quarter, where the infamous ‘Soldier King’, Frederick William I, (renowned for the giant men he collected for his showcase military regiments), had the houses built in the middle of the 18th century to accommodate Potsdam’s new community of Dutch artisans.

Stroll through Potsdam’s Brandenburg Gate on your way to the royal gardens of the Sanssouci Palace, the favourite residence of King Frederick the Great. Admire the immense New Palace and take in beautiful parkland scattered with temples, churches and follies.

After crossing the Glienicke ‘spy swapping’ Bridge we visit Cecilienhof, the manorial residence of Germany’s last Crown Prince, which was used to host the Potsdam Conference in 1945. We describe the discussions that took place between Churchill (and later Attlee), Truman and Stalin, which were to seal the fate of Cold War Europe for the next half century.

On the way back to Berlin your guide can give you tips on how best to maximise your remaining time in Berlin.

 

Example Itinerary

The following sites are examples of places to see on this tour. Your exact route will depend on your hotel pickup point, but this list should give you a good idea of what to expect!

  • Old Town and Dutch Quarter
  • Church of Peace
  • Grounds of Sanssouci Palace and Gardens
  • New Palace and Gardens
  • Potsdam’s Brandenburg Gate
  • Alexandrowka Colony
  • Former KGB Forbidden City
  • Cecilienhof Palace, 1945 Potsdam Conference
  • Glienicke ‘Bridge of Spies’
  • Chinese Tea House
  • Alte Markt/Old Market

Insider Reviews

Private tour Potsdam by John Jerome

We took a private tour to Potsdam via train with John Jerome. To say it was an incredible tour would not do it justice. John was a wealth of information and besides being a great person to be with for the day. We were so glad we did not try to do Potsdam on our own. John navigated us around the city with ease and we saw everything we wanted to see and MORE! Thank you Insider Tours for setting us up with John for our day trip to Potsdam. It was a highlight of our trip to Berlin. And huge thank you to John Jerome for the best day!

Great day out with Michael

A very interesting day trip. We travelled by train tram bus & by foot. The guide was Michael who has a wealth of knowledge. The architecture is amazing. The prices are very reasonable and I would urge everyone to take this day tour to Potsdam.

Visit of several places of Potsdam with Jan, very kind and competent (historical knowledge, life of the country)

1 day outside Berlin for a change of atmosphere Visit to different places: city center, spy exchange bridge, Potsdam conference, Sanssouci castle.

Plenty in Potsdam

Our superb guide, Jamie, introduced us to the wonders of Potsdam and made us all wish we'd met Frederick the Great. He was funny and informative (Jamie that is; not Fred). History truly came alive for me that day.

Solo

This was an excellent day out of Berlin. Beautiful and peaceful surroundings it is hard to believe it is so close to Berlin. The train ride is not too long and the guide makes sure there isn't endless walking for the sake of it, the route is very logical and we took a bus for part of the tour.

No complaints whatsoever, unmissbale

We were very lucky on two counts; a small group of 5 and a well-informed guide. The transport was easy, the timing and walking distances manageable and the information provided was second-to-none. How our guide managed to ensure that we never waited more than 5 minutes for a tram or bus is beyond me. Today was truly the highlight of our trip to Berlin; thank you.

All the history

Fantastic tour with Nikolai, an informative and engaging guide. Five stars for the content of the tour and five stars for the guide.