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On the edge of a hill overlooking Potsdam (about 30 kilometers from Berlin in the German state of Brandenburg) you’ll find Sanssouci Park, featuring several magnificent palaces, such as Sanssouci Palace and the Neue Palais (New Palace), as well as various other buildings. The park is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for good reason: it is often referred to as the ‘Versailles of Prussia.’
About Sanssouci Palace
- Location: Potsdam, Germany
- Type of Garden: Historic garden
- Established: 1747
- Size: approx. 290 hectares (716 acres)
Sanssouci Palace: the king’s retreat
Sanssouci Palace was the retreat of King Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Great. This is where the king and his friends (such as Voltaire and Giacomo Casanova) could philosophize and entertain themselves, away from the suffocating court life. The palace name comes from the French ‘sans souci’ and means “without worries,” perfectly capturing its essence.
The landscape around Sanssouci
Frederick discovered the location with its wonderful view by chance in 1743, but he fell in love with the idyllic landscape instantly. And so he decided to have a palace built there. The palace itself (built in Rococo style) is actually quite small and modest – unusual for the time. It’s only one story high and has just 12 rooms. But to Frederick, it was all about location, location, location! It was the surroundings that really mattered.
The final resting place of King Frederick II
Frederick the Great considered Sanssouci to be his true home, so much so that he even wanted to be buried there, next to his greyhounds. He died in 1786, but it took until 1991 until his dying wish was finally granted.
Sanssouci Park: open to the public
There’s something else that makes this palace and the Sanssouci Park unusual for its time: it wasn’t enclosed by hedges or guards. Citizens could freely access the gardens for a leisurely stroll – or even peer inside through the windows!
Even today, the enormous park is still freely accessible to the public and is absolutely worth exploring.
The gardens of Sanssouci Palace
The Sanssouci Palace gardens played a central role in the entire design. What Frederick wanted was a panoramic view of his gardens from Sanssouci. The result was a grand entrance, surrounded by terraced vineyards and charming gardens. The king only had to step out of his palace to access them.
The Sanssouci grapevines
From the palace you descend through terraces filled with grapevines. The system to grow grapes with as much sunlight as possible, while shielding them from the cold, is quite ingenious for the time. The grapes were only used for eating, though, because Frederick actually hated German wine…
The Great Fountain
Walking down, you arrive at the Great Fountain at the center of the gardens, surrounded by classical statues inspired by the Roman Pantheon. Unfortunately technicians couldn’t get the fountain to work, so Frederick never got to enjoy the sound of the splashing water. Only after the king’s death did they manage to get the water moving.
Visitor’s guide to Sanssouci Palace & Park
- Address: Maulbeerallee, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
- Best time to visit: Late spring to late summer
- Entrance fee: park freely accessible, accessing the palaces and other buildings in the park requires tickets (see below).
- Accessibility: Most parts of the park and the Sanssouci Palace are wheelchair-accessible. Within the palace, backpacks are not allowed.
- Notable plants: The unique grapevines, the parterre at the foot of Sanssouci Palace is decorated twice a year with over 230,000 plants based on historical models.
Sanssouci Palace tickets
To actually be able to enter the palace, you have to buy tickets. It’s best to do this in advance, because you have to book a time slot – and during the main season, the time slots can sell out fast.
You can choose to buy a ticket only for Sanssouci Palace, or a combined ticket (Sanssouci+) to be able to access almost all the buildings in the Sanssouci Park (including the Neue Palais). You can buy tickets via the SPSG website (which is the foundation that maintains the palaces and the grounds).
Tickets can be booked a maximum of 3 months in advance.
How to get to Sanssouci Palace
I only ever visited Sanssouci Park by public transport from Berlin, which was easy enough. The park is within zone C of the Berlin public transport zones. That means that from Berlin Hauptbahnhof you would need an ABC single ticket (Einzelfahrausweis Berlin ABC), which in 2026 costs € 5,00 (day and group tickets are also available). The easiest way to buy tickets and plan your journey is via the BVG website and their apps for Android and iPhone.
From Berlin Hbf you can take the S7 or RE1 directly to Potsdam Hbf. From there you take bus 695 to the bus stop named ‘Schloss Sanssouci’. Your ABC ticket is also valid for the bus!
Other gardens to visit in Berlin: Tiergarten
Berlin has a big park in Mitte, named Tiergarten. It starts at Brandenburger Tor and ends at Zoologischer Garten. The Siegesäule is somewhere in the center of it all. The park is beautiful year round, but my favorite season was Fall with its beautiful colors. There’s a rose garden, many rhododendrons that look stunning when flowering, and many lanes where you can find shade in the hot Berlin summers. And as a surprise, I encountered a big colony of herons around the big pond.
