October 2017: Castle inside Sanssouci Park.

©Mike Mareen/Shutterstock

Around Berlin

Berlin is fabulous, and you'll certainly want to spend quite a bit of time there, but don't forget to earmark a day (or two or three) for the surrounding state of Brandenburg. A land shaped by lakes, canals and waterways, large swathes of it are protected as biosphere preserves and nature parks, creating a delightful escape from the urban hustle for Berliners and visitors.

Attractions

Must-see attractions for your itinerary

Schloss & Park Sanssouci
Potsdam
This glorious park and palace ensemble is what happens when a king has good taste, plenty of cash and access to the finest architects and artists of the…
Schloss Sanssouci
Potsdam
Frederick the Great's famous summer palace, this rococo gem was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1747 and sits daintily above vine-draped…
Gedenkstätte und Museum Sachsenhausen
Around Berlin
About 35km north of Berlin, Sachsenhausen was built by prisoners and opened in 1936 as a prototype for other camps. By 1945, some 200,000 people had…
Zitadelle Spandau
Around Berlin
The 16th-century Spandau Citadel, on a little island in the Havel River, is considered one of the world’s best-preserved Renaissance fortresses. With its…
Museum Barberini
Potsdam
The original Barberini Palace was a baroque Roman palazzo commissioned by Frederick the Great and bombed to bits in World War II. Since January 2017, a…
Chinesisches Haus
Potsdam
The 18th-century fad for the Far East is strongly reflected in the adorable Chinese House. The cloverleaf-shaped pavilion is among the park's most…
Freilandmuseum Lehde
Spreewald
In the protected village of Lehde, this cluster of historical Sorb farm buildings gives you a good sense of what rural life in the Spreewald was like a…
Alter Markt
Potsdam
Halfway between the Hauptbahnhof and the Altstadt, the Alter Markt is the site where Potsdam's settlement began. Under Frederick the Great, it evolved…