Located in Postdam less than an hour away from Berlin, this group of palaces is almost as spectacular as Versailles from the outside and ten times more fun because the outdoor area is free for all to admire. Though I would recommend bringing a bicycle there because the S-Bahn is very accommodating and the park is very large.
I won’t bore you with history you can look up on Wikipedia, but I will tell you a funny story that happened on Ruinenburg. Tim and I went cycling around the palaces to see them all in a day, but being a terrible cyclist with no sense of balance so I volunteered to carry all of his stuff on the back of my bike. Unfortunately for me, the hill up Ruinenburg was so steep my bike flipped over backwards because of the weight on the 40L bike bag. Walk your bike up the hill.
My favorite place to be in the entire park area is the Belvedere on the top of the hill where you can see the manicured park grounds, Neues Palais, and Altes Palais. The Dutch windmill is my second favorite place to visit because there’s food and it’s near the orangery. There are lots of statues near the orangery for all to admire. The roads are a bit rough there so amateur bikers should dismount and push their bikes across the slippery leaves on the ground.
Tickets can be purchased at each of the palaces, but you would be better off going to the main ticketing office next to the Neues- and Altes Palais to get a combo deal. To me, I just enjoy cycling around for free whenever I pass by Potsdam with a packed sandwich and sparkling water.
