Potsdam Walking Tour: History and Royalty from Berlin

Explore Potsdam’s royal history, wartime survival, and Cold War espionage on a half-day walking tour from Berlin. Discover the city’s stunning restoration.

Duration: 5 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Joachimsthaler Straße - Meet your guide in front of the Starbucks near the Zoologischer Garten station at Joachimsthaler Str. 1-4, 10623 Berlin.
  • Glienicke Bridge - Once you arrive to Potsdam, stroll to the Glienicke Bridge to discover the intrigue of the infamous Bridge of Spies.
  • Bassinplatz - Take a short bus ride to Potsdam town centre and explore Germany’s largest Unesco World Heritage site.
  • Babelsberg Castle - Take a tram to the Babelsberg Palace, a formal royal residence and now home to the Babelsbers film studios. Learn why Potsdam was the city of the German Kaisers, having housed their infamous army as well as being home to their most famous palaces.
  • Schloss Cecilienhof - See the beautiful Neuer Garten (New Garden) and find yourself at the beautiful Cecilienhof Palace (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Your guide will tell you how the German Crown Prince lived there before the royal family abdicated at the end of WWII.
  • Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor) - Stop by Potsdam’s Brandenburg Gate, where your tour guide will tell the stories of Potsdam’s dramatic growth, thanks to the efforts of four generations of exceptional kings, through to the two World Wars that sealed the fate of Europe and the world in 1945.
  • Sanssouci Palace - The tour ends at Potsdam’s famous Sanssouci Palace, the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. Take in the amazing views of the palace, while you learn about its history and architecture. After your tour finishes, you can stay and explore Potsdam further on your own, or return with your guide on the train to central Berlin.
What's Included
  • Local guide
  • Break for lunch
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from Potsdam - an ABC travel ticket (single trip ABC €3.40) should be purchased before joining the tour
  • Food and drinks
  • Entrance fees (Sanssoucie Castle €12)
Additional Information

Explore the stunning city of Potsdam on this half-day walking tour from Berlin. With your guide, you will take a train ride to the city of German Kaisers. Discover the stories of Potsdam’s generations of royalty, survival through two World Wars and its role in the espionage of the Cold War. Throughout the tour, you will learn about the city’s long history, and faithful restoration. Your tour will last approximately 5.5 hours, including travel time.

  • Children under the age of 13 may join free
  • You can stay and explore Potsdam further on your own, or return with your guide on the train to central Berlin
  • Please note that Sanssouci Castle is closed on Mondays
  • This tour requires a train journey – an ABC travel ticket must be purchased before joining the tour
  • The independent guides who employ us to market their tours have your best interests in mind; while the tour usually includes the sites & stories mentioned and lasts about 6 hours, your tour may vary depending on what your guide thinks is best for your group
  • Wear comfortable shoes – tour covers 5-6km of walking
Location
Joachimsthaler Str. 1-4
Joachimsthaler Straße
The tour to Potsdam starts in front of the Starbucks near the Zoologischer Garten station at Joachimsthaler Str. 1-4, 10623 Berlin.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(166 Ratings)
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Maaalva
Feb 19, 2020
Castles in Potsdam - I’ve been to the Potsdam tour with Rodrigo, The moustache dude, and it was amazing! He had an interesting approach for the history of the german empire. I sure recommend to take the tour with him!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christinav3135
Feb 18, 2020
Awesome! - It was a great tour, perfectly organized and interesting! Rodrigo had so much energy and knowledge, we were so impressed and the tour is worth more than 17€! He even lent me his beanie. Thanks Rodrigo!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
933sierrar
Feb 4, 2020
Amazing trip with Susan! - Susan was an incredible tour guide with a passion for history and sharing knowledge! If you asked a question, she would know the answer. It was an incredible tour of Potsdam (a beautiful city), and I would definitely recommend for anyone looking for a great day tour to learn more about German culture and experience history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Belinda
Jan 20, 2020
Potsdam and its place in history - My family & I went on the Potsdam day tour with Rochale (hope I've spelled it correctly!) in mid-January 2020 and had a fabulous day. Rochale obviously enjoys Potsdam herself because she was vibrant, enthusiastic, and had a huge amount of knowledge about not only the sites she was showing us, but also how those sites and the rulers of the past connected with each other and then impacted the various events that take us up to the present time. She certainly knew her dates, kings, wars, etc, but she also had a wealth of more personal information about the people and places she was discussing, which really helped to bring the stories to life. Berlin was our last stop in a European holiday that spanned 11 cities and we'd done at least one one walking tour in each city (3 in Berlin!), and Rochale was the best of the best. Totally recommend both the Potsdam day tour, and Rochale as a walking tour guide! If I was to change anything, I'd like the tour to include an extra hour in the middle of the day (the lunch break) so that there would be enough time to have a little wander through the Old Town, and to have more than a take-away sandwich at lunchtime. (Our group was fabulous - I'd have loved to sit down and had a chat over a nice meal with them!)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julie
Jan 16, 2020
Potsdam. A large amount of European history in 6 hours - Rochele gave us a tremendously engaging day to and from Potsdam. Full of anecdotes, history, open about current living in Berlin, she was the best guides I've had in 20 years of city guides. She won't leave you behind! The tour doesn't take in everything, but enough to give you the vibrant history and the sort of "behind the scenes" place that Potsdam takes in world history. Fascinating.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emily
Jan 2, 2020
Great Tour - Susan Grouchy was our tour guide and I can't recommend her enough. She has a masters in Historical sites so she was really experienced. She was so enthusiastic which naturally made you enthusiastic and upbeat considering the cold weather. Pre-booking is essential because we managed to squeeze on a tour. The potsdam tour took you through some great places. It was very beautiful and so much history to take in.
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Malcolma58
Jan 1, 2020
Excellent Tour - We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and Susan Grouchy was a fantastic guide. Very knowledgeable and entertaining with her delivery and explanations. Potsdam is a real gem and we are pleased we took this tour and highly recommend.
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Carina_h
Mar 4, 2020
Great day trip from Berlin - Seamless experience, Sophia was great & very knowledgeable. Beautiful place to check out, & interesting to learn German history before the world wars
Review provided by Viator
Sheban3
Mar 4, 2020
Great trip with Duerte! - the trip was perfect.. not too long & not too short.. It can be quite tricky in Potsdam with so many places to go to. Our guide was Duerte. He was quite good & gave us a good amount of info on every site he took us to. My suggestion would be to equipped with a good pair of comfortable shoes, since there is a lot of walking involved on cobbled stone roads!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nsjoyhippo
Dec 22, 2019
Potsdam Walking Tour - Georgia was patient, candid and sincere. The walk truly took us through picturesque sites and her running commentary gave insight into the beauty that beholds us.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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