Tue, 9 Feb
You will be picked up directly from your hotel or a prearranged meeting point.
At the end of the tour you will be dropped off at your hotel or a prearranged drop-off point.
Your professional, local guide will meet you at your hotel and then, using the public transportation system, you will head to Potsdam. The journey takes between 45 minutes and 1 hour.
First up we cross the 'Bridge of Spies', from West Berlin into East Germany, where the US and USSR swapped captured agents during the Cold War.
Next we enter into the Potsdam UNESCO World Heritage Site via the parkland cultivated initially under Prussian king Frederick William II. Look out for the Marble Palace across the Heiligen See lake.
You will then stand where Truman, Churchill and Stalin stood, when they met to shape the fate of post-war Germany and Europe at the Potsdam Conference.
After a short bus ride into Potsdam downtown, you will pass beneath one of Potsdam's former city gates, built to designs created by Frederick the Great and the first example of British Gothic Revivalist architecture appearing in Germany.
Next time is taken to wander through the close-set streets of picturesque, red-brick houses in the Dutch Quarter and learn how Dutch craftsmen were drawn to Potsdam in the early 18th century to contribute to the expansion of the then garrison town.
We then walk beneath the towering arch of Potsdam's Brandenburg Gate – built to celebrate the Prussian triumphs in the three Silesian Wars, and predating Berlin's Brandenburg Gate by roughly 20 years.
Now it’s time to enter into the main set of palace gardens in Potsdam – the so-called ‘Versaille of Germany’.
Inside the gardens you will explore the private church of the Prussian monarchy, and descend into the crypts to visit the graves of Frederick William IV and his wife Elizabeth, queen of Prussia and former princess of Bavaria.
Next we see where Frederick the Great housed his private art collection, a building the lead architect said would rival the splendor of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
We then climb through the tiered vineyard up to Frederick the Great's iconic summer palace. Visit the grave of Prussia's most famous monarch and learn how he became a legend.
Before catching the bus back to Potsdam Central Station you can watch the turning sails of the still-functioning mill that Frederick the Great had raised upon a stone tower as he built around it.
As we ride the bus back to the station be sure to look out the windows to see where Frederick the Great spent his winters in Potsdam.
Finally you will boarding the train back to Berlin. Your guide will accompany you back to your hotel.
- For groups of 1-6 people: free cancellation up to 48 hours in advance.
- For groups of 7+ people: free cancellation up to up to 7 days ahead. From 6 days in advance to 48 hours in advance, a 50% fee will apply.
- Cancellations less than 48 hours ahead or no-shows result in no refund.
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