If you read our Berlin City Guide, you know that, during our vacations in Berlin, we also made two day trips, to Potsdam and Leipzig.
Both cities are very close to Berlin and are easy to access, so if you have some extra days in the capital of Germany, this is a great option to know cute and historical cities.
When
We went to Berlin in December for the Christmas markets and the New Year´s Eve Party, but we also put aside two days for these day trips. Yes, it is winter in December and it´s cold, but I am sure you will have fun drinking Glühwein (hot wine) even with lots of coats!
Day trip #1: Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital of the state of Brandenburg and is located just 40km from Berlin. The city was a residence of the Prussian kings and the German Kaiser until 1918, so expect to see amazing constructions and palaces.
The palaces are already worth the day trip and it´s a very pleasant walk visiting them and their gardens even during winter. I imagine how great it is during spring!
The amazing Neues Palais | Pictures: Atelier 1202
The Neues Palais (New Palace) was commissioned by Frederick the Great, and it was made to impress its visitors. The construction was built in only 6 years and the rooms are really amazing. The whole history of Frederick the Great is very impressive and interesting, so learning more about it in this beautiful place was such an experience!
Another must-visit palace is Sanssouci, Frederick the Great´s summer palace, a great construction in rococo style, with more rooms made to impress and a beautiful garden where you can walk and imagine how the king was so rich and powerful at that time!
Sanssouci Palace | Picture: European Traveler
The Cecilienhof was another amazing discovery, a palace famous for being the location of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, where the heads of government of the Soviet Union, United Kingdom and the United States signed the treaties dividing Germany and ending the Second World War.
After visit the palaces, we went to the center of Potsdam and discovered a delicious surprise: The Christmas Market is huge, pretty amazing and with a lot of options to eat, drink, buy and play! But don´t worry: even if you´re going in another season, the center is absolutely cute with a lot of stores, restaurants and coffees, so you will not regret!
The Christmas Market at Potsdam | Pictures: Atelier 1202
How to go from Berlim?
From Berlin, the easiest (and cheapest!) way to get to Potsdam is by taking line S7 of the S-Bahn 7 (the local train line in Berlin) all the way to its final stop at Potsdam, Hauptbahnhof. It costs 3.40 euros and takes around 25 minutes to get there.
Tip 1: If you are going to visit the Sanssouci palaces and park, you should take another train at Potsdam, Hauptbahnhof and drop at Postdam Park Sanssouci Bhf (2 stops). This is the stop nearer to the new palace (“Neues Palais”) and there is usually less queue to buy tickets for both palaces there. So you get to visit the new palace, walk “back” through the beautiful park towards the Sanssouci palace and it is much easier to take a bus back to the center of Potsdam from there! We were lucky and there was a train leaving in the direction of Park Sanssouci Bhf the moment we got in Potsdam main station!
Tip 2: Potsdam is in zone C, so you will have to buy a ticket even if you have the Berlin card/pass for zones A and B.
Day trip #2: Leipzig
Leipzig was an important trade fair center since medieval times, and today the city is still dynamic and a center of art and culture. Imagine the home of Bach, Goethe and Mendelsson, medieval constructions and a lot of history to tell. In other words, a lot of things happen there all the time!
The city has a lot of museums and constructions to visit, but our favorites were St. Nicholas Church (built in the 12th century), the Battle of the Nations Monument (one of the largest monuments of Europe) and the St. Thomas Church (the most famous place where Bach worked as music director). You also can see a great statue of Bach in front of the church.
St Thomas Church | Picture: Atelier 1202
St Nicholas Church | Picture: Pinterest
The city center is very interesting and I was impressed by the quantity of stores this city has, from small creators to giants such as Zara and Primark.
We had lunch at Brauhaus an der Thomaskirche, a traditional and family restaurant that serves German food and beer, everything was delicious and the service was quick, so I recommend if you´re fancy for a typical meal!
The delicious German meals: Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle) and the Roulade (stuffed meat)
How to go from Berlim?
From Berlin you can take a bus or a train to Leipizig, but the bus is much cheaper! We bought a ticket at Flixbus, which is a very convenient coach company. They have an app which makes all the process that much easier (we didn’t even have to print our tickets). There were several options going from Berlin, with some variation regarding price and place of departure/arrival.
We took an early bus leaving Berlin Central Bus Station at 8:30 arriving at Leipzig central station at 10:40. We came back the same way leaving Leipizig at 17:30, but arriving at Berlin Südkreuz station at 19:45. Berlin Central Bus Station is a little bit outside the city, but not really that far, especially if you are staying around Kurfürstendamm or Charlottenburg area (to get there we took a bus from Savignyplatz).
We preferred to come back by Südkreuz though because it was connected with the subway and we knew we would arrive back at night. The bus is very comfortable and left only a few minutes behind schedule. The time we stayed in Leipzig was enough to get a good feel of the city.
I hope you like these tips and enjoy Potsdam and Leipzig as much as we did! See you on the next #mycityguide!
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