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Potsdam's palaces, the Spreewald canals and the lakes around Berlin.
3 museumsBrandenburg lies like a green ring around Berlin. Its capital Potsdam was the summer home of the Prussian kings, and the land is full of lakes, forests and red-brick towns.
Potsdam is the first stop: the palaces and parks of Sanssouci are on the UNESCO list, the Museum Barberini on the Old Market shows Monet and the Impressionists, and at Cecilienhof Palace the leaders of the Allies decided Germany's future in 1945. Film fans can visit Babelsberg, the oldest large film studio in the world. South-east of Berlin, the Spreewald is a maze of canals where people still travel by punt, and the Sorbian minority keeps its own language and customs. Brick Gothic monasteries such as Chorin stand quietly in the forests. Brandenburg food comes from the fields: Spreewald gherkins, white asparagus from Beelitz in spring, and potatoes with quark and linseed oil. In spring the Sorbian villages decorate Easter eggs by hand, Beelitz holds its asparagus festival, and in August the Potsdam Palace Night lights up the park of Sanssouci with music and lanterns.
The big moments, and where to see them today.
Frederick the Great's summer palace, on top of its vineyard terraces.
Monet, Renoir and the Impressionists, by the river Havel.
The country house where the Potsdam Conference took place in 1945.
Old Spreewald farmhouses in a village reached by the canals.
Almost every museum is easy to reach by public transport.
Lines and timetables change. Check the operator’s website before you travel.
