HOW TO VISIT SCHLOSS SANSSOUCI/SANSSOUCI PALACE (WITH A BABY)

JUNE 2022

Even though Sanssouci means “without worries”, a visit to Schloss Sanssouci might not be without worries. We visited with a toddler and didn’t have the best experience. The palace and its gardens are absolutely gorgeous though and you should not miss out if you are near Berlin/Potsdam. I wrote this blogpost for you, so you will be better prepared and have the best possible experience!

Practical information

Schloss Sanssouci is situated in Potsdam, which is about a 30 minute drive from Berlin. The Prussian King Frederick the Great used it as his summer palace. The Rococo style Sanssouci was finished in 1747, even though it had been redecorated a few times. The palace itself is actually quite small, it only features one level of buildings and does not feature many rooms. The gardens, on the other hand, are absolutely massive! Schloss Sanssouci is famous for its interestingly designed terraces that feature a little vineyard. I personally found the view of the vineyard terrace with the palace on top such a beautiful sight! You can visit the gardens for free and just walk in between 8AM-8PM (which we didn’t know). If you want to visit the palace you can book a timeslot on the official website. A ticket for adults costs € 14,- and toddlers can enter for free. Given the limited amount of rooms I did find this a pretty steap price. On the website you can read that the palace is wheelchair accesible, so we didn’t expect to find an issue entering with a stroller, but unfortunately you cannot take a stroller into the palace. We therefore had to leave our stroller at the entrance and carry Hugo through the palace, which was very uncomfortable. Hugo could walk and continuously wanted to walk and touch everything and started crying when he wasn’t allowed. We therefore rushed through the palace which was such a waste, as it was absolutely gorgeous. I would recommend to bring a small baby carrier and you should not find issues with that.

I think this picture depicts the discomfort we experienced: Hugo trying to escape, while Hielke is wearing a mask

Another recommendation that I have is to visit in the right season. We visited at the beginning of April and I didn’t realize that spring starts very late in East-Germany and there were hardly any flowers in the garden. The vineyards were still brown, I am sure it is even more impressive to visit from May on. Make sure you factor in enough time to visit all of the palace’s gardens and the other properties in the park. You can find very interesting buildings in the park, such as the New Chambers and the Orangerie. I would recommend to visit for a full day, to really explore all that the sight has to offer. We arrived once the palace opens and found that there were sufficient parking options for cars as well as campervans. Just bring cash to pay for parking and you will be fine.

The exterior of Sanssouci Palace

I loved the yellow exterior of Sanssouci Palace, such as picturesque building. On each side of the building you will find these super decadently decorated arches, which create such a beautiful color clash with the yellow palace.

The interior of Sanssouci Palace

The interior of Sanssouci is worth a visit too, the ceilings are decorated so richly and I loved the wood carving that you will find in some rooms. We were in an incredible rush with a screaming Hugo, so I took some quick pics, while I finished the audio guide while we were walking through the gardens.

Gardens

Even though I recommend doing a full visit, you can visit the gardens for free and they are absolutely worth a stroll. The vineyard terraces were not yet in bloom when we visited, but still a stunning sight. The little Chinese teahouse could not be visited in the beginning of 2022, but was still a fun sight to pass in the garden. It must be such a hard job to maintain these beautiful gardens.

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