# Potsdam palaces and the Spreewald

> 3-day road trip of about 187 km (116 mi) with 9 stops, from Berlin to Cottbus. About 2 h 35 min of driving in total.

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b14-potsdam-spreewald/

**At a glance:** 3-day road trip of about 187 km (116 mi) with 9 stops, from Berlin to Cottbus. About 2 h 35 min of driving in total. From Cold War Glienicke Bridge to Frederick the Great’s Sanssouci, then south by canal boat through the Spreewald to Prince Pückler’s pyramids at Cottbus.

| | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 187 km (116 mi) |
| Driving | 2 h 35 min |
| Suggested days | 3 |
| Stops | 9 |
| Route | Berlin → Cottbus |
| Countries | Germany |
| Updated | June 22, 2026 |

## Route description

Leave Berlin south-west on the B1 through Zehlendorf and Wannsee. Central Berlin is a low-emission zone, so a green sticker is needed for any vehicle. The road crosses the Havel on Glienicke Bridge, where spies were swapped during the Cold War; park at the Glienicke palace on the Berlin side and walk across. Cecilienhof, where the Potsdam Conference was held in 1945, is a few minutes further in the New Garden.

Give Sanssouci a full day. Frederick the Great’s palace sits above six terraces of vines, and the park stretches for kilometres past the New Palace, the Chinese House and the orangery. Palace tickets are timed and sell out on summer weekends, so book online. The park is free, and paid car parks lie on its edges; motorhomes are best left at a car park on the outskirts, with a bus or tram into the centre.

From Potsdam take the A10 ring and the A13 towards Dresden, about 110 km to the Lübbenau exit. The Spreewald is a maze of more than 200 small canals through alder woods. Leave the car in Lübbenau, where harbours offer punt trips of two to five hours, and walk or ride out to Lehde with its island farmhouses and open-air museum. Canoes and kayaks can be rented if you prefer to paddle yourself.

Finish in Cottbus, about 35 km south-east by the A15. Branitz Park lies on the eastern edge of the city: Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau spent his last decades shaping it and is buried inside the grass pyramid in the lake. The park is free and good in all seasons. Spring and early autumn are best for the Spreewald; in high summer the canals are busy and mosquitoes are thick.

## Stop-by-stop itinerary

1. **Berlin** (Germany)
2. **Glienicke Bridge** (Potsdam, Germany): The steel bridge between Berlin and Potsdam where East and West exchanged captured spies during the Cold War. Walk across it from the Berlin side, where the Glienicke palace park gives free parking nearby.
3. **Cecilienhof Palace** (Potsdam, Germany): A Tudor-style country house in the New Garden where Truman, Stalin and Churchill (later Attlee) held the Potsdam Conference in 1945. The conference rooms are open to visitors; the lakeside park is free.
4. **Sanssouci Palace** (Potsdam, Germany): Frederick the Great’s rococo summer palace above terraced vineyards, the centrepiece of a huge UNESCO-listed park. Entry to the palace is by timed ticket, so book ahead in summer; the park itself is free.
5. **Potsdam** (Germany)
6. **Lübbenau** (Germany)
7. **Lehde Spreewald village** (Lübbenau, Germany): A lagoon village of the Spreewald where houses stand on islands between canals and the post was long delivered by punt. Walk here from Lübbenau in about 30 minutes or take a flat-bottomed boat tour.
8. **Branitz Park and Palace** (Cottbus, Germany): Prince Pückler’s landscape park on the edge of Cottbus, famous for its earth pyramids; the prince is buried in the one rising from a lake. The park is free, with parking at the palace.
9. **Cottbus** (Germany)

## FAQs

**How long is Potsdam palaces and the Spreewald?**
3-day road trip of about 187 km (116 mi) with 9 stops, from Berlin to Cottbus. About 2 h 35 min of driving in total.

**How many days do you need for Potsdam palaces and the Spreewald?**
We suggest 3 days: about 2 h 35 min of driving, which leaves time for the stops.

**Where does Potsdam palaces and the Spreewald start and end?**
It starts in Berlin and ends in Cottbus.

**Which countries does Potsdam palaces and the Spreewald pass through?**
Germany.