Experience the best of Potsdam

Potsdam lies on the Havel river and a chain of lakes just south-west of Berlin, and for generations it was the summer home of the Prussian kings. Their palaces and gardens, led by Sanssouci, the rococo summer palace of Frederick the Great set above a terraced vineyard slope, form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Neues Palais, the Chinese House and the Orangery fill the same park.

Cecilienhof, a half-timbered manor house in the New Garden, was where the Allied leaders met in 1945 for the Potsdam Conference. The Dutch Quarter has red-brick gabled houses, Alexandrowka is a hamlet of Russian-style log houses, and Glienicke Bridge was a place where spies were exchanged during the Cold War. The Babelsberg film studios are among the oldest large studios in the world.

Forests and lakes surround the town, and boats run along the Havel past waterside villas. White asparagus from nearby Beelitz is the spring treat, served with new potatoes and ham, and the town's cafés offer cakes and Brandenburg fish from the lakes. The royal parks are at their best in the blossom weeks, and again when the leaves turn.