6 best day trips from Berlin

Day trips compared

The day trips

35 km · About 25–40 minutes by train

1.Potsdam

The Prussian kings' summer capital has the rococo Sanssouci Palace and park, the vast New Palace, the Dutch Quarter of red-brick houses and the Glienicke Bridge, where Cold War spies were exchanged.

Getting there

Regional train or S7 S-Bahn to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof

Best for

First-timers, Families, Couples, Culture

35 km · About 45 minutes by train, then a 20-minute walk

2.Sachsenhausen Memorial

One of the first Nazi concentration camps, Sachsenhausen held more than 200,000 prisoners between 1936 and 1945. The memorial and museum preserve barracks, the roll-call ground and exhibitions on the camp and its later use as a Soviet special camp.

Getting there

S1 S-Bahn or regional train to Oranienburg

Best for

Culture

100 km · About 1 hour by regional train

3.Spreewald

A UNESCO biosphere reserve where the Spree splits into hundreds of small channels. Flat-bottomed punts glide past wooden farmhouses, and villages sell the region's famous pickled gherkins.

Getting there

Regional train to Lübbenau

Best for

Families, Couples, Quiet stays

25 km · About 40 minutes by S-Bahn

4.Wannsee and Peacock Island

The lakes of south-west Berlin have a lido, lakeside walks and the House of the Wannsee Conference memorial. Peacock Island, reached by a short ferry, is a car-free park with a white folly castle and free-roaming peacocks.

Getting there

S1 or S7 S-Bahn to Wannsee, then bus and a small ferry

Best for

Families, Quiet stays, Couples

190 km · About 2 hours by train

5.Dresden

The Saxon capital was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt, with the Frauenkirche reconstructed in 2005. The Zwinger palace's Old Masters gallery, the Green Vault treasury and the Elbe riverside terraces make a full day.

Getting there

EuroCity or Intercity train from Hauptbahnhof

Best for

Culture, Couples

190 km · About 1 hour 15 minutes by ICE

6.Leipzig

Bach's city has the St Thomas Church, where he worked and is buried, the St Nicholas Church where the peaceful 1989 protests began, arcaded shopping passages and a creative scene in the Spinnerei former cotton mill.

Getting there

ICE train from Hauptbahnhof

Best for

Culture, Budget

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• S-Bahn lines, including the circular Ringbahn, cross the city overground and serve the airport and Potsdam.
• Double-decker bus 100 runs past many landmarks between Zoologischer Garten and Alexanderplatz, a cheap alternative to a sightseeing tour.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask