Charlottenhof Palace

Charlottenhof Palace in Potsdam's Sanssouci Park is a small Neoclassical summer villa designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for the Prussian crown prince. Away from the crowds at Sanssouci Palace itself, it offers a calm look at how 1820s Prussian royalty imagined a Roman country house, complete with a columned portico, fountains, and furniture Schinkel drew himself. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the palaces and parks of Potsdam and Berlin.

Why it matters

In 1825 King Frederick William III bought the estate and gave it to his son, the future King Frederick William IV, as a Christmas present. Between 1826 and 1829 Schinkel and his student Ludwig Persius rebuilt the plain manor house as a villa inspired by ancient Rome and the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, while landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné laid out the surrounding park. The crown prince jokingly called his retreat "Siam," his word for a land of the free. The naturalist Alexander von Humboldt spent his summers here from 1835 to 1840.

Things to see

• The portico and terrace, with Pompeian-style wall paintings, a marble fountain bowl and a long reflecting basin.
• The Tent Room, a corner room lined with blue-and-white striped fabric, the palace's most famous interior and Humboldt's summer bedroom.
• About ten furnished rooms, many with original Biedermeier pieces designed by Schinkel.
• The pergola and exedra, a vine-covered walkway and a semicircular stone bench linking house and garden.
• Charlottenhof Park, with Lenné's meadows, the hippodrome and the Roman Baths nearby.

Tickets and opening hours (as of October 2026)

• Season: May to October, Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; last entry 30 minutes before closing.
• Winter: Closed from November to April (the park stays open).
• Admission: €8, reduced €6. It is also covered by the one-day sanssouci+ ticket.

Visits are by guided tour in German only; written information in other languages is available. Tours are small, so expect a wait on busy summer days. Strollers and luggage are not allowed inside, and the rooms are not wheelchair accessible.

How to get there

Potsdam is about 25 to 40 minutes from central Berlin by regional train or S-Bahn, and the Deutschlandticket covers the trip. From Potsdam Hauptbahnhof, take local bus or tram to the "Schloss Charlottenhof" stop. From April to October a free volunteer-run shuttle travels along the Ökonomieweg between the Grünes Gitter park entrance and the New Palace, though it may not always run. Prices are in euros, and cards are widely accepted in Potsdam.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if you enjoy architecture or want a quieter add-on to a Sanssouci day trip from Berlin. Allow about 1.5 to 2 hours for the tour and a walk around the park, then continue to the New Palace to the west or Sanssouci Palace to the north. Just note that the nearby Roman Baths and the Orangery Palace are currently closed for restoration.