Week in Berlin, is it feasible to visit outside the city ?

[Simonsignoret]

Me and DS 18 will be visiting for almost a week. Once we’ve done the usual sights, I thought we could visit Potsdam or even some of the lakes/forests on the outskirts like Grunewald.
Any recommendations ? Tia

Yes Potsdam is just 30 mins from the city centre by train and the peace and quiet is a welcome break!. Definitely explore park Sanssouci and the New Palace.
Another trip we enjoyed was Spreewald. You can hire a canoe or kayak and there are plenty of walking and cycle tracks. It’s easily doable in under an hour by train.

@Forgottenmyphone I’ve read about Spreewald. Apparently the area is famous for its pickles !

Yes, there's a pickle museum!

Spreewald is gorgeous - you could easily find a B&B for an overnight stop. You can take a boat ride or a canoe ride and stop for pickles and beer from someone’s back garden on the way! It’s very quaint 😆

Potsdam also great, or a trip to Tropical Islands by public transport is also a possibility with some planning.

Sounds amazing. I want to go too, now.

We just came back from Berlin. It's easy to go to Potsdam by train and then a bus to Sansoucci. But, that one is basically a full day with several buildings and two castles. You also need to book a slot for one online and then the second tour when you are there (very complicated).

Spreewald is highly recommended but I would do it as an overnight stay.

We did 6 nights and did only 1-2 things per day as DD need rest breaks and DH wasn't feeling the greatest.

Thanks everyone.
@reluctantbrit is Sanssoucci actually worth it ? I’m thinking that by the point we are visiting it, we’ll be a bit museumed out….we’ve done places like Chatsworth before. I think I’m more interested in actually seeing Potsdam itself tbh. I’ve heard it’s overly complicated to book on and the staff aren’t that patient.
I’m interested in visiting Wansee and some of the other lakes for a bit of down time I think.

Potsdam is very close as PP have said and is a nice trip out of the city.
I have an odd wish to see the Glienecke Bridge really shouldn't have watched "Bridge of Spies" more than once but haven't made it there yet. That's near a lake. Next time perhaps....

Wannsee is a 30 minute train trip (if you get one of the weekly rover style travel tickets, Wannsee and Potsdam are included.

The Liebermann Gallery on Wannsee is a lovely place to spend a couple of hours.

We had no problems getting tickets for Sanssouci on the day. You could spend the whole day there.

The Dutch quarter in Potsdam is great for mooching round.

It's an easy walk from Potsdam station to Sanssouci but there are plenty of busses.

Sorry - should have collected my thoughts and done one post......
There is a municipal ferry on Wannsee that is also covered on the weekly transport ticket.

https://www.the-berliner.com/berlin/bvg-ferries-from-rowboats-to-the-wannsee-fleet-all-the-lines-and-all-the-information-you-need/

Definitely go to Potsdam. Worth a day and lovely town with nice restaurants and cafes in the Holländische Viertal. Really good place to do souvenir shopping if that’s your thing as everything is compact. The gardens are beautiful too, put maybe pick one of the palaces or two. There is a little train that goes from one to another

It depends. Sanssouci and New Palais are nothing like Chatsworth, the 18th century palaces in Germany are more like a French one, very elaborate Rokkoko. Chatsworth will come over as a large manor house.

I love Frederick the Great and the story behind the castle and for DD who does German nationalism iuntil 1918 for A-level history, it was important as well.

If you prefer wandering around a town then I would skip it.

You book a timed ticket for one castle (Sanssouci) online and then a second one for New Palais when you arrive. Inbetween are several more buildings you can view, depending on your ticket.
We had nothing but friendly and polite staff, it wasn't too busy as well.

If you feel the need for a castle, you could also go to Charlottenburg which is more in Berlin itself.

If you want some downtime without going all the way out, you can alway head to Tiergarten, a huge park next to the Reichstag. No animals there, that's where you would need the Zoo for.

We were actually very surprised how quite Berlin is in many areas. DD is sensetive to noise and crowds of people and had hardly any issues apart from the DDR Museum.

Do also check the museums, some are currently closed.

@reluctantbrit thanks for coming back and taking the time to answer 👍
some great advice from posters.

Slightly different but you can get a train up to Sachsenhausen and from the station walk through the town to the concentration camp which is now a museum.

@samlovesdilys yes I was wondering about this. I think this is going to be a definite.

It's really powerful, not a death camp like Auschwitz but still really strong, I've been a couple of times and there are parts I wouldn't go to with children (medical experiments section and the cellars) and maybe the prison inside the camp.