The charming ambience of Potsdam, Brandenburg's regional capital is in marked contrast to the city life of Berlin and can be best experienced by visiting the beautiful palaces and parks designated as UNESCO world heritage sites in this town of islands on the river Havel.Gazing at Potsdam's famous Sanssouci Palace with its fountains and picturesque vineyard terraces, or walking along the tree-lined avenue to the New Palace, it is clear why princes, kings and Kaisers once chose Potsdam as their royal residence. They all strolled through the park around Sanssouci Palace, one of Europe's foremost great parks. The grounds around Sanssouci Palace, a royal summer residence, cover 500 hectares and contain 150 buildings. King Frederick II of Prussia, his predecessors and his descendants commissioned stately homes and palaces in and around Potsdam set in lush parkland – a comprehensive artistic concept that takes in everything from baroque-style Caputh Palace to Glienicke, a suburb of Berlin.