Charlottenburg Palace

The largest palace in Berlin, built starting in 1695 for Sophie Charlotte, the first Queen of Prussia, and expanded over two centuries by successive rulers. The Baroque original is flanked by the New Wing (added by Frederick the Great) and surrounded by formal gardens that extend to the Spree river. It is the only major royal palace in Berlin and the closest thing the city has to Versailles, though on a more intimate, human scale.

The Old Palace interior includes the porcelain cabinet (floor to ceiling with Chinese and Japanese porcelain) and the chapel with its ornate ceiling fresco. The New Wing (EUR12) is the better visit: the Golden Gallery is one of the finest Rococo rooms in Germany, 42 meters of gold leaf and mirrors, and Frederick the Great's apartments show how an 18th-century Prussian king actually lived (answer: with a lot of French furniture and an obsession with flute music).

The gardens are the underrated highlight and they are free. The formal Baroque garden near the palace gives way to an English landscape garden behind it, with paths leading along the Spree and a mausoleum containing the tombs of Prussian royals. In spring the gardens are full of cherry blossoms; in autumn the lime trees turn gold. Morning visits catch the best light on the palace facade.

The Berggruen Museum across the street (EUR10) has one of Europe's best Picasso collections, plus Klee, Giacometti, and Matisse, in a manageable-sized building you can see in 90 minutes. The Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection next door focuses on Surrealism. Together with the palace, this corner of Charlottenburg holds a full day of world-class art and architecture.