Is Postdam worth visiting if you're not a WWII/Sanssoucci fan?

Well, I would disagree that it is difficult to get around in Potsdam by public transit. I used the buses just fine (after taking the train there from Berlin). And that was before I had a good smart phone helping me with the bus schedules.

I would say that Potsdam has mostly nothing to do with World War II - though the one thing that is related (the "Potsdam Conference") is in fact the main reason I visited at all. I visited the Cecilienhof "Palace" (really a big mansion - got there by bus) that was the site of the conference, and just seeing the original room and table that the "big three" sat around gave me chills. I stood in that room for a long time, imagining all of those famous, world-changing people there.

Otherwise, Potsdam didn't do much for me. I was not too interested in the big palaces either - I didn't go inside any of them. I walked around and took picks of them from the outside, though. So maybe you should skip it if the "Potsdam Conference" holds no interest for you.

I haven't been there but am considering a visit during our trip to Germany this summer. I just received my RS Germany Guidebook and there is some info on the Soviet Potsdam/ Red Potsdam. Potsdam was an important Soviet base in East Germany. Things to see includes secret service bases, the location of the Potsdam Conference, KGB Prison memorial, and the world famous Bridge of Spies. I'm sure if palaces aren't your thing the soviet aspect of the town's history might be worthwhile.

I loved Potsdam! The palace grounds are gorgeous, things like the Chinese Tea House, going up inside the windmill, the fountains, and the statues. It is nothing like Neuschwanstein, no comparison at all. I enjoyed my tour inside all of the residences. If you are there, why not see them?
The town itself is charming too, especially the Dutch quarter. I found it to be one of the prettiest towns I have seen.

No car needed. Went from Berlin with the train and took a tram to the estate. Rest of the time was walking.

On the other hand, why go here if there is nothing here of interest for you? Berlin is chock full of other things to see. You could go to the Spree Wald perhaps?

Well, Potsdam was the summer residence of the Prussian kings and German emperors, so the city is mostly about palaces, parks and posh, old buildings. But Potsdam is much more than just Sanssouci and Cecilienhof (which gets restored right now, so you can't visit this palace anyway). It's a huge park landscape. Last week I walked from Babelsberg park via Glienicke Palace and a small village with Swiss cottages, Glienicke Bridge, the posh Berliner Vorstadt quarter with lots of beautiful 19th century villas (and Porsches) and the New Garden, to the Belvedere on Pfingstberg. Almost no foreign tourist, always surrounded by lakes, and just as good as Sanssouci.

I've already visited Neuschwainstein (sic) and am not really into
pretty palaces or palace grounds.

That's a fake 19th century palace with a few preserved rooms, overrun by tourist hordes. Potsdam feels completely different. Tasteful, tranquil, grand and elegant.
Go to Potsdam if you need a break after all the huzzle and bustle of Berlin.

"...many historical WWII developments happened in Potsdam...." Which ones are you referring to?

If it is the Potsdam Conference you're interested in, that took place with the UA, Soviets and Britain after the war in Europe was over.

I think Potsdam is certainly well worth your time regardless what your interest in WW2 is. The big event happeninf during the war was the bombing of Potsdam in March 1945. I have been to a cemetery there which lists the victims of that British bombing run on Potsdam...the Goethe Cemetery.

Yes, it is very easy to get from Berlin to Potsdam, take the S-Bahn, "Potsdam Hbf" is the terminus for that S-Bahn line. If you are going from Berlin Hbf to Potsdam, the ticket is 3, 40 Euro. Forget the car in Potsdam unless you intend to see othe villages in the Brandenburg area instead of relying on publich transport after seeing Potsdam. Just walking around the different areas of the city is interesting from a cultural and historical perspective.

My plan this time in Potsdam was to take the river cruise on the Havel, didn't get around to it. The Tourist Office on the top floor of Potsdam Hbf provides numerous brochures, maps, etc. Basically, if you're interested in Prussian history, go to Potsdam, if not, you may want to choose another place.

Keep in mind Potsdam was closed off to ordinary Germans until the start of the Weimar Republic in 1919. It was purely a military garrision town and was represented as such.

I find Neues Palais more interesting than Sans Soucci . Part of that now serves as part of the University of Potsdam. In the July Crisis of 1914 leading to the outbreak of war, the crucial decisions were taken at Potsdam , not in Berlin. , ie at Neues Palais.

Keep in mind Potsdam was closed off to ordinary Germans until the
start of the Weimar Republic in 1919. It was purely a military
garrision town.

That's not true. The city was of course open to ordinary Germans, and it was not purely a military garrision town. Do you think all the expensive, huge villas were built by or for the military? No, they were owned by rich Prussians, many of them from Berlin, who wanted to be close to the kings/emperors. Of course some of them also served in the military, but mostly because Prussia was a army with a state.

And the reason why almost no big events happened in Potsdam is that the city was the summer residence of the kings/emperors. It was a hideaway from Berlin, where they could spend some time sans souci, without worries (= politics).
For someone interested in more than just WW2 and the Cold War Potsdam can be very interesting, especially since the city is much better preserved than Berlin.

Maybe I should have said outside visitors since that would include the staff needed to maintain the grounds and the palaces.

In anglophone historiography Potsdam represents "the Citadelle of Prussian Militarism." The most prestigous units, especially cavalry, were stationed near Potsdam or Berlin. Those units with the highest percentage of aristocratic officers were stationed in Potsdam, as opposed those with middle class officers. If one belonged to a unit that was stationed in Stettin or Breslau, or even Königsberg, you were low on the prestige scale, otherwise you would be closer to Potsdam.

As for Prussia being an army with a state, that's exactly what Mirabelle asserted. There were numerous Prussian Garnisonstädte, Potsdam was one of them. Look at the ratio of civilians to soldiers quartered in the town, how many civilians engaged in work attached to maintaining the army, sewing uniforms, making weapons, maintaining the military adminstratrative bureaucracy