Gatchina was Paul I's favourite residence and looks more like a medieval castle than a palace. Grey granite, towers, an underground passage to the lake. It is the most atmospheric estate near St Petersburg and the most underrated — fewer visitors than Pushkin or Peterhof.
🏰 The Great Palace
Paul I's main residence, built by Antonio Rinaldi. Inside you'll find the Chesme Gallery, Paul's Throne Room and the Marble Dining Room. A separate route runs through the Arsenal Caré with Alexander III's private rooms — he spent most of his reign here after 1881.
🕳 The underground passage
From the palace cellar a 130-metre tunnel leads to Silver Lake. Local legend says saying "who ruled Russia after Peter I?" produces an echo listing the emperors in order. Photography is allowed; the walk with a guide takes about 15 minutes.
⛪ The Priory Castle
The Priory is Russia's only earth-built palace: Nikolai Lvov constructed it in 1797 from compressed earth, intended as a residence for the Order of Malta. Today it houses a museum of its own history. Ten minutes on foot from the Great Palace through the park.
🌳 Gatchina Park
A landscape park with a chain of lakes — White, Black, Silver. Highlights: the Birch House, Venus Pavilion and Chesme Obelisk. Autumn adds frequent lake mists and makes the park even more cinematic.
🚕 Getting there
Suburban train from the Baltic Station to Gatchina Baltiyskaya — 45 minutes, 130 ₽. Minibus 100 from Moskovskaya metro is faster — 40 minutes. By car, Kiev Highway, 45 km. A RideClu transfer is convenient when combining the Great and Priory palaces.
🛏 Where to stay
Gatchina usually works as a day trip. If you extend into the "Silver Ring" (Gatchina → Vyra → Rozhdestveno), small hotels are bookable on Tutkakdoma.
If this is your first time in St Petersburg, bear two things in mind. Distances between the main sights are short, but autumn daylight is brief and rain arrives on no schedule. Plan your route around the lit half of the day, allow half an hour of buffer between stops, and bring a thermos and gloves for the evening. For palaces and museums keep a passport on you — some ticket desks ask for ID, especially at timed exhibitions.
On the ground, walking is easiest between adjacent blocks, with short taxi hops when it gets dark or wet. If you are travelling as a group or with children, arrange the evening transfer back to your flat ahead of time — late-night fares spike. Flats in the centre go fast at weekends: book a week ahead for Nevsky, the Petrograd Side or Vasilievsky.
St Petersburg rewards half-day visits rather than one long marathon. Pick a theme — a single museum, a district, a walk — and give it time. After the active part, a warm cafe, a bookshop or a swimming pool is as much part of the ritual as the sights themselves, especially in November.
Verified against gatchinapalace.ru on 22 October 2026.
Cover photo: Игорь Гордеев, CC BY-SA 4.0, Викисклад
