Gatchina Travel Guide — Best Time, Things to Do & Where to Stay

Why Gatchina

Gatchina is the largest town in Russia's Leningrad Oblast and serves as the administrative center of Gatchinsky District. Situated 45 kilometers south-southwest of Saint Petersburg, the town is located along the E95 highway, also known as the M20, which connects Saint Petersburg with Pskov.

First documented in 1499 as the village of Khotchino, the territory was held by Livonia and Sweden in the 17th century before returning to Russian control in the early 1700s. In 1765, Empress Catherine the Great acquired the local manor and gifted it to Count Grigory Orlov. Between 1766 and 1788, Orlov replaced the original residence with the Great Gatchina Palace, a 600-room structure set within a seven-square-kilometer English landscape park featuring an adjacent zoo and horse farm. The estate eventually passed to Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the future Tsar Paul I, who raised Gatchina to the status of an Imperial City, and it subsequently served as a prominent residence for Tsar Alexander II and Tsar Alexander III.

Today, the Great Gatchina Palace and the town's historic center are recognized as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace features Rococo interior design elements created by architects Antonio Rinaldi and Vincenzo Brenna, alongside a monumental triumphal arch at its entrance. Another notable landmark accessible to visitors within the town is the Prioratsky Palace.

In 1910, Gatchina established one of Russia's first airfields, becoming an early center for aviation and engine technology where pilot Pyotr Nesterov trained. During the 20th century, the town underwent several name changes, including Trotsk, Krasnogvardeysk, and briefly Lindemannstadt during German occupation in World War II. Following extensive damage during the war, long-term restoration work enabled sections of the palace, such as the Arsenal Halls and specific state rooms, to reopen to the public as a museum complex.

Gatchina is a major transit node accessible via multiple rail routes connecting to Saint Petersburg's Baltiysky station, serving local stops such as Gatchina-Varshavskaya, Tatyanino, Mariyenburg, and Gatchina-Passazhirskaya-Baltiyskaya. Road connections include the M20 Highway and links to the A120 Highway surrounding Saint Petersburg. The town is also a local economic and scientific center, housing timber paper mills, food production enterprises, and the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute.