It may have the austere look of a military institution, but inside you can see that the Gatchina Palace was home to the Romanov family, although the rooms are not so luxurious as the palace in Pushkin. The palace has various temporary and permanent exhibitions including a weaponry display and the church at the top of Gatchina’s main pedestrian mall is also worth seeing. But the big attraction is the underground tunnel running from the palace to the ornamental lake (how cool!). Gatchina’s palace was badly damaged during WWII, and restoration work is still in progress. The nice leafy park is a great place to stretch your legs!

Admission to the park is free. Tours of the park: 10-380Rbl (palace tour included). Palace admission: 50-220Rbl. GETTING THERE: From Moskovskaya metro, take bus N431 or marshrutka K18; or from Baltiisky station, take a train to Gatchina station, which is also (confusingly) called Baltiisky.