Gatchina, 40 south from St. Petersburg

A pleasant town of 100 thousand, officially considered a village, 40km from St. Petersburg, 180 or so from Novgorod.

Still not discovered by tourists. Not a single one seen in the day I spent there. Hotels rooms are available in abundance even during "White Nights". Consider staying in Gatchina instead of St. Petersburg, with its scarce and expensive accommodation.

Gatchina hotels:

Akademicheskaya Hotel. Ul. Krupskoi 12, tel. 8-81371-35611. The hotel belongs to the Nuclear Energy Research institute thus making it highly unlikely you'll have loud neighbours. Build in '83, at the end of the Brezhnev era, and has a distinct feel of these days. $15/night/person cheapest grade, $60 for the best room, or $18-70 per couple. A delightful little cafeteria. Cafeteria keeper Lena, tel. 46301 (hotel cafeteria) or 8-921-5539607 (cellular)

Gatchina Hotel. As basic as it gets but right in the center of the city. Tel. 8-81371-11458

Of things worth seeing, I'd mention examples of wild-stone construction from the days before Russians conquered these lands. Russians, not being capable of a vision, can only build from straight and regular material, such as brick, or something that can be given shape at will, such as cement. Whenever you see an assortment of stones held together by a common plan you know that these are not Russian hands that made it.
Gatchina in WW2 ...... "partizans" concentration camps "swamp front"
[pictures from Katya folder, off Gabriel's camera]