State Hermitage Museum

St. Petersburg's most popular visitor attraction, and one of the world's largest and most prestigious museums, the Hermitage is a must-see for all first-time travellers to the city. With over 3 million items in its collection, it also definitely rewards repeat visits, and new-comers can only hope to get a brief taste of the riches on offer here, from Impressionist masterpieces to fascinating Oriental treasures. One estimate has it that you would need eleven years to view each exhibit on display for just one minute, so many visitors prefer to organize a guided tour to ensure they have time to catch all the collection's highlights. Art aficionados, however, may find it more rewarding to seek out for themselves the works that they are particularly interested in.

State Hermitage Museum as seen from Palace Square

The bulk of the Hermitage collection is housed in the Winter Palace, formerly the official residence of the Romanov Tsars, and its several annexes. However, there are a number of other sites that constitute part of the Hermitage, including the recently opened Storage Facility in the north of St. Petersburg, which offers guided tours through some of the museum's vast stocks. Our guide to visiting the Hermitage is designed to help you find your way around this enormous collection, with a detailed tour of the main site and individual information on each of the affiliated museums.

Address:	2, Dvortsovaya Ploschad (Palace Square)
Metro:	Admiralteyskaya
Open:	Daily 10:30am to 6pm. Last admission is at 5:30pm. Wednesday and Friday, till 9pm. Last admission is at 8:30pm.
Closed:	Monday
Telephone:	+7 (812) 571-3420; +7 (812) 710-9079
Website:	http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/
Admission:	600 RUB - entry ticket to the Main Museum Complex and the branches (the General Staff Building, Winter Palace of Peter the Great, Menshikov Palace, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory) 300 RUB - entry ticket to one of the Hermitage branches (Winter Palace of Peter the Great, Menshikov Palace, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre)
Free admission:	Preschool children, school children, students. Free admission to all visitors on the first Thursday of each month.
Ticket purchase online:	https://www.hermitageshop.org/tickets/ (You can avoid a long line at the museum ticket offices)
Information for Visitors:	http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/visitus/
Photo and video:	No flash. Audio-guides are available (deposit required)
Accessibility note:	The museum is wheelchair accessible (ramps/lifts). Free wheelchair rentals. Please call in advance as staff assistance may be required

Winter Palace and Main Museum Complex

Housing the heart of the collection, including the Hermitage's renowned masterpieces of Western European Art, this is unquestionably the main attraction for visitors, and it draws about 2.5 million of them per year.

General Staff Building

The magnificent crescent-shaped Empire-style building directly across Palace Square from the Winter Palace is now the permanent home of the Hermitage's exceptional collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art, including masterpieces by Van Gogh and Matisse.

Winter Palace of Peter I

Long thought to have been destroyed, Peter the Great's original Winter Palace was partly unearthed by archeologists in the 1980s beneath the Hermitage Theatre's stage. The rooms that were left have now been restored.

Hermitage Theatre

One of the oldest theatres in Russia, dating from the reign of Catherine the Great, this elegant and historical performance space is used both for lectures and seminars, and for classical music and ballet performances.

Menshikov Palace

One of St. Petersburg's oldest buildings, this charming mansion, built for Peter the Great's closest adviser, has been fully restored to its original glory, drawing on the Hermitage's vast stocks of applied art from the early 18^th century.

Museum of Porcelain

Part of the world-famous Imperial Porcelain Factory, this modern museum has recently been taken under the wing of the Hermitage, and traces the history of porcelain and glassware manufacture in Russia and the Soviet Union.

Storage Facility at Staraya Derevnya

This extraordinary facility, which is still being developed, gives public access to the Hermitage's enormous undisplayed collection using innovative 'open storage' techniques. A chance for connoisseurs to delve even deeper into the Hermitage's remarkable collection

Permanent Exhibitions at the Konstantinovsky Palace

President Putin's pet project, this recently renovated suburban palace is not only the Russian Camp David, it is also used by the Hermitage to display exhibitions on heraldry and awards and decorations.

Explore the Hermitage: A tour of St. Petersburg's greatest museum

An alternative to booking a tour guide, this introductory tour of the Winter Palace State Rooms and the main masterpieces of the Hermitage's European art collections will take at least three hours to follow, and should satisfy all but the most erudite and inquisitive visitors to the Hermitage.