Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tours:
Immediately beyond the security checkpoint is a desk where you can rent an
English
audioguide
(350 R, leave ID as deposit; less-crowded audioguide stand at top of
main stairway). It has handy, digestible descriptions of the palace's historical rooms and of
major paintings, but isn't worth the high price for a single traveler on a short visit.
Guided
tours
(300 R) are offered in the entry hall.
Services:
Pick up a free
map
at the information desk. Down the stairs from the entry
hall is an
ATM,
a
cloakroom
(remember which of the 14 sections you use), a tiny
book-
store
(there are better ones later, inside the museum), and a crowded
WC
(there are more
later). In the hall to the right, before you reach the stairway, are more
WCs,
a mediocre and
crowded
café
, an inexpensive
Internet
access point (50 R/hour), several large gift shops,
and a large
bookstore.
Photography:
You'll need a photo permit (200 R, sold in entry hall).
Planning Your Time:
Some people come to St. Petersburg just to see this place, espe-
cially because some of its riches (including a cache of Impressionist masterpieces) were for
decades hidden away by the communist regime. Others don't want to spend time on paint-
ers whose work can more easily be admired in New York, Paris, or Madrid. The first sort of
person could spend days inside without exhausting the Hermitage's treasures; the second
might bypass the place entirely in favor of the Russian Museum (described on
here
) or no
museums at all. For many visitors, though, a middle strategy works well: Plan a brief visit
(3-4 hours) to the museum, focusing on one or two artistic periods as well as a few museum
rooms important to Russian history. My self-guided tour (see below) fits this bill. If you're
a serious museumgoer and want more than a half-day here, buy the two-day pass, which
lets you spread out your time over subsequent days.
Cruise-Line Evening Visits:
If you're visiting St. Petersburg on a cruise, ask whether
your line offers an evening visit to the Hermitage, which generally includes a brief guided
tour of the highlights (royal rooms and a few Old Masters), often followed by a chamber
music concert in an opulent hall. While this can be pricey, and is very selective (you'll see
only part of what's on my self-guided tour), it frees up lots of daylight for other sightseeing.
If you have a visa and will be exploring the city during the day, ask your excursion director
if, where, and when you can meet the group at the Hermitage (groups often use the main
door facing the river); afterwards, you can just hop on your excursion bus back to the ship.
Length of this Tour:
It should take about four hours—including one full hour just to
fight the crowds and connect the dots. When weighing your strategy, keep in mind that the
Hermitage can be miserably crowded, with dozens of tour groups blocking every room; it's
wise to have a backup plan for your targeted visit.
Self-Guided Tour
This tour will take you quickly through the Hermitage's highlights, divided into three
parts: 1) historical rooms; 2) Old Masters (Leonardo, Raphael, Rembrandt, etc.), and 3)
Modern Masters (Matisse, Chagall, Picasso, etc.). Very roughly, the first (ground) floor,
where you enter, shows ancient art; the second floor has the historical rooms plus galleries
covering the medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras (Old Masters); and the third floor is
devoted to the 19th and 20th centuries (Modern Masters).
