St. Petersburg

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

The Hermitage (Winter Palace)

More Photos
barbara
barbara
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
15
Reviews
53
Photos
Sort by: Most Recent|Positive|Negative|Most Useful
1-5 of 15

The Hermitage: The Art

  • May 17, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by NiceGinna from Evanston, Illinois
The Hermitage: The Art

I was amazed that I was the only person in our tour group who opted for the right to take pictures in this amazing museum. Not just the rooms, but the art itself. No flash, of course, but even so. I took over 100 pictures and thought that it was well worth it, to be able to remember some of these gorgeous works. Here are a few.

From journal Cruise to the Baltic States and St. Petersburg

The Number One Draw of St. Petersburg

  • May 17, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by NiceGinna from Evanston, Illinois
The Number One Draw of St. Petersburg

The Winter Palace was the Tsar’s official residence fro 1720 to 1727. AlloTour has arranged early admittance, so it wasn’t very crowded while we were there. Julia, our guide, gave us a good tour of the highlights of this huge place with 3 million pieces. She tells us if we spent one minute at each piece we would still be there in 11 years. We saw works by Da Vinci, Tiziano, a famous statue by Canova that was owned by the rich family of the Yusupovs, Raphael, Michangelo, Sisley, Cezanne, Matisse, Gaugin, Monet, Picasso, and more. The rooms themselves are stunning. I bought the option of taking pictures – the only one in the group – and I can’t imagine not doing that. Some day, I’m sure, no one will be allowed to photograph the art! No flashes, of course.

The Hermitage, also known as the Winter Palace, was built by Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the mid-1700’s. Peter the Great began the use of the Palace as an art museum. Catherine II had vast collections and she placed them all in the building next door where only she and "the mice" would see them, giving the name of the Hermitage, indicating the privacy of the collection. In 1837 a fire destroyed the Winter Palace but the imperial collections were saved by throwing them out the windows. In 1839 it was decided to open the collections to the public.

From journal Cruise to the Baltic States and St. Petersburg

Better then the Royal Palace

  • April 6, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by TourFreek from Sydney, Australia
It is really awsome and its really white. I think that everyone who goes to St. Petersburg should see it. I would sugest going when the river has frozen over besause it is even more of an experiance.
Editor Pick

The State Hermitage Museum

  • August 6, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by sararevell from London, United Kingdom
The State Hermitage Museum

As the premier attraction in St. Petersburg, The Hermitage Museum deserves a trip irrespective of whether you’re an art lover or not as its halls are as spectacular as the art collection it houses. Commissioned for construction by Empress Elizabeth in 1754, the Winter Palace is more commonly associated with Catherine the Great, who took residence after her coronation in 1763, and was responsible for starting the palace’s lifelong association with art. With a collection of around 3 million items, the museum is a triumph in terms of quantity as well as quality. The Hermitage has over 1,000 rooms although incredibly only half of the collection can be displayed at any one time.

The entrance hall at the Hermitage can be a little intimidating if you’re not part of an organized tour group and the sheer volume of people makes you feel like you’re in some level of competition to buy a ticket.

After dropping off our daypacks in the cloakroom, we spent a few minutes poring over our map. We already had an idea of what we wanted to see, namely the Matisse and Picasso rooms and the Iranian art, which were all located on the second floor but even the best laid plans won’t stop you from getting lost once or twice in this behemoth art gallery. I found myself wondering how communications worked in the time of Catherine the Great and that perhaps they could have benefited from modern day Global Positioning Systems.

On the first floor we wandered off course and then struggled to find a staircase up to the next level. However we happily stumbled upon the St. George hall, also known as the Large Throne Room. Like a set from a fairytale film, this room is outlined in gold trim across the ceiling and around the balcony. At the far end stands the scarlet podium enclosing the seat of honour and it wasn’t hard to imagine this long hall playing host to royal receptions.

Finally we found our way up to the second floor and the Matisse and Picasso rooms, which are side by side and have wonderful views through small open windows out onto Dvortsovaya Ploschad. We enjoyed works such as Matisse’s "The Dance". They also have several bronze sculptures by the artist. The next room contains from of Picasso’s earlies paintings such as "The Absinthe Drinker" and "Two Sisters". These rooms are understandably popular with visitors so you do have to exercise some patience when moving around.

If you want to get a sense of what’s on offer at The Hermitage, the museum has an excellent website that provides virtual galleries of some of the exhibitions: www.hermitagemuseum.org

In spite of the crowds, The Hermitage is a treat to visit. Searching for each piece of art is an adventure and in such immaculate and imperial surroundings there is a magical and remarkable sight to behold at every turn.

From journal St. Petersburg in all its Faded Glory

The Hermitage

  • July 7, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Wasatch from heber ctity, Utah
Simply put, the Hermitage is one of world’s great art museums-- 350 rooms, 2,700,000 works of art– but it
is more than that. It consists of 1, 2, 3, or 4 buildings, depending on how you want to count. The Winter
Palace, now part of the Hermitage, displays art in the grand rooms of the Tsar’s official home. The decor
overwhelms the art. The Large Hermitage was built by the Tsars as an art museum. The Hermitage
Theater is only used for performances. Our guided tour took through the most of the major palace rooms
and works of art– Da Vinci, Renoir, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Rubens- but if you want to see all the
grand palace rooms, abandon the tour.

The entrance to the Hermitage is on the embankment, in the Winter Palace. Facing ahead upon entering,
restrooms are in the far left corner. The entrance lobby also has a coat check, ticket booth, and café. After
passing through the turnstile, the museum proper is entered on the second floor at the top of the Jordan
Staircase, one of the few parts of the Palace untouched by later remodeling. The Jordan Staircase is one of
the architectural highlights of the Palace. Don’t rush.

At the top of the spectacular baroque Jordan Staircase, the only remaining originally decorated room in the
Hermitage, are the State Rooms, which make Louis XIV’s Versailles look plain.

Rm 227 is a copy of The Vatican Palace’s remarkable Raphael Loggia. Since the Vatican Palace is not
open to tourists, give this a look.

The State Rooms and the Tsar’s quarters of the Palace contain many works of art, as well as stunning
architecture, and, unfortunately, crowds of tourists. Our tour guide commented on how lucky we were to
have come so early in the season as the crowds were the smallest she had ever seen. For us, it was the most
crowded museum we had ever seen.

Guided tours hit most of the grand rooms and the most famous works of art- Renoir, Monet, Rembrandt, di
Vinci, Michelangelo, Rubens. If you go on your own, you must have a floor plan because the museum
occupies five buildings and displays nearly 3,000,000 works (one minute per item, 7 days a week, 8 hours
a day, and you finish in 15 years). The Blue Guide has an excellent one and 20 pages of small print
describing what’s where.

If you are on a bus tour that takes the standard two hour trip through the Hermitage and you want to stay
longer, as your tour director is you can stay behind and be picked up by the bus on the way back after it
finishes the rest of its itinerary. Our tour director (MS Tolstoy) did this for a number of people.

The Hermitage has an excellent English language web site.

From journal Three Days in St. Petersburg

Sort by: Most Recent|Positive|Negative|Most Useful
1-5 of 15

Compare St. Petersburg Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

St. Petersburg Travel Deals