You’ve likely seen the photos. Those massive, mint-green walls of the Winter Palace reflecting off the Neva River. It looks regal. It looks expensive. Honestly, it looks like something out of a movie set, but the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia is very, very real. And it is overwhelmingly big.
Most people think they can just "do" the Hermitage in an afternoon. That's a mistake. A massive one.
If you spent just one minute looking at every single item currently on display in the Hermitage, you’d be stuck inside for about eleven years. That isn't a marketing exaggeration; it’s a mathematical reality based on the three million items in the collection. You’re dealing with six buildings, hundreds of rooms, and a history that involves Catherine the Great buying up art like she was shopping for groceries.
The Winter Palace and the Imperial Vibe
The heart of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia is the Winter Palace. This was the official residence of the Russian Tsars from 1732 to 1917. Walking through it today feels weirdly personal, even though the rooms are thirty feet high and covered in gold leaf. You aren't just looking at "art" in the traditional sense. You're looking at the leftover lifestyle of a dynasty that ended in a basement in Yekaterinburg.
Catherine the Great started the whole thing in 1764. She bought 225 paintings from a Berlin merchant named Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. It was a power move, basically. She wanted to show the rest of Europe that Russia wasn't some backwater wilderness, but a cultural heavyweight. She called her private retreat "The Hermitage"—a place of solitude.
Today, that "solitude" is shared with millions of tourists.
The Jordan Staircase is usually where everyone loses their mind first. It’s all white marble, grey granite, and gold. In the old days, ambassadors and royalty would climb these steps during the Feast of the Epiphany. Now, it's the ultimate bottleneck for tour groups. If you want to see it without a sea of selfie sticks, you have to be at the door the second they open.
What You Can’t Skip (Even if You’re Tired)
Look, your feet are going to hurt. The floors are hard parquetry and marble. But you have to push through to the Pavilion Hall in the Small Hermitage. That’s where the Peacock Clock lives.
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It’s an 18th-century masterpiece by James Cox. It’s huge. It’s mechanical. It still works. Every Wednesday, they wind it up, and the golden peacock spreads its tail, the rooster crows, and the owl blinks. It is arguably the most famous thing in the building. Even if you aren't there on a Wednesday, the sheer craftsmanship is staggering.
Then there are the Rembrandts.
The Hermitage has one of the best collections of Rembrandt in the world outside of the Netherlands. The Return of the Prodigal Son is the heavy hitter here. People stand in front of it for twenty minutes just staring at the lighting on the father’s hands. It’s tucked away in the New Hermitage, which was actually the first building in Russia specifically designed to be a museum. Nicholas I opened it to the public in 1852. Before that, you basically had to be an aristocrat or a personal guest of the Tsar to see any of this.
The Logistics of a Giant
Navigating the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia is a skill. It’s not a mall. There are no clear "exit" signs every ten feet. You will get lost.
Actually, getting lost is kinda the point.
You might be looking for Italian Renaissance art—the museum famously has two of the world's few Leonardo da Vinci paintings, the Benois Madonna and the Litta Madonna—and suddenly find yourself in a room full of Egyptian sarcophagi. Or a hall filled with ancient Scythian gold. The Scythian collection is actually one of the museum's "secrets" for people who aren't art historians. It’s incredibly intricate jewelry from nomadic tribes that lived thousands of years ago. It’s haunting.
The General Staff Building
Most people ignore the building across the street. Don't be most people.
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The General Staff Building (the yellow crescent-shaped building on Palace Square) holds the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections. If you want Monet, Renoir, Degas, or Matisse, this is where they are. This is also where you'll find the famous "Red Room" by Matisse.
The vibe over here is totally different. While the Winter Palace is all about imperial weight and heavy history, the General Staff Building is modern, airy, and much quieter. It’s where you go when the crowds in the main complex become too much to handle.
Realities of Modern Access
Let's be real about the current situation. Traveling to Russia and visiting the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg isn't as simple as it was in 2019. Visa processes have changed, and international flight routes are different. Most travelers now enter via hubs like Istanbul or Dubai.
Wait times for tickets are still a thing, though digital booking has helped. If you show up on a Tuesday morning without a pre-purchased ticket, you’re going to spend two hours standing in the wind off the Neva. Buy them online. It’s the only way.
Also, keep in mind that the museum is closed on Mondays. People forget this constantly. They show up, see the locked gates, and then have to spend the day at the Peter and Paul Fortress instead. Not a bad backup, but not the Hermitage.
The Cats of the Hermitage
You can’t talk about this place without mentioning the cats. It sounds like a legend, but it’s 100% true. There are roughly 50 to 70 cats living in the basements of the museum.
They’ve been there since the time of Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. She officially "ordered" them to be brought in to deal with a rat problem in the palace. They’ve been on the payroll ever since. They even have their own press secretary and a dedicated kitchen. During the Siege of Leningrad in WWII, the original cats perished, but as soon as the war ended, two trainloads of cats were sent to the city to restock.
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You probably won’t see them wandering the galleries—they stay in the basement or the courtyards—but they are a huge part of the local lore. There’s even a "Catfest" every year where the public can visit the basement areas.
Strategy for a Successful Visit
If you want to actually enjoy the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia without having a total meltdown, you need a plan.
- Start Early: Be there 15 minutes before the doors open.
- The "Reverse" Strategy: Most people go straight for the Jordan Staircase and the second floor. Go to the ground floor first. See the Greek and Roman antiquities or the Egyptian collection while everyone else is fighting over the Leonardo da Vincis.
- Hydrate and Eat: There is a cafe inside, but it’s usually packed and expensive. Eat a massive breakfast. You're going to walk several miles.
- Dress for Temperature: The museum is old. Some rooms are drafty; some are stiflingly hot because of the humidity controls for the paintings. Layers are your friend.
- The Audio Guide: Get it. The signage in the Hermitage has improved, but much of the deep context is still easier to digest through the headset.
The Hermitage isn't just a building; it’s a survivor. It survived the Revolution. It survived a 900-day siege. It survived the transition from an Imperial residence to a Soviet institution to a global tourist magnet. When you stand in the middle of the War Gallery of 1812, looking at the 332 portraits of generals who defeated Napoleon, you feel that scale. It’s intimidating.
Making it Actionable
For anyone planning a trip, your first step is checking the current visa requirements for your specific nationality, as these are in constant flux. Next, visit the official Hermitage website to check for any temporary gallery closures. They often renovate entire wings, and there is nothing worse than flying halfway around the world to find the Dutch masters are behind a curtain.
Finally, don't try to see it all. Pick three areas—say, the Imperial State Rooms, the Italian Renaissance, and the Impressionists—and focus on those. The rest will still be there for your next visit.
The best way to experience the Hermitage is to accept that you are a small part of its very long timeline. Look at the art, but also look at the windows. The view of the Neva through the original palace glass is just as much a masterpiece as anything hanging on the walls.