St. Petersburg -- Hermitage only

I've been to St. Petersburg previously and had a very full 2-day private tour that visited almost all of the 'highlights'. I've long wanted to return and spend unlimited time at the Hermitage and wander on my own with my own visa. Looks like that will finally happen in 2018.

Has anyone spent extensive time at the Hermitage? Is there a busier time when all of the cruise tours go through, and then a quieter time (say, later afternoon)? I found this to be true in the Cairo museum, for example. Or am I going to be dodging wall to wall folks at all times?

For someone independent minded, are there any recommended areas near the museum to stroll, get lunch?

It's always busy, at least in summer, but I found the hours before closing to be a bit quieter. The quietest time for Russian tourists is first thing in the morning but this would depend on the cruise schedule during your visit.

There are also lots of off the beaten track corners that are less visited.

Enjoy! Even a non-art buff could easily spend a week there.

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Good for you, Cynthia!

The Hermitage is always busy but in my experience, the later afternoon is when it is the least crowded. September and October are good months to visit because there are fewer cruise ships in port and the museum is much less crowded. Most of the independent tour operators offer early entrance to the Hermitage (cruisers) so it is packed in the mornings. FYI: there is no air conditioning in the museum and on a hot day, the museum becomes quite stuffy in the afternoon. Also huge tour buses are constantly disgorging throngs of Asians in the summer months (land tourists).

But … the good news … most of the tours focus on the highlights of the museum and, since the complex is huge, you can always find areas within the museum that are not crowded. It is kinda like the Vatican museum in that most of the tourists are stampeding toward the Raphael Rooms & the Sistine while the exquisite Etruscan collection is practically deserted (in the Hermitage the tourists are heading toward the more famous art works (Da Vinci, Raphael, etc), the Peacock clock, etc.

The metro is very easy to use and on my last trip (October 2016), I used it exclusively except getting to/from the airport.

Opposite the Hermitage, across Palace Square, the General Staff building has been restored and the Impressionist/post impressionist collection is now housed there. https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/explore/buildings/locations/building/B60/?lng=

The Staraya Derevnya (restoration & storage center) is awesome. It houses tons of magnificent items that the Hermitage simply cannot accommodate. It is never crowded & is easily accessed by metro (Metro Line 5 – Frunzensko-Primorskaya). From the metro, it is only a short 2 block walk to Staraya Derevnya (http://transport.orgp.spb.ru/Portal/transport/main?lang=en). Visits are guided (by museum staff) – you are not allowed to wander about on your own. I enjoyed a private tour for one on my last visit – it was absolutely fabulous (among other things, I especially enjoyed the ancient artifacts, royal coach collection & royal furniture collection).

https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/visitus/staraya-derevnya

I usually don’t eat near the Hermitage but I have sampled a few (one whose name I can’t recall):

There is a small café in the Hermitage.

Great pastries and sandwiches at Bushe (Malaya Morskaya ul., 7 – about a 10 minute walk from the Hermitage) http://www.bushe.ru/ (Russian only)

Pushka Inn has a nice restaurant with good service (Moyka Embankment #14 – about an 8 minute walk from the Hermitage)

And there is always the Stolle pie shop (Nevskiy Prospect, 11 - about a 10 minute walk from the Hermitage)

Thanks so much; great suggestions.

As you might imagine, I am specifically interested in the ancient collections. ;)

Do you know if it's possible to visit the museum, leave it (for lunch let's say) and return in the afternoon on the same ticket?

If you need a short break, there is an internet cafe and coffee shop on the ground floor of the Hermitage. This is invaluable for families, since we can give our kids a break there when they've hit their limit, and most of the adults can continue touring. Best Guides actually does this with the family tour - they will supervise the kids in the internet cafe, and all the parents can continue touring.

 

Do you know if it's possible to visit the museum, leave it (for lunch let's say) and return in the afternoon on the same ticket?

Good question - AFAIK, your ticket is good for only one entrance – I don’t think that you can leave and then return on the same ticket. Not absolutely positive about this as I have never tried to reenter on the same day – just don’t see how it could possibly work given their entrance scheme.

You are most probably aware of the Treasury Gallery (2 sections: Gold & Diamond rooms) within the Hermitage. These rooms must be booked separately at the museum & are only offered with guided visit via museum staff. You might be interested in the Gold room (oldest items dating back to 4th-3rd millennium B.C. Includes Scythian gold jewelry found in the southern areas of Russia during archeological excavations & Greek gold jewelry found on the Northern Black Sea coast).

Thanks for the responses and for jogging my memory re: the Treasure rooms. We opted not to do that on previous visit as 3/4 of the party wouldn't have been interested...

If coming on a cruise you can select the day when the fewest are visiting. On a busy arrival day, such as Tuesdays have 2-4 times as many ships arriving as a Monday or Wednesday. Find out which day all the ship sold tours are visiting the Hermitage and go the opposite day.

The cruise tours almost all go though in a 1 hour period before the opening of the museum but those are stricted routes through the museum, and very crowded. Individual land visitors usually queue up at 10am, then the line shortens about 1pm and builds again shortly there after and late entry, in the last few hours is usually less crowded. Buy tickets from the machines in the courtyard or on-line to avoid lines. They are a lot more on-line but a 1 day ticket on-line gives all the Hermitage administered museums included(no one can see more than 2-3 unless they are really quick and can get around to different locations in the city quickly)

If you are serious about museums, galleries and cathedrals you will use your visa during non-cruise months. It is an entirely different experience when leisurely strolling through in any order at any pace and not be bothered by impatient groups pushing you out of the way. Right now is a great time to visit cultural features of the city. June and July are not good at all. Last summer there were fights in lines due to short tempers of visitors due to overcrowding. In fact on a least one occasion the police shut down the entry to stop the commotion.

One difference also in the last few years, Americans who are used to cruising , really stopped coming to the Baltic. For 15 years around 80% of cruise passengers were American and almost no Europeans and Asians were arriving by ship. Now, it is about 30% or less are Americans and the greater number of larger ships means a lot of people are from Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, particularly Spanish and Italian speaking visitors, and most are on their first cruise. So total visitors by cruise ship and land visitors, have increased a lot and next summer will likely be even more crowded. There are 263 large ships port calls next summer, a 20% plus larger ships, and more land based visitors will likely increase about 15-20%. Avoid the second half of June and July. Late September is a good time for a cruise visit.

With twice now in a row St Petersburg being voted the best cultural destination in the world, and the ruble weak making it a bargain(but increasing in value,10% rise in just the last 2 weeks), expect heavy crowding like never before in the mid and early summer. In the fall and early spring if winter is not your thing, although winters have been pretty mild for 10 years running, flights are a bargain so come on a more relaxed land visit. Hotels are cheaper, real bargains, no problem getting tickets to operas and ballets that would be almost impossible in June and July(the theaters are dark in August). With the weak ruble, restaurants are a bargain and 11,000 new restaurants have opened in the last 10 years, most of those in the last 4 years.

If you are coming on a cruise ship you can still spend all day in the Hermitage without getting a visa, lots of small companies or individual guides can get you off the ship visa free. You do not even have to stay with a guide, so you would be better off moneywise and logistics wise to just arrange for a visa free pro customized "tour" which would not even require a car. Just take bus 158 that visits each terminal every 30 minutes or less.

For real museum hounds, visiting the Hermitage Storage and Restoration facility in the northern part of the city, is fascinating. A large portion of the collection is in that facility and you can see not only that exhibit but also some of the restoration workshops. The workshops are where the collection is maintained and museums from all over the world send works of art or antiquities to be repaired or restored with its world leading restoration technology.

If coming on a cruise you can select the day when the fewest are visiting. On a busy arrival day, such as Tuesdays have 2-4 times as many ships arriving as a Monday or Wednesday. Find out which day all the ship sold tours are visiting the Hermitage and go the opposite day.

The cruise tours almost all go though in a 1 hour period before the opening of the museum but those are stricted routes through the museum, and very crowded. Individual land visitors usually queue up at 10am, then the line shortens about 1pm and builds again shortly there after and late entry, in the last few hours is usually less crowded. Buy tickets from the machines in the courtyard or on-line to avoid lines. They are a lot more on-line but a 1 day ticket on-line gives all the Hermitage administered museums included(no one can see more than 2-3 unless they are really quick and can get around to different locations in the city quickly)

If you are serious about museums, galleries and cathedrals you will use your visa during non-cruise months. It is an entirely different experience when leisurely strolling through in any order at any pace and not be bothered by impatient groups pushing you out of the way. Right now is a great time to visit cultural features of the city. June and July are not good at all. Last summer there were fights in lines due to short tempers of visitors due to overcrowding. In fact on a least one occasion the police shut down the entry to stop the commotion.

One difference also in the last few years, Americans who are used to cruising , really stopped coming to the Baltic. For 15 years around 80% of cruise passengers were American and almost no Europeans and Asians were arriving by ship. Now, it is about 30% or less are Americans and the greater number of larger ships means a lot of people are from Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, particularly Spanish and Italian speaking visitors, and most are on their first cruise. So total visitors by cruise ship and land visitors, have increased a lot and next summer will likely be even more crowded. There are 263 large ships port calls next summer, a 20% plus larger ships, and more land based visitors will likely increase about 15-20%. Avoid the second half of June and July. Late September is a good time for a cruise visit.

With twice now in a row St Petersburg being voted the best cultural destination in the world, and the ruble weak making it a bargain(but increasing in value,10% rise in just the last 2 weeks), expect heavy crowding like never before in the mid and early summer. In the fall and early spring if winter is not your thing, although winters have been pretty mild for 10 years running, flights are a bargain so come on a more relaxed land visit. Hotels are cheaper, real bargains, no problem getting tickets to operas and ballets that would be almost impossible in June and July(the theaters are dark in August). With the weak ruble, restaurants are a bargain and 11,000 new restaurants have opened in the last 10 years, most of those in the last 4 years.

If you are coming on a cruise ship you can still spend all day in the Hermitage without getting a visa, lots of small companies or individual guides can get you off the ship visa free. You do not even have to stay with a guide, so you would be better off moneywise and logistics wise to just arrange for a visa free pro customized "tour" which would not even require a car. Just take bus 158 that visits each terminal every 30 minutes or less.

For real museum hounds, visiting the Hermitage Storage and Restoration facility in the northern part of the city, is fascinating. A large portion of the collection is in that facility and you can see not only that exhibit but also some of the restoration workshops. The workshops are where the collection is maintained and museums from all over the world send works of art or antiquities to be repaired or restored with its world leading restoration technology.

Great info, thanks.

I would be planning to go to St. Petersburg on my own (not on a cruise) for 2-3 days following a professional meeting in Germany (late April).

April is a great time for museum exploration, low density crowds, and still spring hotel rates. If you want to get a visa and are an American citizen you can get a 3 year multiple entry visa for the same price as a 72 hour transit visa. But you want to avoid the visa, check back periodically about news of a new proposal to allow 72 hour visa free entry for all tourists arriving by air.The rule has been proposed and it might be passed before this summer.

Otherwise consider the cruise on St Peterline from Stockholm or Tallinn which also offers visa free for up to 72 hours.. If you have interest in possibly returning, most people who visit do, the 3 year multiple entry visa is great. It means last minute 2-3 day getaways to St Petersburg any time when you find yourself in Europe is an option without prior planning. The 3 year visa allows single entries of up 6 months after which you must leave the country but can come right back in the same day for another 6 months, if you really wanted. A surprising number of people do that. Have a great visit