Photography? Fees?

[Katy P.]

Are you allowed to take photos inside the Hermitage, Peter and Paul Cathedral, Catherine's palace and in Peterhof? How much in Rubles were the fees for picture taking? Any idea about the Royal Palace, the City hall ( Nobel Banquet Hall) in Stockholm , Christiansborg in Copenhagen and Kadriorg in Tallinn? Are there also fees for taking pictures with a camera inside these places? I'd appreciate the info as I also want to factor in the amount in my funds to bring for the trip. Thanks for any advise.:) :) :)

[Guest LetMeGo]

Hi

 

At least in Stockholm there are no "photographing fees", but you do have to participate in the guided tour of the City Hall to get inside... That costs about 60 SEK ($7). If I remember correctly, there was no photography allowed in the Royal Palace.:confused:

[nyc_luver]

In St. Petersburg you can pay in dollars and its $3 for the Church of Spilled Blood, and $5 for pretty much everything else. However, the Amber Room in Catharine's Palace you cannot you photography. I know you cannot take pictures in the Royal Palace in Stockholm, but I do not know about the other places. Hope that helped!

[Katy P.]

When you pay in USD, are they only really accepting crisp bills? I read that somewhere. I do not really think that I can request from the bank to 'give me crisp dollar bills' or is this possible? Thanks.:)

[freddiebud]

When you pay in USD, are they only really accepting crisp bills? I read that somewhere. I do not really think that I can request from the bank to 'give me crisp dollar bills' or is this possible? Thanks.:)

 

I asked my bank if I could get some new 20's. Because they are a smaller bank, the teller told me they don't often get deliveries of new money, BUT that she would put aside the 'crispier' bills for me. I would suggest asking.

[cathy_kearns]

Catherine's palace and Peter and Paul Cathedral there were no photography fees. We were using a video camera, and in the Hermitage, Spilled Blood, St. Isaac's, and Peterhof they were all 200 to 300 rubles. (I forget which ones were 200 and which ones were 300...) Still cameras were cheaper.

[mmmmm]

I asked our bank for crisp bills - $100s, $50s, $20s, $10s, etc. and they were able to all but crips $1s. Our guide in St. Petersburg said it was essential because she had a fistful of bills that the banks in Russian wouldn't take because they had tiny pin holes or some other "fault". We traded with her for one, since we had a little extra. We also heard they didn't like $2 bills in Russia, but she said she would have been very excited to get a few (of course she might have been the exception - I think she just wanted to keep them.)

[larablair]

Hi, We had a private guide. in St. Petersburg. The photo costs were included in the price of the tour. Jeanine

[freddiebud]

Hi, We had a private guide. in St. Petersburg. The photo costs were included in the price of the tour. Jeanine

 

What company did you use? Thanks.

[numberscritter]

If you are going to the Hermitage on your own (not a guided tour) you can preorder tickets on the internet (the Hermitage website). The price changes every few days in response to the exchange rate, I have seen it between $16.00 and $17.50 for a one day pass that includes the charge for using a camera. This also has the benefit of not requiring you to stand in line for a ticket! Two day passes are also available.

[larablair]

We used Alla Tours. Our wonderful guide was Julia.

[dakrewser]

We also toured with Alla Tours (our guide was Katrina), and all of our photo fees were included.