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Just in time for the first day of August I have finally gotten around to writing about June’s museum of the month. Only a tad behind 😉

June’s museum of the month is the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. As I was planning my trip to Russia’s second largest city I received many recommendations and they all included visiting the Hermitage Museum.

Labeled as the second largest museum in the world, the Hermitage is an art museum that was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764. I can vouch for the museum and definitely say that it is gigantic. Visitors could easily spend several days roaming the countless rooms and exhibits.

I didn’t have much time to spend at the museum so I merely wandered aimlessly and took in the magnificent building. Like so many other Russian museums, the building was just as impressive as what was displayed within the rooms. In the majority of the rooms it felt more like a palace than an art museum. Technically it was a palace and many rooms are still set up to resemble the palace interiors. So much gold!

There are also Russian period rooms, such as Nicholas II’s library.

I am not really one for modern art, but I do get a kick out of it sometimes when I feel I could do it myself or when it is overly strange. There was an exhibit called “A Creative Revolution” when I visited that I found amusing. Take this piece of art for example…

Everyone did a double take to see if it was really art or if it was museum maintenance in progress.

Then there was this gem….

…newspaper covering the floor to symbolize the artists’ homeland, which puts paper on the floor out of respect after the floors are cleaned.

If you enjoy any sort of art you will find something that catches your fancy. Art from around the world fills the hundreds of rooms in the Hermitage complex. Pieces are from the Far East and Central Asia to Ancient Egypt to Germany. If you want to see it all and look at every piece for one minute they say you need about 11 years!

Something I learned later from a free walking tour, was that there are cats living in the basement of the museum. Once a year on a designated day they let the cats roam free and visitors can take home one free cat. That would be an interesting souvenir!

Visiting Information

Where

Palace Square, 2, Sankt-Peterburg, Russia, 190000

Tickets

My guide on a free city tour said you could buy tickets inside the entrance gates around the corner to the right using automated machines. You can skip the line to buy your tickets inside the museum and then take them to the front of the line and into the building.

Tickets are also available online ahead of time, but they are more expensive.

Tickets include admission to the General Staff Building, which is across the plaza from the Hermitage, you can buy tickets there and skip the long lines at the main Hermitage building.

Toilets

Free toilets inside the building once you get past the area where you buy tickets. Like any other Russian museum they are downstairs next to the free coat/bag check. Also apparently throughout the museum.

FYI

The museum is free the first Thursday of every month, but you may be waiting in line for one, two or even three hours just to get inside.

You need to empty/throw away any drinks including water when entering through the security. You could probably bring an empty bottle with you, but it’s not recommended to drink the water in Russia. Before going through security you can check a bag for free, so if you just bought a bottle of water you can save it for later. There is a cafe inside the museum.

Check out my Museum of the Month page to see all my museum reviews!