Decadence at the Hermitage in St Petersburg

November 19, 2008

I know some people aren’t really into visiting art galleries when they travel, but I have to say that everyone should make an exception for The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. It’s not only a Russian icon but it’s also a truly breathtaking place to stroll around - whether art interests you or not, even just the buildings that house all the art are fascinating.

Okay, enough of the lyrical adjectives, this is the plain truth: the Hermitage is stuffed full of paintings, sculptures and other works of art and every guide book likes to cite some statistic on how many lifetimes you would need if you wanted to look at the entire collection (there’s a lot more that’s not on display). Whichever period of the history of art you’re attracted to, there’s some representative of it there.

Being this incredible means that every man and his dog wants to visit the Hermitage, so you have to plan your visit well to avoid either paying too much or seeing too little. I’ve been twice and both times have got there early in the morning, about half an hour or so before it opens, and as long as you have a book to read in the queue or a snack to keep you busy, it’s quite tolerable. As for buying tickets, there are several ways to go and they change regularly. At the moment you can buy tickets online for US$17.95, which seems reasonable although locals get in much, much cheaper; having tickets in advance at least means less queuing.

Last time I was there a tour guide was walking up and down the queue giving people the tip that if they were in the first hundred or so people they could pay for the special Jewellery tour and general admission was included - yet weirdly, this made it cheaper. We took her advice and got to see some of the more secret stash of jewels as well as get in cheaper. So keep your ear to the ground if you’re on a tight budget.

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