Hermitage: let's go to the museum! Tickets to the Hermitage Scheme of the Hermitage with the names of the halls entrance

If you stand in front of each Hermitage exhibit for a minute, you will have to spend more than 10 years in the museum. More than three million exhibits, including 16,000 paintings. You inevitably start to think – is it worth going at all if you can’t embrace the immensity? We answer: you definitely need to go.

Collection of the State Hermitage

The core of the Hermitage collection is housed in five buildings connected to each other. These are the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Large (or Old) Hermitage, the New Hermitage and the Hermitage Theater. The word “Hermitage” is repeated in names very often, and in France this word is used to describe a certain type of wine or small hotels on the outskirts. Like the words “passage”, “voyage”, “carpet”, “hermitage” - of French origin, translated it means “hermit’s house”. The Small and Large Hermitages were just such a quiet, secluded place for Catherine II, where she held informal receptions and showed her collections to guests. This is how the history of the museum began, and it was Catherine the Second who is considered its founder.

By the way, in 2014 the Hermitage celebrated its anniversary - 250 years since Catherine II acquired the first collection.

Why else should you go to the Hermitage

In the past, the Hermitage was an imperial museum. Not only works of art are interesting here, but also interiors. All buildings were built under the kings and amaze with their royal beauty. For example, the Winter Palace is a former winter imperial residence with halls for balls, receptions and living quarters. Therefore, in the Hermitage you will find marble, stucco, gilding, and crystal chandeliers. The Hermitage is luxury and elegance, a standard of taste and even design solutions for arranging a modern space. It is not surprising that many people, when going to the Hermitage, dress as if for a holiday, and some have a photo shoot (including a wedding) in the Hermitage.

Remember the status of the museum and do not come to the Hermitage in shorts and T-shirts. Take care of beauty! Girls and ladies, do not wear shoes with sharp heels, they will ruin the parquet made of valuable wood. Do not touch fine gilding, antique furniture, vases, or sculptures with your hands! Unfortunately, some exhibits are not protected in any way, and only careful treatment can preserve them. Large bags, backpacks and suitcases will have to be checked into the cloakroom. You can’t eat or drink in the halls, so as not to crumble or spill liquid on the floor, and you won’t even be able to bring a bottle of water into the museum, since bags are see-through at the entrance.

How to get to the Hermitage

The nearest metro stations are Nevsky Prospekt, Gostiny Dvor (at this station it is better to get to the Griboyedov Canal) and Admiralteyskaya. From the metro stations Gostiny Dvor and Nevsky Prospekt you will get to Nevsky Prospekt itself; you need to go to the Neva in the direction of decreasing house numbers. To explain it more simply, then move towards the Admiralty spire, here it is in the photograph (in the perspective of Nevsky Prospekt).

The Winter Palace is located to the right of the Admiralty, however, you will see it anyway.

Admiralteyskaya is also easy: when exiting the metro, turn first left, then right and exit onto Nevsky. Further - towards the spire. Of all three stations, Admiralteyskaya is the closest to the Hermitage.

From Palace Square, enter the courtyard of the Winter Palace through the central arches decorated with openwork gates. There you will find all the necessary information about prices and excursions on stands and electronic displays. Cash desks inside.

Hermitage address: Palace Embankment, 38 / Palace Square, 2;
telephone: +7 812 710 90 79

When is the best time to visit the Hermitage?

The museum is closed on Monday. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday the Hermitage is open from 10.30 to 18.00 (box office until 17.00), on Wednesday and Friday from 10.30 to 21.00 (box office until 20.00). From January 1, 2019, every third Thursday of the month is a free visit (previously it was the first Thursday of the month), but keep in mind that the queue on this day is longer than at the Mausoleum. There are fewer visitors on weekdays than on weekends. The Hermitage is most crowded during school holidays, when groups from different parts of Russia come to the museum one after another. Peak attendance: a) in summer, b) after 12 am. In the summer, foreigners join the Russian population, including from huge cruise ships. During this busy season, there is a queue to enter the museum, and in some halls there is nowhere to fall - especially in the Leonardo Hall and the Rembrandt Hall.

But there are rooms where there is silence and solitude even on such days. The line moves faster in nice warm weather when people are not using the cloakroom. In bad weather, wardrobe space quickly runs out. At four o'clock the flow of foreign tourists subsides, the queue melts, and the museum is empty. You can choose these evening hours or before 12 am for your visit. You can also come fifteen minutes before the museum opens and stand in a line of like-minded people, which will go by very quickly. By the way, a certain woman has been walking along the line for many years and offering dubious “tickets for skipping the line.” These may be free pension cards or others, but she asks for a tidy sum to pay for them. The police regularly take this lady out of the museum territory, but she appears again. Don't support this black business that is like a weed taking root in a flower garden! Overcome all obstacles on the path to beauty!

Another tip: Bring your ID with you, just in case. It’s clear that you most likely carry it with you all the time, but you never know. The fact is that the cashier will ask you to present it when purchasing a ticket (preferential prices are established for citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus).

A full ticket in 2019 costs 700 rubles, for citizens of Russia and Belarus - 400 rubles, schoolchildren, students, cadets, veterans, military personnel, pensioners and some other categories have access to paintings and other objects of art for free. A little trick: if you don’t want to stand in line and are willing to pay an extra two hundred rubles for it, purchase tickets on the Hermitage website (680 rubles), as well as at the self-service terminals, which are located in the courtyard on the right immediately after entering it from Palace Square . You buy a ticket at the terminal and go past the entire long queue to the Winter Palace. In addition, tickets to the Winter Palace can also be bought at the General Staff Building (directly across the square) and at the official Hermitage Hotel on Pravdy Street, 10. We, however, have not yet checked whether tickets are sold only to hotel guests or to everyone , but if you want, you can try your luck.

If you don't want to stand in a long line, we recommend that you buy your tickets online. With them you go straight to the museum without queuing! This can save you a couple of hours, especially during high season, holidays or weekends. To purchase, click on the banner below:

What to see in the Hermitage?

Certainly, Winter Palace, its white marble staircase (pictured above) and the state rooms leading to the Throne, portraits of the brave generals who fought Napoleon in the Gallery of 1812 (pictured below).

Picture gallery, which represents all European schools and times from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. The Hermitage has paintings by da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, El Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens and many other famous masters.

The French collection stands apart "From Monet to Picasso". It was collected not by tsars, but by Moscow industrialists Shchukin and Morozov. And only in the 1930s these private collections were divided between the Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin in Moscow and thus saved from sale or destruction during the difficult Stalinist years. Paintings by Edouard Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso are the real pride of the Hermitage. You can see them on the third floor of the Winter Palace. And it's worth hurrying. Soon, to get to know them, you will need an additional ticket to the General Staff building, where they are planning to transport the entire collection of French objects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

There is another exhibition with works by the same artists brought by the Soviet army from Germany at the end of the Great Patriotic War. It is located on the second floor of the Winter Palace at the end of the Ministerial Corridor and is called "Unknown masterpieces".

And of course Knight's Hall. There you will find swords, shields, armor, plumed helmets, crossbows, pistols and arquebuses. Almost all 15-16 centuries. This room is at the farthest end of the museum from the entrance of the New Hermitage building.

If you want to get away from the main tourist route, you can hide from the crowd in halls of ancient art on the first floor of the New Hermitage. Marble statues of Greek gods and Roman emperors stand silently there, painted ceramics preserve the aroma of ancient wines, oils and perfumes.

Or in the halls Primitive culture on the first floor of the Winter Palace. Do you know what Pazyryk and Arzhan are? These are the names of ancient mounds in which wonderful things were found. Having been here, you will be able to show off your rare knowledge to your friends. You will be amazed by the mummy of a tattooed leader and the world's largest felt carpet from the 1st millennium BC. e., in which the mustachioed “jigit” (tribal leader) appears before the great ancient goddess. Lovers East awaits the third floor of the Winter Palace - halls of China, Japan, India, Iran. Ancient Egypt with sarcophagi and bizarre figures of gods next to the cafe on the 1st floor of the Winter Palace.

If you are interested in gold from tombs and personal jewelry of the Romanovs, you are welcome to Golden Pantry And Diamond Pantry Jewelry galleries. Special tickets can be purchased at the box office; there is also a schedule of excursions.

All Russian rulers from Catherine II to Nicholas II lived in the Winter Palace. But not everyone knows that there is an unusual exhibition in the Hermitage "Winter Palace of Peter the Great". It is located in the building of the Hermitage Theater (entrance from the Neva, Palace Embankment, 32), the ticket office is there. It turns out that the cellars of Peter's palace, fragments of walls, part of the courtyard have been preserved, and Peter's personal chambers have been recreated - the Turner, the Study and the Dining Room. Peter's original personal belongings were used to create the exhibition. In one of the rooms there is the famous Wax Persona by Rastrelli the Elder, which conveys the true appearance of Peter the Great.

Which of these can be photographed?

In the Hermitage you can photograph everything except mummies, temporary exhibitions and jewelry (for example, in the Jewelry Gallery). Remember to turn off the flash in rooms with paintings, fabrics and carpets. If you are having a professional photo shoot, then a ticket giving you the right to do this costs 5,000 rubles.

What you will NOT see in the Hermitage. Or the most common misconceptions

"Mona Lisa". This painting by Leonardo da Vinci is in the Louvre in Paris.

Amber room. It is located in a country summer residence - in the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

An imperial bedroom with a bed! The furnishings of the living rooms have not been preserved. There is no bed in the Blue Bedroom; temporary exhibitions are held there.

Imperial crown. She is in Moscow along with the scepter and the orb.

Faberge eggs. They are not represented in the Hermitage collection.

A carriage. Once upon a time the gilded carriage stood in the Field Marshal's Hall, but now all the carriages and carriages are in the Hermitage Repository.

Salvador Dali.

If you like to be told

You can take an audio guide for 350 rubles (you need to leave a deposit of 2000 rubles or any identification document other than a passport) and with it you can freely walk along the route of your choice. You can buy at the box office not only an entrance ticket, but also a ticket for a sightseeing tour and listen to it as part of a group. You can book an individual excursion at the Excursion Bureau under the arch of the Winter Palace (phone number 571-84-46). There, in September, you can buy a subscription to a series of themed classes, and you won’t have to stand in line to enter the museum. Excursions purchased not from the bureau, but from strangers or on third-party sites, may have arbitrary content and present fiction as truth; the Hermitage is not responsible for their quality.

The Hermitage is not only...

Not only the five buildings in question are part of the museum. The Hermitage belongs to the eastern wing of the General Staff building; it is located directly opposite the Winter Palace across Palace Square (see photo).

There are temporary exhibitions, lectures and a permanent exhibition will open soon. A branch of the Hermitage is the Menshikov Palace. It is located on the opposite bank of the Neva, on Vasilyevsky Island, Universitetskaya embankment, 15. The Hermitage opened the Porcelain Museum at the Imperial Porcelain Factory, Art. Lomonosovskaya metro station. And the Old Village Restoration and Storage Center recently opened to the public. This is a modern complex that introduces the museum’s funds and the conditions for their storage. There you can see collections of paintings, frescoes, furniture, applied art, tents and tents, carriages and carriages. Address: Zausadebnaya street, 37 “A”, Staraya Derevnya metro station. A visit is only possible with a guided tour: Wednesday – Sunday at sessions: 11.00, 13.00, 13.30, 15.30. For available places in groups, please call +7 812 340 10 26. A ticket with an excursion costs 550 rubles in 2019. Free admission - December 7 and the first Thursday of every month. Please note: free entry only applies to the entrance ticket (which is 250 rubles), you still pay for the excursion (300 rubles).

Tickets to the Hermitage

The entrance ticket in 2019 costs 700 rubles (electronic 680), for citizens of Russia and Belarus upon presentation of a passport - 400 rubles, sightseeing tour in a group - 250 per person, excursion to the Jewelry Gallery - 300, entrance ticket to Peter's Palace, Menshikov Palace, Porcelain Museum, General Staff - 300 rubles, RHC "Old Village" - 550 rubles (with excursion).

Preschoolers, schoolchildren, students, pensioners (Russian citizens) and the traditional group of beneficiaries have free access to the museum. Free entry to the museum for everyone on the third Thursday of every month.

Where to eat when visiting the Hermitage

The Hermitage cafe is not the cheapest in the city, but matches the prices on Nevsky Prospekt. There is no serious hot food there. Only coffee, tea, drinks, sandwiches, pies and cakes. Strengthening your physical strength can be combined with access to the Internet if your gadgets do not have such a built-in ability.

Souvenirs from the Hermitage

Bags, wallets, pillows, umbrellas, tapestries, porcelain, ceramics, jewelry, silk scarves, reproductions, albums, children's art books and even furniture made of precious wood are things that can become memorable. You won’t be able to buy the Mona Lisa, see why above. They didn’t ask about Rembrandt and others.

By the way, an interesting fact: the Hermitage gift shop does not sell nesting dolls - the director of the museum, Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, strictly prohibited it.

For cat lovers

Behind the gate located on the right side of the Winter Palace (if you are facing it) there is a well-known road sign with an image of a cat.

This is not a joke, but a real warning. The museum's holdings are protected from rats by a special team of felines. They are not allowed into the halls of the museum, but sometimes, of course, they sneak in. A couple of times, representatives of the editorial staff of the Window to St. Petersburg website saw them at the box office. Look on the Internet for materials on the request “cats of the Hermitage”, it’s worth it. Sometimes, by the way, the Hermitage gives away kittens. We had material about this, read.

The founding date of the Hermitage is considered to be 1764, when Catherine the Great acquired a collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Gotzkowsky.

Today the State Hermitage Museum has a collection of about 3 million works of art and monuments of world culture. It includes painting, graphics, sculpture and objects of applied art, archaeological finds.

In a whole day, you can explore all the museum’s exhibitions only at a very quick pace. We recommend dividing your visit to the Hermitage into 2 days, and if you come to St. Petersburg for several days, then continue exploring the museum on your next visit.

We share useful information to make your visit to the Hermitage as simple and interesting as possible.

Do not miss:

Operating mode

The museum is open for visitors:

• Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 10.30 – 18.00 (ticket office open until 17.00)
• Wednesday, Friday: 10.30 – 21.00 (ticket office open UNTIL 20.00)

When is admission to the Hermitage free?

Free visit for all categories of visitors: third Thursday of each month, March 8, May 18 and December 7.

There is always a queue to enter the Hermitage. People are allowed into the museum in batches. On normal days the line is about an hour and a half long. But on days of free admission, the queue to enter can stretch from the Alexander Column in the center of Palace Square. If you want to save on your ticket, come early and be prepared to stand for 2-3 hours.

Ticket prices

The ticket entitles you to a single visit to the museum on one day. You cannot leave the museum, walk around the city and come back.

There are several types of tickets, familiarize yourself with them so as not to get confused at the ticket office.

• 400 rubles– comprehensive entrance ticket for citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

Chances are, unless you are a foreigner, you need this ticket. Includes a visit to the Main Museum Complex, as well as the General Staff and the Winter Palace of Peter I. But once again we want to warn you that it is unrealistic to see everything in one day. Few people go to the exhibitions in the General Staff Building and our editors do not know anyone who was in three places at once on the same day.

• 300 rubles– entrance ticket to one of the separate objects of the Hermitage: General Staff, Winter Palace of Peter I, Menshikov Palace, Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory.

This is the case when you have already been to the Main Museum Complex and want to go to the General Headquarters.

When purchasing tickets you must present your passport. This is mandatory because for citizens of other countries, ticket prices are already higher.

• 700 rubles– comprehensive entrance ticket for everyone, except for citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
• Free tickets- pensioners ( only Russian citizens), children of preschool and school age (regardless of citizenship), students (regardless of citizenship), graduate students, cadets, disabled people of I and II groups.

To enter the museum for free, you still need to stand in line to enter and then in line at the ticket office. At the box office, upon presentation of a document entitling you to the benefit, you will be given a free ticket.

Where to buy tickets to the Hermitage

Tickets to the Hermitage can be purchased: at the box office, at an electronic kiosk, or online.

Tickets at the Hermitage box office

After standing in line and entering the museum building, you immediately find yourself in front of another line - at the ticket office. Don't be afraid, it moves very quickly. Spend 10-30 minutes, no more. Cards and cash are accepted for payment.

Tickets at an electronic kiosk

In the courtyard of the Hermitage, where there are queues, there are several kiosks where you can buy a ticket yourself, but only for the full price. Therefore, only a couple of foreigners buy there, who then still stand in line at the museum.

Electronic tickets and skip-the-line entry

You can buy only on the official website of the Hermitage e-ticket without commission, which gives the right to skip-the-line entrance to the Museum! In other places they will sell you the same ticket, but with a commission. For example, here, where there are vouchers for the Hermitage.

As you understand, you have to pay to enter without a queue. Therefore, an electronic ticket is more expensive than a regular ticket and the Hermitage has 2 offers:

• 730 rubles - free entry to the Hermitage for 1 day,
• 1020 rubles - explore the Hermitage for 2 days.

Benefits for pensioners and children remain. The purchased ticket (voucher) is valid for 180 days from the date of purchase, so you can purchase it in advance.

Where is the entrance to the Hermitage

If you bought e-ticket, which gives you the right to enter without a queue, then you will have a separate entrance - through Shuvalovsky Proezd (from Millionnaya Street or from Palace Embankment - between the buildings of the Small Hermitage and the New Hermitage).

For everyone else: Opposite the Alexander Column there is a gate through which we enter the Great Courtyard of the Winter Palace. There are two queues. You can go where you like best.

For those who want to view the exhibitions located in the General Staff Building, you need to leave the Great Courtyard and walk in the opposite direction. If you stand facing the arch of the General Staff Building, then 100 meters on the left there will be an almost inconspicuous entrance to the museum.

How to see the Hermitage

After purchasing a ticket, you can leave your personal items in the cloakroom. Outerwear is required. Believe it or not, there will most likely be a queue there too. There are automatic lockers, there are few of them and they are always busy. After this, ticket control. Liquids are not allowed.

After control, you can take an audio guide and a map of the Hermitage. The scheme is free, and the audio guide costs 350 rubles in Russian and 500 in a foreign language. Deposit 2000 rubles or document (except passport!).

Be sure to take the diagram! Otherwise it will not be clear where to go. Each hall has its own caretakers. They keep order and help you navigate the museum. These are not guides or tour guides. The caretakers can only tell you how to get into the hall with the Flemings or where the Peacock clock is located.

You can download the official audio guide for your smartphone from the Hermitage. True, only a few tours of the halls are free, the rest must be purchased.

The best option for the first time is in the company of an art expert.

You can walk around the Hermitage for a very long time. To view all the exhibits in the Hermitage collection, devoting no more than 1 minute to each, it will take 8 years. But you can count on 3-5 hours. And it’s hard to walk all day. Take short breaks - there is a cafe on the ground floor, not far from the Jordan Stairs.

The main museum of the Hermitage is a collection of five buildings, built at different times by different architects for different purposes, and connected in series with each other.

The Hermitage has 305 halls, but their number may vary depending on temporary exhibitions. If you have limited time, here are the most beautiful halls and pearls of the Hermitage:

1. Jordan Stairs.

This is where your acquaintance with the Hermitage will begin.

2. Loggias of Raphael.

The loggias are a separate gallery consisting of 13 buildings. The inspiration for this place came from Vatican paintings, from which the frescoes were copied. Every corner of the loggia, including columns and ceilings, is painted with paintings with biblical motifs. The entire composition includes 52 canvases dedicated to the Old Testament and 4 to the New.

3. Armorial Hall of the Winter Palace.

One of the most luxurious halls.

4. Alexander Hall.

A spacious hall combining elements of Gothic and neoclassicism.

5. Malachite living room.

Due to the interior decoration with precious stones, this is the most valuable room in the building.

6. Golden living room of Maria Alexandrovna.

State room of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. The atmosphere fully corresponds to the name - everything shines.

7. Concert hall.

8. White Hall.

9. Halls of Ancient Egypt.

Sculptures, sarcophagi, mummies, texts from the Book of the Dead, ancient amulets, a statue of Amenemhet the Third, a sculpture of the goddess Sekhmet. You can't miss it.

10. Halls of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

The culture of antiquity in a huge number of rooms.

11. Pavilion hall.

The most precious exhibit in this room is the Peacock mechanical watch.

12. Hall of Leonardo Da Vinci.

13. Dutch painting.

14. Rembrandt Hall.

You will not be able to pass by this hall. There is always a huge crowd near the painting “The Prodigal Son”, no less than in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.

By the way, the Hermitage has a second collection of paintings by Rembrandt. Only the Rembrandt Museum in Amsterdam competes with it.

Summer, white nights, school holidays - a time of incredible queues at the State Hermitage. If you are not ready to overpay for a ticket in the terminal or on the Internet, then you are guaranteed a long wait among those wishing to get into one of the main museums in Russia.

When, after all, is it better to visit the State Hermitage on Palace Square, so as not to waste your precious time in queues?

July 2016

July 2016

— Not during the high tourist season (from May to September), summer holidays and holidays.

— Don’t try to get into the Hermitage on Tuesday morning. Monday is a day off, and many tourists come for 2-3 days with the desire to visit “everything”. A missed Monday will show itself in a large queue on Tuesday morning.

— On the day when you can enter the museum for free. The queues can stretch across the entire Palace Square. Your time and nerves are not worth this test.

— On Wednesday the museum is open until 21:00. If you come at 17-18 hours, when the bulk of tourists have already subsided, there is hope to get into the museum without waiting in line and quietly look at the works of art. Please note that most wardrobes are open until 6pm on Wednesday.

— Come in the morning, about half an hour before the museum opens. At 10.30 4 cash registers will open, two on the left and two on the right. You will be able to get into the Hermitage in the first rows.

— You can buy a ticket at any travel agency. Travel agencies purchase tickets for groups. And if they tell you that the excursion is at 11 o’clock, then at 11.00 you and the group will enter the museum. In just one hour, everything will be quickly shown and told. You may not even see or hear everything, but you are already in the museum. And you can spend your “free” time after the excursion on a thorough tour of the exhibitions.

- The main secret. The best day to visit the Hermitage is December 31st. There are no queues and the halls are almost empty!

You can also visit the Hermitage, bypassing the huge queues, with more expensive tickets:

— By purchasing an electronic voucher on the website www.hermitageshop.ru/tickets (ticket price 580 rubles). The e-voucher is valid for 6 months from the date of order. The voucher is exchanged at a special ticket office, under the arch behind the Main Gate of the Winter Palace (entrance from Palace Square).

— In the terminals installed in the Great Courtyard of the Winter Palace (ticket price 600 rubles). After purchasing tickets, you can immediately enter the exhibition. Please note that discount tickets cannot be purchased through the terminal.

But during the high tourist season, there may also be queues at the terminals and special ticket offices for exchanging an electronic voucher.

If you go to a museum and need to return things, but there are no places in the wardrobe, be prepared for this. Bring a large bag with you and put your things in it. There are no spaces in the wardrobe, but there are free metal cells where you can put your things.

In the wardrobe, go to the very end, there may still be space there. There are almost always “NO PLACES” signs at the beginning. Sometimes cloakroom attendants leave a few places for foreigners, who can give them tea and sugar.

Opening hours of the Hermitage on Palace Square:

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10-30 to 18-00 (ticket office open from 10-30 to 17-30).

Wednesday from 10-30 to 21-00 (ticket office open from 10-30 to 20-30).

Every first Thursday of the month is a free day.

It is difficult to get lost in the St. Petersburg center. :)The Hermitage is located in the historical city center, on Palace Square.

The closest is the Admiralteyskaya metro station (270 m). When you get out, immediately turn left, and after a couple of steps you will find yourself on Malaya Morskaya Street. There, turn right, and after a few meters you will exit onto Nevsky Prospekt. Then follow it to the left - walk to Palace Square, where you will see the entrance to the museum. For visitors with Internet tickets there is a separate entrance: from the street. Millionnaya, in the Small Hermitage.

If the weather is good, you can walk along Nevsky to the Hermitage Museum and longer: from the Gostiny Dvor metro station (transition to Nevsky Prospekt station) - about 600 m.

How to buy a ticket to the Hermitage of St. Petersburg?

Which ticket do you prefer: electronic or regular? The most convenient way is to buy an electronic ticket. We sincerely recommend doing this: you will protect yourself from queuing at the cash register. The Hermitage Museum is known for long queues, especially during tourist seasons and school holidays. But at other times, unfortunately, they are not uncommon. It’s very disappointing if you have to stand around for a couple of hours, and then the wardrobe runs out of space for clothes, and they announce that receiving visitors is temporarily closed. This applies more to the autumn-winter time, when the dressing room quickly becomes overcrowded. We didn’t find ourselves in such a situation, but people often complain on forums.

How much does a ticket to the Hermitage cost?

They vary depending on the season, but not much. (Please note: this does not apply to e-tickets, prices are constant throughout the year). You can buy electronic tickets of your choice - valid for one or two days. The difference in price is not very big: 680 and 1020 rubles. If you have time, we recommend choosing a two-day tour. It includes a larger number of buildings - objects of the museum complex.

Where are the Hermitage ticket offices?

An important point: in addition to the main ticket windows, there are also Hermitage ticket offices located in the General Staff building (across the square from the Winter Palace). The queues there are usually much shorter.

Hermitage free visit

Remember the days when all individual visitors can enter for free: these are the 1st Thursday of each month plus December 7th. But it’s best to avoid visiting on these days if you don’t want to jostle in the crowd. If possible, do not go to the Hermitage on Tuesday, especially in the first half of the day. Every Monday is a day off, after which it is logical that there will be a crowd of people.

Free visit daily for the following groups of citizens: Children, students, pensioners of the Russian Federation, as well as visitors of some other categories. See the full list on the official website.

How to get to the Hermitage without queuing?

What time of year is there the least likelihood of queues? In March, we stood on the street for no more than 15 minutes. Friends waited for the same amount in November. I recommend checking out the reviews on the forums on this topic. Avoid concessionary visiting days and summer months if possible

It has over 3 million exhibits, from the Stone Age to the present day, which are presented in 350 halls with a total length of 20 kilometers.

A walk through its halls will become a tempting and exciting journey lasting 8 years of life, if you devote at least 1 minute of time to each exhibit, as experts have calculated. But the game is worth the candle.

The Hermitage museum complex occupies 5 buildings on Palace Embankment: the Winter Palace, the Hermitage - Bolshoi, Small, New, and the Hermitage Theater. They get acquainted with the ancient and ancient world, Eastern and European culture, the history of Russian art, numismatics, weapons, the interiors of imperial chambers and galleries, antiques, household items and other unique rarities of the past.

In the museum halls of the Menshikov Palace, which is located on the University Embankment, the culture of Russia of the 1st third of the 18th century is presented. In the left wing of the General Staff building, works by masters of the 19th and 20th centuries are exhibited, including impressionists and post-impressionists.

Field Marshal's Hall

The main enfilade of the Winter Palace opens with a ceremonial hall. Gilded bronze chandeliers and superb grisaille paintings contain images of laurel wreaths and trophies, emphasizing the valor of the Russian army. On the walls are portraits of outstanding field marshals. Here you can also see Russian porcelain from the early 19th century.

Petrovsky (Small Throne) Hall

The hall was designed by Montferrand in 1833 in honor of Peter the Great. The decoration includes the monograms of the 1st Emperor of Russia, double-headed eagles and a crown. In the central niche in the form of a triumphal arch is a portrait of Peter the Great with the goddess Slava. The canvases on the walls depict the heroism of the sovereign in the battles of the Northern War. The hall is decorated with panels made of silver and Lyon velvet.

Armorial Hall

At the entrance you are greeted by sculptures of ancient Russian warriors with banners, on the shafts of which there are shields with the coats of arms of Russian provinces, which are also visible on gilded bronze chandeliers. The central part is occupied by a bowl of aventurine. Each element of the interior brings its own value and meaning to the overall ensemble, and all together create a picture of grandeur and solemnity.

Military gallery of 1812

The gallery was opened in honor of the victory over the French. It was created according to the design of Karl Ivanovich Rossi. The walls are decorated with portraits of 332 generals - participants and heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1812. In a place of honor are portraits of Alexander the First and the monarchs - allies of Frederick - William the Third and Franz the First.

St. George (Great Throne) Hall

The hall of the Winter Palace, where official ceremonies and receptions took place, was created by Stasov, who preserved the compositional design of the architect Quarenghi. The columned hall is decorated with Carrara marble and gilded bronze. Above the Throne Place you can see the bas-relief “St. George slaying the dragon with a spear.” The imperial throne was commissioned by Empress Anna Ioannovna in London. The stacked parquet is made of 16 valuable types of wood.

Alexander Hall

The hall of the Winter Palace is dedicated to the memory of the emperor - reformer Alexander the First, a medallion with whose image can be seen in the lunette of the end wall. The frieze contains twenty-four images of prominent battles of 1812. Also exhibited here are European silver items from the 16th to 19th centuries.

White Hall

The hall was created for the wedding of Emperor Alexander II. The interior is especially luxuriously decorated with decorative plastic. The space is filled with sculptures of ancient Roman gods.

Golden living room

The hall, designed by Bryullov, belonged to Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander II. After his tragic death in this room, members of the State Council, led by the new autocrat Alexander III, approved the Constitution. Everything in the decoration corresponds to the name - gilded stucco ornament on the ceiling, gilded doors, gilded floral patterns on the walls. Jasper columns add splendor, and a marble fireplace adds splendor and comfort.

Malachite living room

The room was intended for the wife of Nicholas I, Alexandra Fedorovna, and served as one of her personal chambers. The skillful decoration of the entire space with malachite amazes every imagination.

Small dining room

The interior was furnished by Krasovsky in the Rococo style. The walls are decorated with tapestries from the 18th century and there are also objects from the early 20th: an English musical chandelier, a French clock and domestically produced glassware. Here at night, during the capture of the Winter Palace, the Bolsheviks arrested members of the Provisional Government, as a memorial plaque reminds.

Gallery of portraits of the Romanovs

In the hall there are images of all members of the royal family from Peter the Great to Nicholas II. The Winter Palace, now occupied by the Hermitage, was built under Elizabeth Petrovna; since then, the sovereigns and their relatives have permanently lived in the palace. The walls of its halls were decorated with imperial images.

Library of Nicholas II

The office belonged to the last emperor, as evidenced by the porcelain portrait on the owner’s table. The premises were designed in 1895 by the architect Alexander Fedorovich Krasovsky. The decoration features English Gothic motifs. The ceiling, furniture, bookcases are made of walnut wood. The interior is decorated with panels of embossed gilded leather. Everything taken together, plus a fireplace and tall windows with openwork frames, immerse you in the atmosphere of the medieval era.

Concert hall

The hall closes the Neva Enfilade of the Winter Palace. It was created by the architect Stasov. Here are statues of ancient muses and the goddess Flora. The main exhibit is the tomb of St. Alexander Nevsky, made in silver by local craftsmen by order of Elizaveta Petrovna, transferred to the Hermitage from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in 1922.

Ancient Egyptian culture

On the 1st floor of the Winter Palace, on the site of the former Buffet, in 1940, the chief architect of the Hermitage, Alexander Vladimirovich Sivkov, built a hall of culture of Ancient Egypt. Egyptian household items, sarcophagi, monumental sculptures, examples of small sculptures, figurines, and artistic works of artisans are exhibited here. The most striking works are the statues of Amenemhet III, the queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty - Cleopatra VII, the stele of Ipi and many others.

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Hall

The converted living room in the chambers of the daughters of Nicholas the First was designed by the architect Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov. The hall houses archeological monuments of the 6-2 millennia BC, brought from Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and many parts of Russia. There are unique finds - a slab with petroglyphs from Karelia, a staff handle in the shape of an elk's head from the Sverdlovsk region, an image of an idol from the Pskov region, figurines from burial mounds in Turkmenistan.

Culture of nomadic tribes of Altai VI-V centuries BC. e.

Numerous artifacts found during excavations near the Karakoli Ursul River are represented by overlays and wooden images of animals that served as decoration for harnesses. A large wooden plaque with two flying griffins was especially skillfully carved. It served as a decoration on the horse's head. This exhibit is recognized as one of the outstanding works of art of antiquity.

Hall of the early Middle Ages in Siberia and Transbaikalia

The culture of the Tagars and Tashtyks is represented by household items, weapons and other ancient works found by archaeologists in the Minusinsk Basin in Khakassia. Of particular interest are the funeral masks that were placed on mannequins containing the ashes of the dead. Women's masks are white with red curls, men's masks are red with transverse black stripes.

Paving Beam

Exhibits from the archaeological monument Moshchevaya Balka in the North Caucasus indicate that a branch of the ancient Silk Road ran in these places, from where the finds exhibited in the hall were brought. The exhibition is decorated with well-preserved samples of fabrics, precious Chinese, Sogdian, Mediterranean silks, clothing, wood and leather items from the local Alan-Adyghe tribes.

Culture of the Golden Horde

Treasures of Volga Bulgaria are exhibited in the back - gold and silver jewelry, weapons and horse harnesses. Interesting works are related to shamanic cults and written culture, a tile with Persian verses, as well as “Dish with a Falconer”.

Hall of the Arts of France

The 16th-century French Art Hall (paintings by Louis XIII artist Simon Vouet, Eustache Lesueur and Laurent de La Hire. The 17th-century French Art Hall displays paintings by the great French classicist Nicolas Poussin, the best 11 paintings. The 18th-century French Art Hall exhibits the best works of the French school of this time - 8 works by Antoine Watteau. The Hall of Applied Arts of France of the 17th-18th centuries presents works of masters who worked in the neoclassical style.

UK Art Hall

Here are paintings by one of the leading masters of the 18th century - Joshua Reynolds, as well as original copies of portraits of members of the royal family of England. Catherine II ordered the “Service with a Green Frog” here. The display cases display products made from basalt and jasper from Wedgwood.

Halls of the Great Hermitage

The first floor of the building is occupied by administrative premises and the directorate of the State Hermitage. The 2nd floor displays works by Renaissance masters. The halls of Italian art are located here.

The Jupiter Hall represents the art of Rome from the 1st to 4th centuries. In its decor you can see medallions with profiles of Michelangelo, Canova, Martos and other great sculptors. Of particular interest here are the sculptural portraits and marble sarcophagi. The name of the hall was given by the statue of Jupiter from the country villa of the Roman emperor Domitian. The masterpieces of the collection are portraits of the emperors Lucius Verus, Balbinus and Philip the Arab.

The Hall of Italian Renaissance Art of the 13th–15th centuries of the Great Hermitage opens an exhibition of works from the beginning of the emergence of a new culture - the Pre-Renaissance era. Here are products from the Florentine workshop of sculptors and ceramicists of the Della Robbia family.

Here you can visit the Titian Hall, intended to receive noble guests of the imperial court; paintings from the late period of the master’s work are presented here.

The Hall of Art of Italy of the 16th century presents works by Venetian painters of the 16th century: Jacob Palma the Elder, Lorenzo Lotto, Giovanni Battista Cima de Conegliano. The Leonardo da Vinci Hall presents 2 masterpieces of the artist - “Benois Madonna” and “Madonna Litta”. Raphael's loggias are the prototype of the gallery of the Vatican Palace in Rome, painted according to Raphael's sketches. The gallery vaults are decorated with paintings by the master on biblical subjects. The walls are decorated with grotesque ornaments.

Knight's Hall

One of the large ceremonial interiors of the New Hermitage. The hall was intended for the exhibition of coins. There is a collection of weapons here - about 15 thousand items - an exposition of Western European weapons: tournament, ceremonial, hunting, bladed and firearms. Knight's armor is also presented here.

Gallery of the history of ancient painting

The exhibition in the hall features European sculpture of the 19th century. The walls are decorated with paintings by the artist Hiltensperger on scenes from ancient Greek myths, made with wax paints on brass boards in imitation of ancient techniques. The gallery exhibits works by the outstanding sculptor Antonio Canova and his followers. On the vaults are portraits of famous masters of European art, including the author of the New Hermitage project, Leo von Klenze.

Pavilion Hall of the Small Hermitage

The room was built in the 19th century by Andrei Ivanovich Stackenschneider, who combined motifs from antiquity, the Renaissance and the East. It overlooks Catherine's Hanging Garden. The hall is decorated with Bakhchisarai marble fountains, located symmetrically opposite each other. The local mosaic works and elegant tables inlaid with semi-precious stones are also famous.

But the most remarkable exhibit is the famous Peacock watch. The wondrously beautiful peacock was created by the English master James Cox, who was in demand at that time. This “peacock” charm was purchased by Prince Grigory Potemkin as a gift to Catherine the Great. The watch was delivered to St. Petersburg disassembled. The composition was assembled on the spot by Ivan Kulibin.

In the Hermitage, each room is unique in its own way, everything cannot be described in words. Of course, you can find out more about the hall you are interested in on any resource. But it’s better to watch it once than to read about it 100 times. The Hermitage opens its chambers and hospitably welcomes everyone!