Hermitage Museum

World-class art museum inside the Tsars' Winter Palace — over three million exhibits, UNESCO World Heritage

The State Hermitage in Saint Petersburg ranks among the world's largest and most significant art museums. Over three million exhibits — paintings by Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, and Matisse, Egyptian mummies, Greek vases, and Scythian gold — are spread across more than 350 rooms. At its heart stands the magnificent Winter Palace, completed in 1762 as a residence for Empress Elizabeth and used by the Tsar's family until the 1917 Revolution. The entire building complex along the Neva is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of central St Petersburg. Walking through its gold-white-turquoise halls today is one of the most concentrated cultural experiences in Europe.