St. Petersburg, Russia
 

We will visit St. Petersburg on a cruise in June, arriving 8:00 AM on Wednesday and departing at 6:00 PM on Thursday. Friends have told us not to take a tour of the Hermitage museum because you are rushed through and don't get to absorb anything. They recommend taking cabs to and from the museum and setting up our own itinerary. Does anyone have any comments? If we decide to go on our own, and spend half a day, any suggestions as what to concentrate on? Thanks.

St.Petersburg is one of the most beautifull cities (at least its center). You will enjoy it. The Hermitage is the very large museum and it can take the whole your day, if you want to visit it - try to make just a short look around. I recommend you to visit St.Isaac cathedral and there are several others cathedrals. You can also take a very boat tour through a great number of canals and rivers. Finally there will be white nights in St.Petersburg in june and you will enjoy a night walk in city center when bridges over Neva-river will be rosen. Have a nice travel.
Konstantin Kolovski

St. Petersburg is a lovely city and there is so much to see. I went to both the Summer Palace and The Hermitage on the same day. It was rush rush rush but I didn't want to miss one or the other. Try taking half of the first day to see the Summer Palace and half of the second day to see the Hermitage. Arrive at both as soon as they open in the morning. IMO, the Summer Palace out-shines the Versaille and is a must see. The Hermitage is huge and it would take weeks to see it properly. To miss it completely would be a shame. A tour will tend to rush you through, however, the guide can provide information about the exhibits if you can't read Russian. A canal ride is a lovely way to end the afternoon. If you enjoy ballet, book tickets to the Kirov or the Hermitage shows in the evening. Language barriers may be a problem so be sure to bring information about your ship and where it is docked so that a cab driver only needs to read it to take you back there.

While it has been almost 10 years since I visited the Hermitage, I feel confident in saying that it must not be missed. Rush, rush, rush is certainly an apt description of my visit. However, the afternoon that I spent there is one that I will never forget. If you are intersted in Impressionist Art, I suggest you go directly to the upper floors. This portion of our visit was left until the end, when we only had 10 minutes of our tour remaining. The majority of the museum houses 17th - 19th Century Art, with a heavy emphasis on the 18th Century. One interesting point: while at the Hermitage, we viewed one of Rembrandt's wonderful paintings - to out absolute horror we realized that a window in the gallery was open and DIRECT SUNLIGHT was pouring over the painting. That, more than anything, is what I remember best from my visit. More than an Art Gallery, the Hermitage represents history and as such really gives you a clear idea of just why the peasants revolted. I have never seen a more opulent building. Don't miss it!!

If you see nothing else in St Petersburg you MUST go to the Hermitage. It doesn't matter that you can't see it all - it will blow you away regardless.It is one of the most important 3 or 4 museums in the world. Curators died in WW2 trying to protect its treasures.