Top 5 Art Museums in St. Petersburg

1. The Hermitage

Number one on this list will be a surprise to no one. The Hermitage is world renowned as one of the best art museums in the world and its enormous collection and sumptuous setting puts most other museums in the shade. For enthusiasts of art and culture, The Hermitage is a reason to come to St Petersburg all in itself and it features at the top of almost everyone else’s itinerary. Some of the statistics of the museum can be daunting, the one hundred and twenty rooms in the five building complex can only hold a bare minimum of the whole collection. Approximately ninety percent is held in storage at any one time, waiting to be rotated back onto display. As such it is possible to spend days or even weeks in the Hermitage without getting bored. Most people, however, find that one or two days is quite enough as St Petersburg has other attractions and other museums worth visiting.

2. The Russian Museum

With a more manageably sized and carefully selected collection than The Hermitage, the Russian Museum is all too often overlooked by visitors. The museum is aptly named, for its collection focuses on Russian art and culture from antiquity to the modern day. For many foreigners this will be very instructive, especially those who think, as I once did, that Russia after the 1917 revolution was a cultural wasteland. The Russian Museum is set in another of St Petersburg’s magnificent buildings, the Mikhailovsky Palace, with a set of tranquil gardens at the rear. The Russian Museum can easily be tackled in a day and the gardens can make for a picturesque walk afterwards.

3. The Stieglitz Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts

The Stieglitz Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts is a further example of a beautiful collection in matching surroundings. Initially a private collection aimed at inspiring students of design, the historical and contemporary pieces were separated after the revolution and have only recently been returned to their original setting. The collection is made up of furniture, paintings, porcelain and tapestries as well as other more unusual items. Possibly because of the first class competition, there are fewer visitors to the Stieglitz museum than it deserves, although as the refurbishment program continues this will hopefully change.

4. Pushkinskaya 10

The art scene of St Petersburg is not just about Old Masters and dusty masterpieces. There is a thriving contemporary art scene which interested visitors should not miss. Particularly remarkable is the complex situated at Pushkinskaya 10, a formerly condemned apartment block where artists and ‘free thinkers’ took refuge in the last days of the Soviet Union. Today there are several galleries and restaurants on site and usually many artists willing to talk to tourists (and try to sell them pieces of their work).

5. The Academy of Arts Museum

Finally, no list of art museums in St Petersburg would be complete without mention of the Academy of Arts Museum. Two ancient Egyptian Sphinxes stand guard at the front door of this august institution, where visitors can see pieces by members of the Academy, many of whom are familiar names. The Academy is famous for not just one fabulously productive wave of Russian art but also the fabulously productive reaction against it that followed.

Photo of the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, by Adam Baker

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About the author

Will Joce is a recent graduate from the London School of Economics who has a morbid fear of working in an office. As well as travelling and writing he has worked in the UK Parliament and as a press monitor. Refusing to follow advice and get a real job he will soon be beginning a Masters degree at St Petersburg State University