Hermitage Museum

Did you talk to anybody who took the 3 hour evening excursion about their experience? Just curious.

I did not talk directly to anyone who took the 3 hour evening visit, but there are many posts from such persons on different sites and in all cases, the traveler was very happy with the 3 hour evening shore excursion. There were no crowds and mostly it was cruise ship passengers visiting and you could get up real close to see the art work.

I went to the Hermitage on Friday, Oct. 4th around 5PM. On Fridays it stays open until 9PM. I felt the crowds were light around that time and date. I had paid extra and bought tickets online, which lets you enter at a separate entrance. There was no one there when we went to that entrance. As for the cloakroom, again, one person was there when we checked in a backpack and no one there when we picked it up. However, I must say the man who did the checking in was a total grouch! We spent about 4.5 hours there and had no problem seeing anything and no problem taking pictures inside, either.

Bostonphil,
Sorry to hear your Hermitage experience was less than ideal - I remember you had been looking forward to that trip. Hopefully, an almost deserted Peterhof offered some consolation :-)

As to the Hermitage - yes, as many others, I would definitely vote for an evening tour (preferably, DIY).
If you are willing to spend about a half day there - I recommend starting with the General Staff bldg's collection at around 3pm (the building is never crowded) and then move to the main collection at around 5 or 6pm. This will give you 3 full hours in the Winter Palace with no crowds.

The problem, of course, is that the above option is only available on Wednesdays and Fridays and not readily available to cruise passengers visiting SPB under the visa-free rule.

My group was leaving the Hermitage around 5 pm. We had to go through the cloakroom to leave and it was mass hysteria and chaos. I became frightened and could not wait to get out. It was not a good experience.

Yes, the Hermitage for me was a big disappointment due to the crowds. The museum was not the disappointment but, for me, the crowds ruined the experience.

The Hermitage was at the top of my list and I planned my visit in St. Petersburg around my visit to the Hermitage.

Now, I wish that I had stuck with the evening visit which i had originally signed up for.

I loved Peterhoff. I thought that it was far more beautiful than the pictures. Peterhoff had some crowds but it was far more manageable and comfortable than the Hermitage. The grounds were exquisite and spacious and even with a lot of people were comfortable and relaxed.

I hope that one day I might be able to go back and do this cruise over again.

Oh yes, that Hermitage cloakroom was a mess. Our Norwegian tour guide advised us to leave all non-essentials on the bus because of this, although coats weren't an issue in 90-degree July weather. Unfortunately, I don't think I've talked to anyone who visited the Hermitage on an organized tour and didn't feel the crowds. It may just be that you have to DIY or hire a personal or exclusive guide to get you around the crush of the crowds.

On my summer trip, I felt the Peterhof crowds were actually worse than the Hermitage (although both were a sea of international humanity). Add the heat, humidity, and let's just say the "aroma" of thousands of sweaty people with varying degrees of personal hygiene ... the fountains and gardens were great, but the overall experience still left a lot to be desired.