The Hermitage Museum. St. Petersbug, Russia (1 Viewer)

[PhilandMena]

PhilandMena submitted a new Showcase Item:

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I was advised to visit St Petersburg during the 'White Night's' and told probably the most spectacular city in Europe. It's only a 2 hour flight from Frankfurt and getting the visa was quite easy. We arranged for a private flat in a prime location that cost no more than the hotels and of a much better standard.
We spent a whole week exploring the museums and other popular sites and managed to see about 8 out of our top 10 list. I would say this is in the top 5 places to visit in the whole world. Amazing. We spent one whole day in the Hermitage and covered less than 10% of what it had on show. It's massive, with some of it's collections in other museums around the globe.
Some of the photo's are a bit blurred but I have included them anyway in a 'warts and all' selection.

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[Bailey58]

We were there via a cruise in October, wonderful city and so much to see. We spent only 3 hours in the Hermitage but it was enough after seeing so many other museums and churches within two days, impressed with the "trompe l'oeil" ceilings too that appear to be curved but were actually flat. We were lucky that the fountains were still flowing in Peterhof Gardens, so many highlights but that was one of the best.

 

[martin2603]

Had a week there and a week in Moscow some years ago. All of the Palaces of course have been reinstated following the rev . But truly splendid and in the gardens of the Summer Palace the Red Squirrels will eat out of your hand !! St Petersburg is a very vibrant City in comparison to Moscow which suffers too much influence from the Kremlin. The inhabitants were a very sad lot, However the Metro Stations were something to behold.

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[MannClan]

cruised there in June really enjoyed the palace and the museum - loads of photo opportunities.

 

[PhilandMena]

We were there via a cruise in October, wonderful city and so much to see. We spent only 3 hours in the Hermitage but it was enough after seeing so many other museums and churches within two days, impressed with the "trompe l'oeil" ceilings too that appear to be curved but were actually flat. We were lucky that the fountains were still flowing in Peterhof Gardens, so many highlights but that was one of the best.

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I see you manged to fit in Peterhof and the Peter and Paul fortress too. Outstanding. There is a fantastic military museum very close to the fortress and well worth the visit. Did you manage to get inside the Church of the spilled blood ?

 

[Bailey58]

Yes we did the Spilled Blood, spent more time there watching a couple of pickpockets hovering near our party.

We booked with a shore based company, SPB Tours and did their Classic 2 day Deluxe Tour. It cost us around £275 each but we saw more, and for far less money, than the ship’s tours. Only ten of us on an 18 seat Merc minibus so we could spread out as we wished for pictures.

Peter and Paul’s Fortress and Cathedral.
Hydrofoil ride to Peterhof (although it was too rough on the day so we stayed in our bus) which also gave us the opportunity for a …
Trip on the Metro.
Peterhof Gardens and fountains only, not the palace.
Lunch locally.
Tsar’s Village (Tsarskoye Selo).
Catherine’s Palace, Amber Rooms and Park.

Whilst the rest returned to the ship at 18.00 four of us went to the Folklore Show at the Nikolaevsky Palace. We were there early and made the mistake of grabbing the front row middle seats from where yours truly got hauled onto the stage to join in the dancing. Dancing and I don’t go well together and for me it’s almost a complete blank to this day, good job my wife defied protocol and whipped out the camera to record the occasion for prosperity.

Next day was a Canal Boat Ride which we could have managed without as we’d seen it all on land already.
Hermitage Museum
Lunch locally.
Church of Our Saviour of the Spilled Blood.
Yusupov Palace and the Rasputin exhibit and lurid talk on his bloody demise.
St Isaac’s Cathedral.

We did a Farmer's Market some time too although nothing to write home about.

Given the time of year we didn’t face any queues as the guides get priority and considered it money well spent for a place we are unlikely to go back to. I may have mentioned it on Fun before but should anyone do St Petersburg from a cruise you do not have to take the ship’s tours as they would like you believe only they can provide the visa. Book with any registered shore based company and the ticket acts as the visa for a maximum of three days.

Here's a couple for publication:

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[Spidey]

Totally agree we used SPB tours when we went a few years ago. Excellent company well worth the money for the tour. The ships tours well all on large coaches whereas we were on small buses. They try to scare you about visas but as long as you use a licensed tour company they sort out everything.

 

[PhilandMena]

Although we went several years ago, we found it very simple to get visa's. As best as I can recall we went on line filled in a form and then sent it with passports to the Russian embassy in London, cheap as chips too. Some company's charge for the service but that's a rip off. Alternatively, you can go directly to the Russian embassy in London and get your Visa. There is always a que at the gates and you need to be there early as they only process about 100 people per day and people are always turned away when the limit is reached. We found that by doing a little research and making our own arrangement's saved us a lot of money, gave us much more time in St Petersburg and was great fun to boot.

 

[PhilandMena]

A few more pictures.

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