How to do the Hermitage

QUESTION: I intend to visit the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg this summer. This has been a lifelong dream, so I hope to give myself enough time to enjoy the various exhibitions. How many days would I need to set aside to tour the museum? - Helen Van Lingen

ANSWER: With a collection that has grown to more than three million items and is spread over six buildings along the Neva River, you could spend a year in the Hermitage and not see it all. So, if you are going to tackle the museum on your own, you need to have a good idea of what you want to concentrate on. At the very least, you would need three days. A good suggestion is to tour the buildings floor by floor on three different days. On the first day you would view the antiquities on the ground floor, on the second you focus on the European paintings on the first floor and on the third, you check out the 19th- and 20th-century paintings on the second floor. However, you may wish to consider one of the seven-day escorted tours offered by various travel operators in St Petersburg. This splits up the museum visits into five mornings and two afternoons. You will be guided by exhibit specialists to explore the collections’ highlights, affording you the opportunity to experience a side of the Hermitage not usually open to the public. You can easily book one of these tours on arrival in St Petersburg, and compare the price to that of hiring a personal guide.