State Russian Museum (Russkiy Muzey)
Art enthusiasts visiting St. Petersburg likely already have the State Russian Museum at the top of their itinerary. This is the world’s largest museum of Russian fine art, as well as Russia’s first state-owned art museum, with more than 400,000 works of art on display.
The basics
The museum’s main collection is housed in Mikhailovsky Palace—leave a minimum of two hours to take in the highlights. Discover icons, paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts dating from the 12th to 19th centuries; see notable works by Russian artists such as Levitsky, Borovikovsky, Petrov-Vodkin, Levitan, Bruni, and Rerikh; and admire the opulent interiors of the neoclassical palace.
Don’t miss famous paintings including Bruillov's The Last Day of Pompeii, Repin's The Barge Haulers, and Alexander Ivanov’s Christ’s Appearance to the People.
Things to know before you go
- You can purchase an individual admission ticket for Mikhailovsky Palace or a general entrance ticket to all of the Russian State Museum buildings, which is valid for three days.
- Ticket lines for the Russian State Museum can be long, with waits of over an hour at peak times. Save time by purchasing skip-the-line tickets in advance or joining a tour.
- The museum has a gift shop and café.
- Mikhailovsky Palace has lifts and ramps, and most exhibition areas are accessible for wheelchairs and strollers.
How to get there
The State Russian Museum lies close to the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood in central St. Petersburg. The closest metro stations are Nevsky Prospekt (Line #2) and Gostinyy dvor (Line #3), both about a 5-minute walk away.
Trip ideas
When to get there
The museum at Mikhailovsky Palace is open daily except Tuesdays. On Thursdays, it is open in the afternoons only, but stays open late. Arrive early to avoid the crowds—tour buses typically start arriving from 11am and lines are often longest from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.
The Other Collections of the State Russian Museum
The State Russian Museum also houses permanent exhibitions in a number of other buildings. Next door, the Benoit Wing has collections of 19th- and 20th- century art, including decorative and applied arts. A stroll through the tree-lined paths of the Mikhailovsky Garden will take you to Mikhailovsky Castle, home to the Portrait Gallery and sculpture collection. Various permanent and temporary exhibitions are also shown at the Marble Palace, Stroganov Palace, and Peter I Summer Palace.
- Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines
- Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
- Russian Museum of Ethnography
- Yusupov Palace (Yusupovsky Dvorets)
- Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan (Kazansky Sobor)
- Pushkin Museum
- Mikhailovsky Castle (St. Michael's Castle)
- The General Staff Building
- Stroganov Palace (Stroganovsky Dvorets)
- Summer Palace of Peter the Great (Letniy Dvorets)
- Nevsky Prospekt
- Winter Palace of Peter the Great at the Hermitage
- State Hermitage Museum
- Alexandrinsky Theatre
- Monument to Catherine II (Pamyatnik Ekaterina II)