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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 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.
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.
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 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.