State Russian Museum

• The best days for a visit are Thursdays and Fridays, especially in the afternoon.

• On Thursdays the museum is open from 1:00 pm to 9 pm, you’ll be able to skip the queues when visiting after 4 pm.

• The worst day for a visit, when the crowds are at their highest, is Mondays. State Hermitage Museum is closed on this day, and all the tourists in the city head to the State Russian Museum, significantly increasing the number of visitors. Wednesday is also to avoid during the high season!

• The crowds during the weekends and on public holidays are similar to those on Mondays.

• There are considerably less visitors in the museum between noon and 2 pm, since tourist groups leave for lunch at this time. Make the most of it!

• Avoid Mondays, as it is the most crowded day of the week. Wednesdays should also be avoided in high season!

• The most crowded months (because of tourists) are June as well as the beginning of July (White Nights period). May and September are good options to avoid crowds.

• If you arrive for the White Nights, there is usually less people at the beginning of that period (until 23rd June approximately).

This page will give you many tips to avoid crowds in Saint Petersburg as well as crowd schedules for top tourist attractions in order to plan your visits.

You can also get into the museum by the Benois wing side: the queue for the ticket desk there is always smaller, compared to the main entrances’ ticket office. Although you’ll have to discover the collection in reverse chronological order.

The entrance is free for all visitors under 18 years.

Mikhailovsky palace and Benois Wing:

• Adult: 450 rubles;
• Student: 200 rubles.

Combined ticket: Mikhailovsky Palace, Marble Palace, Stroganov Palace, St Michael’s Castle (within 3 days):

• Adult: 600 rubles;
• Student: 300 rubles;
• Permit for taking photos/video (without special lighting, tripods, or other equipment): 300 rubles.

Cabin of Peter the Great:

• Adult: 200 rubles;
• Student: 100 rubles;
• Permit for taking photos/video (without special lighting, tripods, or other equipment): 120 rubles.

Crédit photo: Pavlo Hryhorash via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)