The Hermitage
St. Petersburg, Russia
W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
One of the world's largest art museums, this St. Petersburg institution was founded in 1764 as Catherine the Great's private collection. The Winter Palace's opulent Rococo and neoclassical interiors showcase the imperial aesthetic across its 1,220 artworks. Works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Gauguin, and Cézanne anchor a collection spanning Egyptian antiquities to modern masterpieces. Essential for experiencing Old Master paintings and Russian imperial grandeur in their original architectural context.
