The Winter Palace is the largest and most famous of the buildings that make up the State Hermitage Museum on Palace Embankment in St. Petersburg, having served as the official residence of the Russian emperors from 1732 to 1917.
Catherine the Great founded the Hermitage’s art collection in 1764 to fill rooms of the palace, and the museum opened to the public in 1852; today the complex spans six historic buildings and displays more than 3 million items, from Egyptian antiquities to Western European masterpieces. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:30 AM to 6 PM, with extended hours until 9 PM on Wednesday and Friday, and is closed Mondays.
Visitors should set aside at least 3 hours to see the palace’s most significant state rooms.