Art Galleries & Museums

The Faberge Museum houses the world's finest collection of the famous Easter Eggs and other valuable jewelry pieces of historic importance that were manufactured by the Faberge workshop and his contemporaries in late 19th - early 20th centuries. Housed in the gorgeous Shuvalov Palace on the Fontanka River Embankment, the Museum's collection originated as a gift by a Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg who in 2004 purchased Malcolm Forbes' Faberge collection that paved the way to the current museum.

Self-Guided Tour with an Audio-guide

Visiting the Faberge Museum on your own has many advantages. First, when you rent an audio-guide in your native language you get complete flexibility to choose your own path inside the museum instead of following a rigid guided group tour. Second, you can stay in the museum for as long as you like without the timed constraints of the group tour. And third, it doesn't cost a fortune!

Insider Tour will save you time and hassle lining up to buy the tickets by arranging them for you in advance. We will also bring you to the museum and then back to your cruise ship after your self-guided tour is over.

Price: US$20 per person

Price includes:

• Guaranteed entry museum vouchers (these are not regular tickets that may sell out on the day of your visit)
• Personal audio guide for all tour participants
• No waiting in lines to enter the museum

Duration:

• Unrestricted

Private Guided Tour

With only a few foreign-language museum-sponsored guided tours available per day, foreign visitors have limited opportunities to join a guided tour group of their choosing.

Prices:

Prices include:

• Special private viewing admission just for your party
• Individual visitors pay full group price to gain admission at their desired time

Duration:

• Approximately 1 hour

Treasure Galleries

The Treasure Galleries at the Hermitage Museum is a repository of the museum’s magnificent and unique collections of jewelry art. Comprised of the Gold Rooms and the Diamond Rooms, the Treasure Gallery houses many jewelry pieces that belonged to the Romanov Royal Family and that witnessed many important moments in the private life of Russia’s ruling house. Many pieces were acquired to commemorate a birth of an heir, an anniversary, a patron saint day, to name a few, while others were presented as diplomatic gifts to the Russian emperors over the years.

The collection dates back to the days of Peter the Great who had precious items moved from the Armoury Chamber in Moscow to the newly founded capital of St. Petersburg. During the reign of Peter’s niece Anna and, later on, Peter’s daughter Elizabeth the collection added many rare and intricate works of jewelry art, such as snuffboxes, watches, beauty boxes, etc. But it was not until the reign of Catherine the Great when the new era of collecting arrived. Catherine went on a shopping spree acquiring works of both Russian and European craftsmen which to this day remain the rarest and most prized pieces of the entire collection.

Diamond Chamber

The so-called “Diamond Chamber” was officially opened in 1764 which put many precious pieces on display for the enjoyment of Catherine’s immediate entourage. In 1792 the Diamond Chamber was moved to the new Large Hermitage building and could now be admired by visitors to the imperial residence. In 1851 the Diamond Chamber was moved to one of the galleries of the Small Hermitage and since then it became known as the Treasure Gallery. During the subsequent years the collection grew largely through diplomatic gifts, archaeological discoveries and purchases of artwork by contemporary jewelers such as Carl Fabergé.

Gold Rooms

The Gold Rooms display the archaeological finds of the Scythian gold, ancient Greek and Oriental jewelry articles from India, Iran and China, as well as superb examples of ceremonial Oriental weapons. The earliest works date back to 4-3 century B.C. and include bracelets, rings, earrings and clothing decorations. Of particular interest are extremely rare displays of Pre-Columbian gold from South America, very intricate female gold earrings from South Russia, and a rare icons collection that belonged to the Russian Royal Family.

Visitor Information

Located in a high security area of the Hermitage Museum, the Treasure Gallery is open only to organized tour groups with confirmed reservations. Reservation requests must be submitted by no later than the 15th calendar date of the month preceding the month of the visit and are not guaranteed until the museum administration allots the entry time for your group. The Hermitage Museum reserves the right to change or cancel an already confirmed reservation and does not accept room-specific reservation requests. As a result, entry into your desired part of the Treasure Gallery is not guaranteed. Based on our experience the overwhelming majority of the reservation requests submitted through our office get confirmed.