Winter Palace & The Hermitage Museum – Saint Petersburg, Russia

The Winter Palace and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg are, without exaggeration, among the most magnificent cultural institutions I have ever encountered. Originally built between 1754 and 1762 as the official residence of the Russian tsars, the Winter Palace is a masterpiece of Baroque architecture. Its one of the largest and most prestigious art museums in the world.

Founded by Catherine the Great in 1764, the Hermitage houses more than three million works of art and artefacts, though only a fraction are on display at any one time. The scale of the collection is staggering, spanning from ancient civilisations to the most celebrated European masters. Every corner reveals another treasure—paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Matisse, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and sculptures, tapestries, manuscripts, and decorative arts that represent the rich tapestry of human history and creativity.

The Hermitage Museum left me with such a deep and lasting impression. There’s something about standing in front of a Matisse or a Gauguin, surrounded by the palace’s gilded columns and impossibly high ceilings, that makes time stand still. One moment I’ll be tracing the expressive brushstrokes of a Picasso, and the next I’m marvelling at the elegance of a Rodin sculpture or the opulence of the interiors, each room more dramatic and enchanting than the last.

There’s a feeling you get walking down those endless, sunlit corridors, the soft echo of footsteps, the quiet awe of visitors, the weight of centuries of history. The museum is not just a repository of priceless objects; it’s a living monument to culture and imagination, where the walls themselves tell stories.

Despite its grandeur, it offers moments of stillness and reflection. I remember pausing at a quiet corner of the museum where natural light filtered through arched windows, illuminating a sculpture of two lovers so delicately rendered it felt as if it might exhale. These are the kinds of memories that stay with you for years.

The Winter Palace and the Hermitage are places to return to, again, each visit offering new perspectives and fresh discoveries. For me, they’ve become more than just cultural landmarks, a reminder of how profoundly beauty art history can move us when we allow ourselves to be present with it.

Here are some of my photos.