Our guide Tim was wonderful. He navigated the building with much grace and poise. He was courteous and assisted other people that were not even part of our tour. His commentary on the history, art and architecture was very informative. He told little jokes along the way. We all had an ear phone and audio box to hear everything very clearly. We skipped the line at the beginning and could not believe how many people were already waiting. For your first time going to the Hermitage make sure you pay the extra for this tour.

The activity was exactly as decribe, our guide was exceptionnal and the price was good for two days. We were on a cruise, no problem to meet our guide after the customs. We were only two and still the tour was not cancel. We strongly recommand, our tour was in french with Masha (Maria). Thank you to Masha, you made our visit in Saint-Petersburg memorable.

It was very good to skip the line to get in. The guide was very diligent to explain and tried to show as much as she could. While the guide was very patient when other group people showed up 20min late, we were a little annoyed because we were not informed how long she would wait for them. I hope the regulation would be written clearly.

We had a little group that effectivily passed through the Hermitages highlights. Getting information and seeing things that I could have missed if I went on my own. It was an intensive 3 hours that passed very quickly. And after the tour we could then wonder through the other rooms seeing the objects that interested me.

With such a vast collection it’s hard to imagine how it could be navigated in just 3 hours. But Katya shepherded us through expertly, focused on the most amazing highlights and shared stories to bring both paintings and artifacts alive.