Monuments, museums, churches and palaces are found almost everywhere in the city. Our group toured the Winter Palace and the Hermitage Museum before we left for the mountains. The two hour tour was regrettable in that one needs two days to really see everything. The Hermitage is home to one of the world's greatest art collections. It has more original French impressionist paintings than even the Louvre.
Whole rooms are devoted to paintings of various countries and time periods.
Paintings and sculptures of artists such as El Greco, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, da Vinci and Titian can be found. The Hermitage houses memorabilia from the Romanov dynasty and centuries of Russian history. The Museum is actually a series of interconnected palaces and buildings across a square from the Czarist military headquarters. Inside, various rooms were used for a myriad of state functions during the monarchy. Gold leaf, semi-precious stones and meticulously restored statuary are everywhere.