95. The branches of the Hermitage Museum

The Hermitage Winter Palace is one of the world's great museums. Most people think that's where the institution begins and ends, but in fact there are six branches in total - fewer than the State Russian Museum and a bit less diverse in character, but with collections beyond compare. I visited four of the branches during my first month in town (the Winter Palace three times, in fact), the next during my second month, and the final one during the start of my fourth month. It's easy to do when you're a Friend of the Hermitage - no extra admission fees are required, other than the mandatory tour fee at the off-site storage center.

My ranked list below is a bit more straightforward and the sequence was less open to my internal debate than my State Russian Museum branch list - the first two choices are rock solid, with a relatively clear difference from one to the next even toward the bottom of the list. Only those two are must-see stops on a St. Petersburg trip. Indeed, the Winter Palace is the single destination above all others that I would recommend if you're in the city for only a single afternoon.

So, here are my favorite branches of the Hermitage Museum, in order:
1) Winter Palace
2) General Staff Building
3) Staraya Derevnya Storage Facility
4) Menshikov Palace
5) Winter Palace of Peter I
6) Imperial Porcelain Factory Museum