Russia: Saint Petersburg – Winter Palace & Hermitage

Saint Petersburg was the official capital of Russia for nearly 200 years (Peter the Great moved it here in 1700s before the Bolchevik Revolution shifted it back to Moscow).  The Winter Palace was the official residence of Russian tsars during all this time. The huge green and white building standing on the embankment of the Neva River now house the Hermitage – one of the premier art museums in the world. You probably need a whole day of not more to explore the Hermitage with its hundreds of rooms and exhibitions.