The Hermitage in December: Ticket Prices, Free Days, Holiday Hours and the Quietest Slots

December is the last calm month at the Hermitage before the New Year holidays turn it into a railway station. On the museum's own site the entrance ticket to the Main Museum Complex is listed in a range of 500 to 1200 roubles depending on category and session, and the General Staff Building costs 700 roubles. The Winter Palace of Peter the Great and the Menshikov Palace are 1500 roubles each, the Staraya Derevnya storage centre is 2000 roubles, and the Imperial Porcelain Factory Museum is 500 roubles. The last three can only be visited with a guided group.

Opening hours do not change in winter. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday: 11:00 to 18:00. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday: 11:00 to 20:00. The museum is closed every Monday, on 1 January and on 9 May. Ticket offices stop selling one hour before closing. Entry is by timed session, and electronic tickets are released only one to four weeks ahead — a deliberate measure against resellers. Arrive 15 minutes before your session.

Free days and permanent concessions

The Hermitage is free for everyone on eight days a year: 7 January, 23 February, 8 March, 12 April, 18 May, 5 October, 4 November and 7 December, which is Hermitage Day. In 2026 there is a catch — 7 December falls on a Monday, when the museum is closed. The museum's rule is explicit: if a holiday falls on a closing day, the nearest working day becomes free instead, so the free day moves to Tuesday 8 December. Confirm the date on the museum site in late November.

Children under 14 enter free every working day regardless of nationality, though a ticket still has to be issued. In the General Staff Building, entry is free every day for everyone under 18, for students, for pensioners and for conscripts — the impressionist collection costs them nothing on any December day. The same categories enter the Main Museum Complex free on Thursdays only.

December hours and the holiday rush

31 December 2026 is a Thursday, so the museum closes at 18:00 with ticket offices shutting at 17:00. On 1 January it does not open at all. From 2 January the schedule is normal but the crowds are not: the museum warns that during the New Year and school holidays access to the ticket offices is organised with short pauses to prevent crushes in the entrance zone and cloakroom. Holders of electronic tickets never go near a cash desk. Returns are accepted no later than three days before the visit, and only by the buyer.

When the halls are actually empty

The quietest slots in December are Tuesday, Friday and Saturday after 17:00, when the museum stays open until 20:00 and most visitors have already left. On Fridays at 19:00 the famous Peacock Clock in the Pavilion Hall is wound up for maintenance, and anyone inside at that moment can watch. Wednesday and Sunday mornings at 11:00 are also calm. Avoid Thursdays in the Main Museum Complex: that is the day students, pensioners and under-18s enter free.

Practical rules for a winter visit

Coats are not allowed in the galleries, so cloakroom time is part of your plan. Hand luggage larger than 45 by 40 by 35 cm is not accepted in the cloakroom and is not allowed into the museum at all — leave suitcases and large backpacks at a station locker. Liquids in any container are banned, with baby food the only exception, and eating is permitted in the cafés only.

With a child and two hours, the workable route is the Jordan Staircase and state rooms, the 1812 War Gallery, the Peacock Clock, the Egyptian hall and the Gallery of Peter the Great. Move in a loop rather than up and down between floors. For the full picture see our Hermitage visiting guide and these 15 practical tips.