I agree that The Hermitage is one of the best museums in the world. If you are visiting St. Petersburg, put aside one day to visit it. On my last day in the city (then Leningrad), which was also my last day in the country, I got lost with 2 friends from my group. We were in a panic, as the rest of our group was waiting for us at our hotel, preparing to leave for the airport. I will never forget that a young Russian man helped us get back on the right bus back to our hotel. We were so grateful that we tried to offer him some money but he refused and was rather amused by how appreciative we were. We barely made it back to the hotel on time!