The State Hermitage Museum has a collection, numbering about three million works of art and monuments of world culture. The collection includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, and works of applied art, as well as archaeological finds and numismatic items.

The main ensemble of the Hermitage, situated in the center of St. Petersburg, consists of the Winter Palace - the former state residence of the Russian emperors; the buildings of the Small, Old and New Hermitages, Hermitage Theatre and the Auxiliary House. The museum complex also includes the Menshikov Palace and the Eastern wing of the General Staff Building, Restoration and Storage Centre "Old Village" and the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory.