The presidents and their wives took a tour of the State Hermitage museum, including its White Hall and St George’s Hall. Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage museum, acted as their guide.
In St George’s Hall, Vladimir Putin had a brief conversation with Austrian businessmen who had also come to see the Hermitage.
Later, the Austrian guests were taken to Peterhoff by the pleasure boat Meteor. In Peterhoff Park they examined the Samson fountain, built in 1802.
The presidents also walked around the Grand Palace, the former gala residence of Peter the Great.