Moscow Metro
Московский метрополитен
The “underground palaces” that opened in 1935. Stations on the Circle Line, including Komsomolskaya, Revolution Square and Mayakovskaya, feature marble, mosaics and bronze sculptures, and one ticket lets you see them all.
The Moscow Metro opened in 1935. It now has 16 lines and more than 270 stations, and it carries over 8 million passengers a day. Its most famous feature is the more than 40 “underground palaces” built during the Stalin era. Marble, mosaics, colored glass and chandeliers express the glory of the Soviet Union. Most of them lie along the Circle Line and the central sections of Lines 1, 2 and 3.
Recommended route (about 2 hours, one ticket, no need to exit the gates): Komsomolskaya (Circle Line, with yellow baroque vaulting and mosaics; the most lavish), Ploshchad Revolyutsii (76 bronze statues; rub the nose of the border guard dog for good luck), Mayakovskaya (Art Deco stainless steel arches and ceiling mosaics, awarded at the 1939 New York World’s Fair), Novoslobodskaya (colored glass), Kievskaya (mosaics with a Ukrainian theme), Arbatskaya, Teatralnaya and others. Parts of the Great Circle Line, opened between 2016 and 2023, feature modern designs and are also worth seeing.
Tickets: Buy a Troika card at a ticket machine or window (the card costs about 80 rubles). A single ride costs about 70 rubles. You can also tap a UnionPay card or a Russian bank card directly at the turnstile. Single tickets have no time limit.
Tips: The metro is very crowded during rush hours, so avoid photographing then. Photography inside stations is allowed, but tripods are not. Station signs have English and Latin transliterations, and announcements are clear. The escalators are deep and fast, so hold on tight.
Opening hours
05:30–01:00
Nearby sights
- Moscow Kremlin
- Lenin's Mausoleum
- Red Square
- State Historical Museum
- Saint Basil's Cathedral
- Alexander Garden & Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
- GUM Department Store
- Nikolskaya Street