[RUSSIA] Taking Metro in Moscow

Taking metro in Moscow is the most convenient and efficient way to explore the city. On top of that, Moscow metro station is a tourist attraction itself as it is renowned for its beautiful and interesting decor inside the station, each with unique design or theme.

First, I would like to show a few metro stations that I’ve been to.

Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station (Dark blue line):

Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station is one of the most famous station. This station is named after Revolution Square.





Each arch is flanked by a pair of bronze sculptures depicting people of the Soviet Union.


Arbatskaya metro station (Dark blue line):

To get to Old Arbat Street, you need to use this station. The old station had been bombed by a German bomb attack in 1941.



Since it was meant to serve as a bomb shelter as well as a metro station, the station is large and deep .


Kivevskaya metro station (Circle line)

Kivevskaya metro station is one of most beautiful metro station in Moscow. The design was chosen in an open competition held in Ukraine. The arches between the pylons are edged with elaborate gold-coloured trim.


Kivevskaya metro station (Dark blue line)

Another station named after Kiev, capital of Ukraine.





Beautiful mosaics depicting life in Ukraine.



The mosaics symbolizes the Russo-Ukrainian unity.


Paveletskaya metro station (Green line)

This station has high white arched ceiling.



Hammer and sickle decorates the white marble pillars.


Kolomenskaya metro station:

This metro station is quite ordinary as compared to the others. I got down at Kolomenskaya metro station to visit the wooden palace of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich.


Tsvetnoy Bulvar metro station (Grey line)

This is the metro station to reach Nikulin Circus.



To buy a metro ticket, go to the ticket service counter. The ticketing staff usually won’t speak any English, so just indicate with your fingers how many trips you want to buy, the staff will then let you know how much to pay (showing you the amount with calculator). Just pay in cash or credit card. The staff will then hand you a metro card. The amount inside the card will be deducted each time you use the card to enter a metro station. Fare is same per entry (approx. RUB 35) regardless of the distance travelled, as long as you don’t exit the metro station. I bought a metro card which contain fares for 12 trips (RUB 470) and share the card with my husband.



Stations are often deep underground. There are usually two or three long, intimidating escalators to reach the station. Remember to stand on the right and walk on the left on the escalator.



Since most signs are in Russian language in the metro station, taking the metro can be a little confusing. I would highly recommend to download or print a copy of the latest map with station name in both Russian and English. Then try to match the Russian letters of the station name with the map you have. The metro lines are marked in Latin numbers. For example, the red line is M1.



Trains are fast and frequent. Once you board the train, listen carefully to the station announcement on the train when it is approaching the next station. It will first announce the next station name in Russian, followed by English. It also helps to count how many stops to reach your designated station beforehand.



When you exit the train, just follow the sign on the floor (in English and Russian) which will either point to exit or the direction to transfer to another line (which is marked in Latin numbers). The exit is usually easily recognized with the long, intimidating escalators; while transfer to another line is usually by stairs.



Take note that two or three stations may be connected as transfer points but each will have a different name. The distance between some connecting stations is far and can take a lot of time. If you haven’t entered the metro station, it is faster to walk directly to the above-ground entrance of the station then to transfer underground.


Here’s the metro station map in both Russian and English.



Some of the important metro stations that tourist frequently use is:

Red Square – Ploschad Revolyutsii (dark blue line), Okhotnyryad (red line) or Teatralnaya (green line)
Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge – Borovitskaya (grey line)
Old Arbat Street – Arbatskaya (dark blue line)
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour – Kropotkinskaya (grey line)
Palace of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich – Kolomenskaya or Kashirskaya (green line)
Nikulin Circus - Tsvetnoy Bulvar (grey line)



To take Aeroexpress train to airport from city centre, change station at:
Sheremetyevo International Airport – Belorusskaya (green line)
Domodedovo International Airport – Paveletskaya (green line)
Vnukovo International Airport – Kivevskaya (dark blue line)



At the Sheremetyevo station.



Moscow metro stations are well maintained. But what gives me the deepest impression is that no matter how crowded the train was, people always gave up their seats in the train when they saw us travelling with an infant and a young child. Russian people are warmer than you think even if they don’t smile much at strangers. Although I was cautioned of possible pickpocket problem in metro, I’ve never encountered one. I was also never harassed by strangers during my entire stay in Russia. Overall, taking metro in Moscow is a good experience and I would recommend to anyone visiting Moscow.