If you do not speak or understand Russian, the Moscow Metro can seem complicated to use. However, when you begin using it you will quickly realize that in reality it is very simple. Moreover, the Moscow Metro is also an important tourist attraction due to the beauty of some of the stations. I will explain to you what stations are worth a visit.
Updated on February 20, 2020. Published on December 15, 2015
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Introduction
The Moscow Metro (also known as the People’s Palace) was inaugurated in 1935 in the era of Stalin. It is one of the biggest and densest in the world. It connects the city center with the industrial and residential areas and allows you to travel quickly and easily if you are visiting Moscow.
On the official website of the Moscow Metro, you can find some interesting facts:
- In 2019 it transported 2.560 million travellers (about 7 million travellers each day)
- It is made up of 14 lines, 228 stations and is 393,7 kilometers long
- The deepest station, at 84 meters below ground, is Victoria Park (Park Pobedi), where you can find the longest escalator, at 126 meters long.
- The average frequency at which the trains pass is 90 seconds (in the centrally located stations it’s even more frequent). It’s not worth running if you hear a train arriving.
1. Useful information
Before beginning to use the Moscow Metro, there is some useful information that you can consult via the Internet:
Official website of the Moscow Metro:
Official map of the Moscow Metro:
- Official English version (PDF, 3,4 Mb). I would advise you to print this version, although you can also find copies of the map in the Moscow Metro as well.
- Interactive map of the Moscow Metro in order to calculate your route.
Mobile applications: Yandex Metro is a free app that is extremely useful and is not necessary to use with an Internet connection in order to look at maps and calculate routes. It is available for Android and iPhone and also offers a web version in English.
Moscow Metro Schedule: the majority of stations are open from 5:30AM until 1:00AM.
Types of tickets: you can buy single tickets (57 rubles) or the Troika card (40 rubles per trip). You can also pay directly on turnstiles with a Visa or Mastercard or with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. These transit tickets are also used for transport by bus, trolleybus and tram. In this article you have a detailed explanation of the different tickets and credit cards that you can purchase, as well as the rates: Public Transportation in Moscow: the Troika Card and Unified Tickets
2. How to travel by the Moscow Metro
I am going to explain in the simplest way possible explain how to travel via the Moscow Metro. If you are accustomed to travelling via the Metro in other cities, many of the issues that I go over here will seem obvious to you, others perhaps not as obvious.
2.1. The entrance to the Metro
On the street the Metro stations are identified with a large red M.
You can access the stations at street level or by going down the stairs, at the bottom of which you will see:
- A series of doors with green signs through which you can access the Metro that say “Metro Entrance” in Russian or English.
- Another series of doors with red signs that say ‘Do not enter” that are the exit doors.
Once you go in you will see that there is a large Metro map in the hall of each station, along with automatic machines that dispense tickets and a ticket booth.
2.2. Purchasing tickets
Once inside the Metro you can buy tickets. You can get them in two basic ways:
- Automatic dispensing machines. They are in Russian and English and are not difficult to use.
- Ticket booth. Although it is not hard to use the machines, it is much more comfortable to use the ticket booth manned by a person (they are marked with the Word “KACCA”). Get in line (if there is one) and wait your turn. At the ticket booth you can buy tickets with needing to know a Word of Russian. For example, if you want to buy the Troika card and recharge it with 500 rubles the first time, all you have to do is mention the word Troika at the ticket window and give them 550 rubles, which include the deposit of 50 rubles. After paying, the cashier will give you a card that will serve as your ticket.
2.3. Accessing the platform
From the ticket sales area, you will see turnstyles where you can enter the Metro that come with a card reader (in some stations they are older and in others they are more modern).
You should go through the turnstyle and put your card on the cardreader. You will see the light change from red to green indicating that you can go through. The screen of the reader will show you how many trips you have left or the outstanding balance.
In each line of turnstiles, there is a cabin with someone who makes sure that that no one sneaks in and who allows access to children under 7 (who don’t pay) or to people in a wheelchair.
It is also important to know that, according to the regulations, each passenger must have their own ticket; however, with the fare for the 60-ride Troika Card or with the Wallet Fare of the Troika Card, it is common practice to share a card with several members of the same family or several friends. In no case can sharing the card be done with the 90-minute ticket or with the ticket that allows unlimited travel for a number of days.
Once you have gone through the turnstyle, you will see an escalator that will take you down deeper underground (stand to the right on the escalator in order to allow people in a hurry to pass). When you arrive down below, there will be signs indicating the lines and the direction they are travelling in. At this time it is important to have a Metro map that is in Russian and English since signs in the Metro are usually in Cyrillic. However, since the World Cup in 2018, most stations are already marked in English.
Trains pass practically every 1-2 minutes, so if you hear a train arriving it is not necessary to run because another train will pass by shortly.
2.4. Getting on the train
Once the train arrives, you should simply wait for people to exit before getting out. During rush hour there can be a lot of people, so be careful not to get pushed around too much. The most important thing is to get to the doors and get on board while they are open, since the doors close hard.
Once inside the train, look for somewhere to sit or stand somewhere where you can hold onto on of the bars, since the trains can move around a lot. The train cars are generally pretty old and loud, although they are progressively renewing.
2.5. Travelling from station to station
If you do not read nor understand Russian, you will have to consult your map of the Metro and count the number of stops in order to arrive at your destination. In each car, next to the door, there is a map of the Metro and a map of the line on which you are travelling.
The announcements on the train are in Russian and in English. In general, the announcement of the next station will be read out by a man’s voice on the trains travelling to the center of the city and by a woman’s voice on the trains travelling away from the city center. On the circular line (the maroon colored line 5) a man’s voice indicates the stops if it is travelling in a clockwise direction and in a woman’s voice if it’s travelling counter clockwise.
You will also see that each station has signs with its name posted but they can be in Russian and can be difficult to see from inside the train.
If you have to switch trains, after exiting the train you should look for signs for the lines that you need to take. These signs are in color (each line has its own color) and are very easy to follow if you know the color of the line that you need to take.
Switching lines can involve going up or down either stairs or escalators and passing through underground passageways. You can change trains as you desire on a single ticket, which is valid until you exit the Metro system.
If you miss your stop, it’s not a problem. Trains go in both directions. Simply get off and take the train going in the opposite direction.
2.6. Exiting the Metro
Once you have arrived at your destination, simply leave the train and look for the white sign with black letters that says “Exit to the city” via the escalator up. You can exit via several exits to the city. Look for the exit most appropriate to your final destination.
3. What stations are worth visiting
What stations are the most beautiful is somewhat subjective and it depends on each person’s tastes. To make a recommendation I am will refer to the classification from the year 2011 put together by the Russian architect Yuri Gridchin and I believe to be the best. You can find her rankings at the following link:
This architect classifies that best stations into two groups. In the first group, the magnificent stations (5 stars), made up of a total of 20. They are signified in the following map with a rectangle according to the color of the line:
Practically all of them are on lines 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7. You can click on each of the following links in order to see photos of the stations:
- Line 1:
- Line 2:
- Line 3:
- Line 5
- Line 7:
- Line 9:
In the second classification there are 46 stations with 4 stars (“beautiful stations”). If you have time and want to, you can also visit some of these. You can see them by following this link.
4. Guided tours in English in the Moscow Metro
Finally, I also have to say that there are several companies that organize guided tours of the Moscow Metro in English. A good option is the GetYourGuide platform, where you can find various guided tours. Simply insert “Moscow Metro” in the search form of the platform to see all the guided tours. For example:
- Moscow Metro Tour
- Moscow Metro Private Tour
- Small group Metro Tour
- Moscow Metro Stations Private Tour with Hotel Pickup
- If you have a question, suggestion, comment, or if you want to share your experience, you can use the form below.
- If you want to, you have the buttons below to use to share this entry. Doing so will help me a to reach more people. Thank you for reading.
if for example i buy a ticket of 40 trips to be used by myself and my wife during the same journeys, is it possible that if I do not exhaust the full 40 trips, I still can use it the following day and maybe even the following day 3 as well till it is completed? or itg is only valid for 1 day to use?
hello Irena. i m teena . we are family of 6 people consisiting 2 sr. citizen , 2 adults and 2 kids of age 8 an10 yrs. respectively.we are coming moscow in dec 2019. pls suggest good hotel accomadation in city centre as we are comfortable with apartment or any low budget hotel.u can send me details on me email id tmporwal@gmail.com. pls also suggest sightseeing places from moscow and in moscow. we can spend 4 days there date is not confirmed.
First of all congratulations for your website, it is amazing, very useful. I would like to know if are there any tickets that can be used with unlimited travel in period determinant of time? And the website “http://engl.mosmetro.ru” isn’t working, do you know if it has changed its address?
Hi
This article has been super helpful.
Thank you so much for gathering all this info .
I do have 1 question. Do you know if in the following metro stations there are elevators or even escalators to allow easy move with medium size suitcases?
1. Domodedorskaya
2. Paveletskaya
Best regards.
This article has been super helpful.
Thank you so much for gathering all this info .
I do have 1 question. Do you know if in the following metro stations there are elevators or even escalators to allow easy move with medium size suitcases?
1. Domodedorskaya
2. Paveletskaya
Best regards.
HiHi
This article has been super helpful.
Thank you so much for gathering all this info .
I do have 1 question. Do you know if in the following metro stations there are elevators or even escalators to allow easy move with medium size suitcases?
1. Domodedorskaya
2. Paveletskaya
Best regards.
This article has been super helpful.
Thank you so much for gathering all this info .
I do have 1 question. Do you know if in the following metro stations there are elevators or even escalators to allow easy move with medium size suitcases?
1. Domodedorskaya
2. Paveletskaya
Best regards.
Nn
Hi
This article has been super helpful.
Thank you so much for gathering all this info .
I do have 1 question. Do you know if in the following metro stations there are elevators or even escalators to allow easy move with medium size suitcases?
1. Domodedorskaya
2. Paveletskaya
Best regards.
My main problem using the Metro in foreign countries us knowing which side of the platform to go to for the direction that I’m travelling in.
Hello everybody :). I will live for 9 months in Nizhny Novgorod … I want to go from Paveletsky to to Yaroslavkiy station… Can someone help me to find the good line? :). And from there one further to Nizhny… Thanks !!!
Hi Irena, i will be in Moscow in the week of Oct 8-13 and though I speak Russian I have not been in Moscow for over 30 years. The agency booked me the Rus Hotel and it seems to be quite far away. Could you help on how to get from Domodedovo to the hotel and then from the hotel to the MSU? Google maps give directions but I find them not so easy to follow, and it seems to take a long time to get anywhere. I believe the subway and the monorail have the same symbol – a little train – right?. Thanks. Helena
Hello Irena, I am coming to Moscow in November and arriving at Domodedovo airport. I am staying at the Metropol hotel. Would it be wise to use the underground from the airport to the hotel? As I have read that road traffic can be busy and a hold up.
Unfortunately there is no underground connection to Domodedovo airport. Howerver there are trains called Aeroexpress that depart every 30 minutes and terminate at Paveletskiy railway station. The ride takes about 40 minutes. If you arrive at night, taking a taxi would be perfectly fine, otherwise there is a chance that you get in a traffic jam. You can see real-time traffic congestion at Yandex Maps (most accurate in Moscow) and decide yourself, which way you prefer.
When I take the train at Paveletskiy, what station do I get off for the Metropol hotel and how long will this take?
I am from India. Your detailed description is quite a treasure. I followed it and was in Moskva and Sankt Peterburg in May 2018 for 15 days. Thank you very much. Спасибо.
I can confirm that the Troika card is very easy to buy and use, well worth the 50 roubles! I speak no Russian at all, when I arrived in Moscow I just went to the ticket office, offered a 500 rouble note and said “Troika?” and the cashier promptly gave me a Troika card with (I guess) 450 roubles credit on it. Couldn’t be easier. It also makes a nice souvenir.
50 roubles is a deposit, so you can return the card to ticket office and get your deposit back (but no credit is returned). I’ve done that several times. However a souvenir is also a nice thing to have.
Very informative piece. Congratulations. Just one correction. Park Pobedi is Victory Park and not Victoria Park.
On line 3, one should not miss Semyonovskaya station, it is former Stalinskaya, dedicated to Stalin, opened in 1944, and renamed in 1961. Just because anything related to Stalin had to be obviously of the highest quality, its design is remarkable.
Thanks for the article. Two corrections, though.
“You should go through the turnstyle and put your card on the cardreader.”
First, you should approach the turnstile BEFORE going through it, and put your card on the reader BEFORE you try go through. Otherwise as far as I remember, the turnstile doors will close on you and won’t let you through.
Second, it’s TURNSTILE, not TURNSTYLE.
I would also add that you should use the reader on the right side of the turnstile, because I’ve seen some people using the card reader on the left side and trying to go through the turnstile, with a predictable and unpleasant result.
What would be nice to see in an article like this, is whether it’s possible to use a non-Russian issue credit card to buy a ticket. If the cashiers and ticket machines only take cash, you need to know that before you enter the Metro, as on some stations the booths and machines located way down from the entrance, particularly on old stations (Komsomolskaya, Paveletskaya — you need to climb several flights of stairs from the entrance with your luggage before you get to the cashiers. I’m trying to find this out, but so far I haven’t.
Overall, I’d like to mention, that Moscow metro is very, very unfriendly to long-distance travelers, there are no elevators anywhere, and most old stations (which is ALL stations at the railway stations) have long flights of stairs which you have to climb up and down with your luggage, which when you come from an airport, is very laborious and exhausting. It’s even worse if you have a wheelchair or a stroller. Most transfers between the lines have long flights of stairs you have to climb, too, i.e. no escalators.
So be prepared to this and unless you are in good physical shape, try to avoid taking more than 20 pounds or so with you if you use metro.
Hi Irena,
So if my purpose is to just see the metro stations starting from Arbatskaya to Gorky. will i be need ing just a 1trip ticket? All the beauty is in the interiors of the stations i guess so i don’t have to exit? A little confused on that part.
Great photos. I saw a photo of a Trotsky bust on another site, but am not sure which station it is located. Can you please assist?
Hi Irena, I need your advice pls 🙂 I will be in Moskow 3 days and thinking of the best solution for to buy tickets. It is possible to buy tickets for 3 days? And what is the price? Thanks a lot. Mirka
You can use the Troika card: https://russiau.com/moscow-…
Hello 🙂 are Ticket prices still the same in 2017?
Ticket prices (October 2017):
1 trip: 55 rubles
2 trips: 110 rubles
20 trips: 720 rubles
40 trips: 1440 rubles
60 trips: 1700 rubles
Wow 🙂 Thank you for answering. No more the 5 Trip Tickets as I can read. Thank you so much!! I can imagine I can pay with Visa at the ticket machine, correct?
Yes
Hi Irene, I, my wife and her sister, will be in Moscow from morning of 14th to Morning of 18th October, 2017, and be back in Moscow for a day on October 22nd. Our hotel is at Sosnovaya Ulitsa 1, Balashikha, Moscow. We want to know if and how we will be able to share our Metro tickets… ? We will be traveling Always Together… We are thinking for 4-5 days, the 20 trips ticket for Each (20×3=60) should be sufficient…? However, if the tickets can be shared when traveling together, then, perhaps lesser no. of tickets might work..?? Also, can you share your whatsapp no… ?? It is much easier to communicate through what’s app..
Should we take three tickets of 20 trips each (for the three of us), or 1 common ticket of 60 trips can be shared between 3 of us…??
Hi Irena, kindly respond… I got a notification that I had got a reply but can’t see it… my email is rahulsharma2006@outlook.com
Hi Rahul, can you share your expeience of travle to russia with me on Whatsapp i am also travelling next week with my wife and daughter, can you pls
whatsapp me on indian number 9632828624
Sure, my mobile/whatsapp no is +91-9643665583. Feel free to ask as many questions as you want. I live in Delhi NCR. It will be very cold in Russia now. Pack for the worst Delhi winters, no less!!
Hello, very good information, thank you. The photos are also beautiful. Can I ask you, for the wider platforms what lens did you use to get the photos?
Hi Irena, Thanks for the very detailed sharing! I will be taking my mother to travel around Moscow. She is physically fine but like those at the age of 80s, she is afraid of climbing on stairs! Metro would be the main public transportation we would rely on. I am choosing an accommodation which is close to a metro so that we do not have to walk a lot every day from accommodation to the metro station. I believe the entrance to most of the metro stations in Moscow are with lots of stairs, could you suggest some metro stations which have escalators at the exit ? Or station with fewer stairs at the entrance? We may need to change lines in the underground, do we have to climb stairs also when changing trains in the metro? Finally, What do you think about the station Perovo (I found an accommodation which is 500m from the station!)? Thanks very much!
Hello Frances,
In these links you can check the accessibility of all stations:
– http://metro4all.org/info/msk/
– http://metro4all.org/blog-en/moscow-metro-accessibility-report/