Moscow Metro

The world’s most beautiful subway system

Word to the wise: Photography is allowed on the metro platforms, but be wary of potential pickpockets when waving your camera about.
Talk of the town: There are countless legends relating to the Moscow metro but one of the most enduring is that there is also a second ‘secret’ metro, called Metro-2.

With an average of 6.6 million passengers a day, the Moscow metro is the second busiest subway system in the world. 305 kilometres of track make up the system which consists of 185 stations spread over 12 lines.
The intention of the first architects of the metro was to make it ‘a palace for the people’ and its stations typically feature grand marble platforms decorated with stained glass reliefs, golden mosaics and huge bronze chandeliers.

So as to not get hopelessly lost, metro admirers should stick to the circle line and the stations within it. The circle line stations were built during the 1940s and 1950s and feature murals and mosaics dedicated to military victories and the communist revolution. Within the circle line Arbatskaya, Ploschad Revolutsii and Mayakovskaya stations are very impressive.