Moscow is known for having the most beautiful metro stations in the world. I went there to find out which are the best

It will probably sound crazy if I tell you that visiting metro stations in Moscow is considered one of the coolest activities in the city. However, with some of the most beautiful metro systems in the world and stations looking like corridors from a European museum, wandering around metro stations in Moscow is a great plan for a couple of hours if the weather is not on your side.

I visited Moscow for some days and found out which are the most beautiful and why:

Arbatskaya

Connecting the dark blue, red, grey and sky blue line, the Arbatskaya station is an obligatory stop during your stay in Moscow. Not only because of the beauty of the station itself, but also because the famous Arbat street starts right there.

It is definitely a masterpiece of architecture and by far one of the most beautiful metro stations I’ve seen in the world.

Belorusskaya

If you are looking for stations to photograph, the circle line is a great start! Located in the north-western part of the city, stations like Belorusskaya are excellent stops during a tour around metro stations.

Elements such as the details in the ceiling and walls make Belorusskaya one of the most beautiful stations in Moscow.

Komsomolskaya

Connecting the circle line with the red metro line. Komsomolskaya is named by many the most beautiful metro station in the world. No matter if you are planning a tour around metro stations or not, the Komsomlskaya metro station should be an obligatory stop during your stay in Moscow.

With beautiful marble columns, gigantic chandeliers and barroque-style ornaments, if I didn´t know this was a metro station, I could easily confuse it with a classic art gallery in Paris or Munich.

Mayakovskaya

Located on the green line, the Mayakovskaya station was one of my favourite stations in the city. With big arches, beautiful colours and a very long platform, this station looks like platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter books.

Although photography with tripod is not allowed inside the metro stations of Moscow, travelers can ask politely if they can use it for just a couple of minutes and take the perfect photograph. Some officers might say no, but others would be nice and friendly.

Novoslobodskaya

Connecting the circle line with the grey line, the Novoslobodskaya is one of the first results coming up when you search for beautiful metro stations. Its unique form and design make it one of the most beautful stations in the city and, in my opinion, another obligatory stop during your stay in Moscow.

If you are planning to do a metro station tour by yourself, you don’t have to visit each single station in Moscow. The Moscow metro system is one of the largest in the world. It has 12 metro lines and until 2019 it had 203 stations all over the city.

Prospekt Mira

Connecting the orange line with the circle line, the Prospekt Mira station is one of the most beautiful stations I saw during my stay in Moscow.

Although, the Prospekt Mira station was not in any information article about metro stations in Moscow, I had to stop several times here and it was always fascinating to see the outstanding detail in each decoration of the station.

If you are planning to discover some metro stations by yourself, take into consideration that a new train runs every 2-5 minutes. This will give you enough time to wander around and catch the next one right away.

Which other Moscow metro stations should I visit?

Although wandering around metro stations in Moscow is not a boring activity at all, I would rather recommend to do this during cold and ugly days. Moscow is a very beautiful city and most of its attractions and places to see are over the ground.

These are some other metro stations in Moscow I would recommend you to visit if you have some extra time in the city or if you are wandering around a certain metro line.

• Red line: Krasnye vorota, Kropotkinskaya, Vorob’yevy gory
• Green line: Mayakovskaya, Novokuznetskaya, Avtozavodskaya
• Blue line: Park Pobedy, Kievskaya, Arbatskaya, Ploschad Revolyutsii, Elektrozavodskaya
• Brown line: Taganskaya, Novoslobodskaya, Kievskaya
• Purple line: Pushkinskaya, Kuznetskiy most
• Grey line: Nagatinskaya

Read more: How to visit Moscow on a budget?

Traveling around Moscow metro stations is also probably one of the most inexpensive activities in the city. Using just a single metro ticket (0,5 EUR), I was able to visit all these stations I mentioned in the article.

Metro tickets are not time-limited, so once you go through the reel you are able to explore Moscow’ metro system as long as you want.

However, if you also want to learn more about the train stations in Moscow, Strawberry tours offers a Free Moscow Metro Tour that focuses only on the city’s metro system. This is an awesome opportunity to see some of the most beautiful metro stations in the world and at the same time learn about it.

Tips for planning an independent metro tour in Moscow

• Take a bottle of water with you. Once passing the reel of the metro station, there are no options for buying food or drinks
• There are some free restrooms inside the metro stations
• You can download one of the many apps that offer you a metro system map of Moscow
• Having a paper map also helps a lot in planning which stations to visit and when
• Plan your metro tour during a cold or rainy day in Moscow

Read more: Simple and useful tips for backpacking around Europe