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komsomolskaya-metro-station

How to Use the Moscow Metro When You Only Speak English

Posted on December 7, 2018April 29, 2025

Of all the things to fall in love while traveling, I fell in love with the Metro! I am crazy about metro trains, rides, stations that I get to experience in different parts of the world. In this post I talk about my experiences of using the Moscow Metro when I only speak English.

When it comes to beauty, the Metro Stations of Moscow are in a league of their own! When I posted the images on Facebook and Instagram friends commented that they look like the lobby of a five star hotel rather than a metro station! And they are right!

There are many guides on the internet which will list the top metro stations in Moscow. I would say start will the circle line (also known as Koltsevaya Line and use the Yandex Metro App to get around). Some of the most beautiful stations are on this line. Below is the list of things to know before you set to explore Moscow using the Metro!

How to buy ticket on the Moscow Metro?

belorusskaya-moscow-metro-station
Belorusskaya Metro Station, Moscow

With station names like Mayakovskaya and Novoslobodskaya how do you go around buying a ticket on the Moscow Metro? Actually it is quite easy. You buy the tickets by the ride, whether you wish to travel one stop or five or till the end of the line or whatever. Say you wish to go to Teatralnaya from Paveletskaya and come back, that will be counted as 2 rides. So simply tell the person behind the counter you need two tickets and you are good. Now if you wanted to go to Belorusskaya from Dinamo and back that is again two rides. So you need not worry about how far or less you are traveling, you buy by number of rides you wish to take, see it is easy.

Do they understand English?

prospekt-mira-metro-station
Prospekt Mira Metro Station, Moscow

On most of the metro stations that I used there was a counter marked “We speak English” I can’t vouch for every station but I saw it whenever I bought a ticket and yes they indeed spoke English at that counter.

I also saw that they had a tab which gave the metro information in Chinese. But I soon bought a day card and that was the end of my buying individual tickets which takes us to the next topic.

How about day passes?

Moscow Metro

Day passes are available and I bought a three day pass which if I remember correctly cost me 440 Rubles. It is a great way to explore the city. Having a day pass makes a lot of sense for someone who likes to wander and change her plans every 15 minutes. I can get down anywhere I want and continue again without worrying about tickets. It is cheaper to buy a pass if you wish to use the Metro multiple times a day. 

Are the station names in English?

Kievskaya-metro-station-moscow
Kievskaya Metro Station, Moscow

When I was doing the web search before my trip, many web pages said the metro station names are written only in Russian and the announcements are only in Russian. So you need to count the stations and get down. That is no longer true.

The name of the stations are written in English and most routes have announcements in English post the World Cup Football 2018.

Is photography allowed on the Moscow Metro?

selfie-spot-moscow-metro
Selfie Spot on Moscow Metro

Yes photography is allowed on Moscow Metro. There are designated selfie spots too. Moscow Metro has hashtags #photometro I had no problem in taking pictures anywhere on the stations.

Why is the station not exactly as listed in the beautiful stations list?

moscow-metro-sign
The Moscow Metro Sign

Apart from checking the name of the station you also need to check on which line they are. Belorusskaya on Green Line may not be as beautiful as Belorusskaya on Circle Line!

How bad is the rush hour?

mayakovskaya-metro-station-moscow
Mayakovskaya Metro Station, Moscow

For most of the time it was okay, I have anyway seen the rush hour at the Delhi Metro. It was only once near the Gorky Park at the Park Kultury metro station I saw some serious lines!

Why do my pictures do not look like the ones in postcards/internet?

novoslobodskaya-metro-station-moscow
Novoslobodskaya Metro Station, Moscow

There could be many reasons for this. Many of the postcards are minus the crowd. That can be done only by shooting in very early or late hours or by digitally removing people from them! Also if you click at the stations now you are bound to catch some of the signage at the stations which you will not see in the post cards. 

How do I pronounce the names?

dinamo-metro-station-moscow
Dinamo Metro Station, Moscow

That is the tough one, but you really don’t need to pronounce the names as you can by the tickets by the number rides you need to take. 

Which app to use?

I used the Yandex Metro app and it works like a charm. 

Moscow Metro Stations are so beautiful, they make the mind boggle! Also there are so many of them which are so beautiful. Tour operators offer tours of the metro stations in Moscow. But I would say you can easily do it on your own with a bit of research. It is also easy to use the metro as the signs are in English. 

komsomolskaya-metro-station-moscow

I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of the Moscow Metro! I hope you will enjoy using the Moscow Metro as much as I did on my trip!

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20 thoughts on “How to Use the Moscow Metro When You Only Speak English”

  1. gunasindhu saikia says:
    December 7, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    Mind blowing infrastructure!!!

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 7, 2018 at 4:46 pm

      Yes indeed!

      Reply
  2. Kesari says:
    December 7, 2018 at 5:38 pm

    Wow Awesome structure…

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 8, 2018 at 10:37 pm

      Yes it was a total wow! 😀

      Reply
  3. Neeraj Kumar says:
    December 7, 2018 at 8:16 pm

    It is good that Moscow has such beautiful metro stations…i mean why NY should have all the fun.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 8, 2018 at 10:37 pm

      True very true!

      Reply
  4. Sachin Baikar says:
    December 7, 2018 at 10:30 pm

    Very beautiful metro station.
    Nice clicks 👍 Mridula.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 8, 2018 at 10:38 pm

      Thank you Sachin!

      Reply
  5. SUJATA TAWDE says:
    December 8, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    Hi Mridula, Very refreshing and informative post about Moscow Metro .After reading the translated ‘Soviet Desh’ magazine and Russian children’s story books , I craved to visit Russia-USSR. Now after decades, my wish to visit USSR is rejuvenated,due to your royal pics of Moscow Metro.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 8, 2018 at 10:38 pm

      I hope you will go there soon Sujata!

      Reply
  6. mayuri patel says:
    December 8, 2018 at 2:23 pm

    this is so refreshing post on Moscow metro.I loved the beautiful pictures and how lovely these metro stations are! This looks royal 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 8, 2018 at 10:39 pm

      Yes Mayuri and there are so many of them! I could hardly see a few,

      Reply
  7. Jheelam says:
    December 8, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    The stations are so clean. It feels like one can spread a mat and sleep over there. The pictures are amazing. Buying ticket per number of rides sounds super convenient.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 8, 2018 at 10:41 pm

      I agree Jheelam, buying tickets by rides was convenient, otherwise imagine my plight trying to say Novoslobodskaya!

      Reply
  8. rupam { xhobdo } says:
    December 8, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    Awesome metro stations.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 8, 2018 at 10:42 pm

      I so agree Rupam! Moscow Metro was amazing!

      Reply
  9. Rajeev Moothedath says:
    December 12, 2018 at 8:04 am

    “Friends commented that they look like the lobby of a five star hotel rather than a metro station! And they are right!”- Wonderful pics!

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      December 12, 2018 at 4:29 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  10. Shrinidhi Hande says:
    December 19, 2018 at 6:58 am

    Useful info- no daily pass kind of concept with unlimited rides?

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      April 18, 2019 at 11:35 am

      There are various passes available 😀

      Reply

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About Me

I am Mridula Dwivedi and I started this blog in 2005. It has been an amazing ride. I have visited 33 countries till date! I have worked with many tourism boards and prominent travel companies. My blog was featured on the BBC and the Guardian.

I did my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I worked full time in academics till 2015! I quit my job as a professor, thinking I will take a break for one year, which turned into five.

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