Moscow Metro Palace Stations

The metro opened in 1935 and the stations of the first three decades were built as public halls rather than transit spaces: marble facing, chandeliers, coffered vaults, bronze, mosaic and relief, on the argument that the working population should have palaces underground. The best known are on the circle line and the deep radial sections. Ploshchad Revolyutsii has seventy-six bronze figures in the arches, one of which is a dog whose nose is worn gold by passengers rubbing it for luck. Mayakovskaya, of 1938, has thin steel arches and thirty-four ceiling mosaics of the sky seen from below; a wartime meeting was held on its platform in November 1941. Novoslobodskaya has stained glass panels lit from within, Komsomolskaya a baroque yellow vault with ceiling mosaics, Kievskaya large mosaic panels. Depth was also a defence requirement, and several stations served as shelters. Riding the circle line end to end covers most of it on one fare.

What to look for

• The bronze dog - one of seventy-six figures at Ploshchad Revolyutsii, its nose rubbed gold.
• Mayakovskaya - steel arches and thirty-four ceiling mosaics of sky, from 1938.
• Novoslobodskaya - backlit stained glass panels along the platform.
• The circle line - the densest run of decorated stations, on a single fare.

When to go

All year. Two to three hours. Avoid 08:00 to 10:00 and 17:00 to 19:00, when the platforms are packed.

Things to know

These are working stations at full capacity; photographing without blocking people takes patience and tripods are not welcome. Signage is Cyrillic with some Latin transliteration. Newer lines are plain. Rush hour makes the halls impossible to see.

Nearby

The circle line ring passes most main-line stations and the centre.