The most beautiful metro: City to hold guided tours for foreigners at metro stations prior to World Cup

The Moscow Metro will offer guided tours for tourists prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. From 10 June through 15 July, 72 tours in English and Russian will be available.

“The Moscow Metro is among the most beautiful in the world. During these tours, people will learn about the newest modern metro stations and the stations on the Moscow Central Circle (MCC) railway, plus the older architectural landmark stations and local legends,” Deputy Moscow Mayor and Head of the Department of Transport and Infrastructure Development Maxim Liksutov noted.

The tour starts at Vystavochnaya station, where guides will describe the architectural details of the metro stations near the Moscow International Business Centre and the unusual engineering solutions used during construction.

Tourists will then ride the MCC, learning about the railway’s 100-year history. They’ll enjoy a picturesque cityscape with modern skyscrapers, Moskva River embankments and city blocks with buildings from the 1950s.

Tourists will later visit metro stations with cultural landmark status, including Ploshchad Revolyutsii that has 76 bronze statues, more than any other station. They’ll learn that, according to an existing superstition, rubbing the nose of the bronze shepherd dog, part of the Border Guard with Dog sculpture, will bring luck. Tourists will also walk around Mayakovskaya station, one of the most beautiful.

Each 2-hour guided tour will cost 1,000 roubles. The schedule is posted on the Museum of Moscow website whose guided tour section offers information in Russian and English.

Metro stations regularly host guided tours. This year, guides holding tours will have to complete a special course. The Metro Guided Tours pilot programme is now underway. Accredited experts will offer tours on the most interesting routes. Guides wishing to obtain accreditation must take an exam and confirm their knowledge of the metro’s history and its current operations. Metro experts will interview the applicants. Those guides who don’t know the subject well enough can complete a three-day course at the metro’s personnel training centre. Student groups are now being established. Lecturers will discuss the history of the metro, its development, how the stations work, and they will focus on passenger traffic, emergency protocols and how to use the metro.