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2022 IN REVIEW

These are the best travel photos of 2022

Explore the world in 17 stunning images from our contributors.

As travel returned this year, we ventured back into the world with a renewed sense of adventure. From Alaska’ s Denali National Park and Reserve to Indonesia ’s lush rainforests, the photographs we published in 2022 reflect the beauty of our world through fresh perspectives.

Our National Geographic contributors were tasked with documenting the enduring essence of travel. They opened the aperture on innovative conservation efforts, vibrant cultural communities, and underappreciated destinations ready for future travel.

As we look to the new year, we hope these photographs ignite your adventurous spirit, encourage transformative experiences, and set you off on your next journey.

( Discover 25 amazing Best of the World destinations for 2023 .)

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Watching the Total Eclipse Across North America

By The New York Times

Today, in one of the greatest one-day migrations in history, humans flocked by the millions to a swath of North America that was briefly cast in a shadow of darkness and wonder. They crowded into airplanes, buses and trains, braved traffic jams, and slept in overpriced hotels, in tents and in their cars. For a cosmic moment, they were connected across the millennia with every other person who has ever experienced an eclipse, witnessing the light die and then be reborn as a dazzling ring. — Dennis Overbye

2:07 p.m. ET

Photographs by Meghan Dhaliwal

On the Pacific Coast in Sinaloa State, the city of Mazatlán opened its baseball stadium to eclipse viewers. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also viewed the eclipse from Mazatlán.

There was spectacular weather, dancing in the streets and cliff divers. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else in the world for this,” said Dr. James Raniolo, 50, a doctor from Jackson Hole, Wyo., who booked a last-minute ticket to Mazatlán to see the eclipse.

2:14 p.m. ET

Photographs by Marian Carrasquero

This part of central Mexico experienced the greatest duration of the eclipse — four minutes and 28 seconds. Thousands of residents and visitors viewed the event from the baseball field at Hidalgo de Dolores Elementary School.

Nazas, with 14,000 people, is not known for tourism. Residents began renting out their homes after area hotels reached capacity.

Photographs by Luis Antonio Rojas

Cuatro Ciénegas

Amid a vast landscape of gypsum dune fields — formed over millions of years — spectators viewed the eclipse.

2:27 p.m. ET

Photographs by Todd Heisler

The border city of Eagle Pass has recently been inundated with hundreds of migrants arriving daily. Now, hundreds of people coming to view the eclipse have also arrived in the city.

“We want people to see that Eagle Pass is more than just a destination for migrants,” Federico Garza, the police chief, said. The city held a three-day music festival that began on Saturday.

2:32 p.m. ET

Photographs by Holly Lynton

Fredericksburg

The hills and granite outcroppings of the Texas Hill Country provided a serene yet dramatic environment for eclipse viewing. People there gathered for camping, drum circles, meditation, and wine tastings.

2:36 p.m. ET

Photographs by Eli Durst

Vampire Weekend performed at Austin’s Moody Amphitheater, an experience for music and science lovers alike. Thousands of fans danced energetically while taking breaks to stare up at the sky with their eclipse-viewing glasses.

2:40 p.m. ET

Photographs by Shelby Tauber

Crowds set up their picnic blankets alongside the Trinity River, which runs through Dallas, one of the largest cities to experience the total eclipse.

2:50 p.m. ET

Photographs by Matt White

In the Natural State’s first state park, revelers gathered on top of the ancient geology of Petit Jean Mountain to experience totality high above the Arkansas River.

Photographs by Alex Kent

Russellville

More than 100 couples were married in a giant ceremony just minutes before the eclipse, during the Total Eclipse of the Heart festival.

The day began with hot air balloon rides, and couples shared a dance during the eclipse to the song, “Here Comes the Sun,” performed live by the Liverpool Legends, a Beatles cover band.

2:52 p.m. ET

Photographs by Terra Fondriest

This rural Ozark mountain town, with a population of 130, hosted thousands of visitors. Many locals planned to hunker down at home with friends and family, avoiding the crowds in town.

2:59 p.m. ET

Photographs by Andrea Morales

Murphysboro

This part of Southern Illinois was one the most popular spots in the Midwest to view the 2017 eclipse.

3:05 p.m. ET

Photographs by Maansi Srivastava

Indianapolis

At the Indianapolis Zoo, researchers, animal keepers and volunteers studied the animals’ response to the eclipse.

At totality, as the people at the zoo began to cheer, some animals seemed to react not to the lack of light — but to the unfamiliar abundance of loud people.

Photographs by Jamie Kelter Davis

At Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, one of the country’s best-known drag-racing tracks, spectators camped out for an event that included a concert. As the sky grew dusky around 3 p.m. local time, two dragsters raced down the track.

3:12 p.m. ET

Photographs by Maddie Hordinski

South Bass, a Lake Erie island, is home to the village of Put-in-Bay and its 200 or so full-time residents. Spectators traveling by ferry overwhelmed the tiny island.

3:13 p.m. ET

Photographs by John Taggart

In Cleveland, NASA held an eclipse festival at the Great Lakes Science Center, while the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame streamed a live eclipse soundtrack through the city’s Rock Boxes — speakers that are placed throughout downtown Cleveland — including music by David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Taylor Swift.

3:18 p.m. ET

Photographs by Lauren Petracca

On Monday morning, hundreds of passengers boarded a World War II-era train on the Arcade & Attica Railroad. The train carried them on a scenic ride to a depot where passengers watched the eclipse. While the day had started sunny, clouds rolled in around noon, obscuring the main event.

Photographs by Jalen Wright

Eclipse Fest, an event with games, entertainment and food, welcomed residents and visitors to Buffalo State University’s Coyer Field.

Photographs by Ashley Gilbertson

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, one of the best known natural wonders, was a popular place for eclipse viewers, with a soundtrack of millions of gallons of water roaring over the falls.

3:22 p.m. ET

Photographs by Adrienne Grunwald

Before the first pitch was thrown at a minor league game between the Syracuse Mets and the Worcester Red Sox, fans were treated to live entertainment, along with a — very cloudy — viewing of the eclipse.

New England

3:26 p.m. ET

Photographs by Cassandra Klos

Burlington, Vt.

Eclipse enthusiasts came in droves to Burlington, on the shores of Lake Champlain. Hotels sold out as travelers came for watch parties, performances and family-friendly activities.

3:32 p.m. ET

Photographs by Ashley L. Conti

Houlton, Maine

This small city on the border with Canada was among the last towns in the U.S. to experience the eclipse. Visitors were treated to clear skies in this normally cloudy part of the country.

Photographs by Cydni Elledge

Leamington, Ontario

Point Pelee National Park is on a peninsula that narrows into a sharp sandy spike jutting into Lake Erie. It’s Canada’s southernmost mainland point, and was one of the eclipse’s first stops in the country.

Photographs by Renaud Phillipe

With 1.7 million residents, Montreal is the most populous city on the path of totality. Montrealers and visitors gathered in the city’s numerous parks to watch the eclipse.

3:33 p.m. ET

Photographs by Chris Donovan

Fredericton, New Brunswick

The small capital city of the coastal province of New Brunswick is a picturesque university town known for its network of walking and cycling trails. The city hosted EclipseFest, which featured performances, food and science exhibits

3:40 p.m. ET

Photographs by Ian Willms

Gander, Newfoundland

On Sept. 11, 2001, residents of Gander opened their homes to thousands of passengers who were grounded after the World Trade Center was attacked. On Monday, they displayed their hospitality for a different kind of event.

Even though a dark cloud crossed as the eclipse reached totality in Gander, Newfoundland, cheers still rose from the crowd of several hundred at a local college’s parking lot. Cloud gaps in the distance revealed the sunset effect on the horizon.

An earlier version of this article misstated the first location in Canada to experience the totality of the eclipse. It was Point Pelee Island, not Leamington, Ontario.

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The trains and stations of the Moscow Metro

2 Comments · Posted by Alex Smirnov in Cities , Travel , Video

The Moscow Metro is the third most intensive subway system in the world after Tokyo and Seoul subways. The first line was opened on May 15, 1935. Since 1955, the metro has the name of V.I. Lenin.

The system consists of 12 lines with a total length of 305.7 km. Forty four stations are recognized cultural heritage. The largest passenger traffic is in rush hours from 8:00 to 9:00 and from 18:00 to 19:00.

Cellular communication is available on most of the stations of the Moscow Metro. In March 2012, a free Wi-Fi appeared in the Circle Line train. The Moscow Metro is open to passengers from 5:20 to 01:00. The average interval between trains is 2.5 minutes.

The fare is paid by using contactless tickets and contactless smart cards, the passes to the stations are controlled by automatic turnstiles. Ticket offices and ticket vending machines can be found in station vestibules.

Tags: Moscow city

The Moscow Metro Museum of Art: 10 Must-See Stations

There are few times one can claim having been on the subway all afternoon and loving it, but the Moscow Metro provides just that opportunity. While many cities boast famous public transport systems—New York’s subway, London’s underground, San Salvador’s chicken buses—few warrant hours of exploration. Moscow is different: Take one ride on the Metro, and you’ll find out that this network of railways can be so much more than point A to B drudgery.

The Metro began operating in 1935 with just thirteen stations, covering less than seven miles, but it has since grown into the world’s third busiest transit system ( Tokyo is first ), spanning about 200 miles and offering over 180 stops along the way. The construction of the Metro began under Joseph Stalin’s command, and being one of the USSR’s most ambitious building projects, the iron-fisted leader instructed designers to create a place full of svet (radiance) and svetloe budushchee (a radiant future), a palace for the people and a tribute to the Mother nation.

Consequently, the Metro is among the most memorable attractions in Moscow. The stations provide a unique collection of public art, comparable to anything the city’s galleries have to offer and providing a sense of the Soviet era, which is absent from the State National History Museum. Even better, touring the Metro delivers palpable, experiential moments, which many of us don’t get standing in front of painting or a case of coins.

Though tours are available , discovering the Moscow Metro on your own provides a much more comprehensive, truer experience, something much less sterile than following a guide. What better place is there to see the “real” Moscow than on mass transit: A few hours will expose you to characters and caricatures you’ll be hard-pressed to find dining near the Bolshoi Theater. You become part of the attraction, hear it in the screech of the train, feel it as hurried commuters brush by: The Metro sucks you beneath the city and churns you into the mix.

With the recommendations of our born-and-bred Muscovite students, my wife Emma and I have just taken a self-guided tour of what some locals consider the top ten stations of the Moscow Metro. What most satisfied me about our Metro tour was the sense of adventure . I loved following our route on the maps of the wagon walls as we circled the city, plotting out the course to the subsequent stops; having the weird sensation of being underground for nearly four hours; and discovering the next cavern of treasures, playing Indiana Jones for the afternoon, piecing together fragments of Russia’s mysterious history. It’s the ultimate interactive museum.

Top Ten Stations (In order of appearance)

Kievskaya station.

Kievskaya Station went public in March of 1937, the rails between it and Park Kultury Station being the first to cross the Moscow River. Kievskaya is full of mosaics depicting aristocratic scenes of Russian life, with great cameo appearances by Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. Each work has a Cyrillic title/explanation etched in the marble beneath it; however, if your Russian is rusty, you can just appreciate seeing familiar revolutionary dates like 1905 ( the Russian Revolution ) and 1917 ( the October Revolution ).

Mayakovskaya Station

Mayakovskaya Station ranks in my top three most notable Metro stations. Mayakovskaya just feels right, done Art Deco but no sense of gaudiness or pretention. The arches are adorned with rounded chrome piping and create feeling of being in a jukebox, but the roof’s expansive mosaics of the sky are the real showstopper. Subjects cleverly range from looking up at a high jumper, workers atop a building, spires of Orthodox cathedrals, to nimble aircraft humming by, a fleet of prop planes spelling out CCCP in the bluest of skies.

Novoslobodskaya Station

Novoslobodskaya is the Metro’s unique stained glass station. Each column has its own distinctive panels of colorful glass, most of them with a floral theme, some of them capturing the odd sailor, musician, artist, gardener, or stenographer in action. The glass is framed in Art Deco metalwork, and there is the lovely aspect of discovering panels in the less frequented haunches of the hall (on the trackside, between the incoming staircases). Novosblod is, I’ve been told, the favorite amongst out-of-town visitors.

Komsomolskaya Station

Komsomolskaya Station is one of palatial grandeur. It seems both magnificent and obligatory, like the presidential palace of a colonial city. The yellow ceiling has leafy, white concrete garland and a series of golden military mosaics accenting the tile mosaics of glorified Russian life. Switching lines here, the hallway has an Alice-in-Wonderland feel, impossibly long with decorative tile walls, culminating in a very old station left in a remarkable state of disrepair, offering a really tangible glimpse behind the palace walls.

Dostoevskaya Station

Dostoevskaya is a tribute to the late, great hero of Russian literature . The station at first glance seems bare and unimpressive, a stark marble platform without a whiff of reassembled chips of tile. However, two columns have eerie stone inlay collages of scenes from Dostoevsky’s work, including The Idiot , The Brothers Karamazov , and Crime and Punishment. Then, standing at the center of the platform, the marble creates a kaleidoscope of reflections. At the entrance, there is a large, inlay portrait of the author.

Chkalovskaya Station

Chkalovskaya does space Art Deco style (yet again). Chrome borders all. Passageways with curvy overhangs create the illusion of walking through the belly of a chic, new-age spacecraft. There are two (kos)mosaics, one at each end, with planetary subjects. Transferring here brings you above ground, where some rather elaborate metalwork is on display. By name similarity only, I’d expected Komsolskaya Station to deliver some kosmonaut décor; instead, it was Chkalovskaya that took us up to the space station.

Elektrozavodskaya Station

Elektrozavodskaya is full of marble reliefs of workers, men and women, laboring through the different stages of industry. The superhuman figures are round with muscles, Hollywood fit, and seemingly undeterred by each Herculean task they respectively perform. The station is chocked with brass, from hammer and sickle light fixtures to beautiful, angular framework up the innards of the columns. The station’s art pieces are less clever or extravagant than others, but identifying the different stages of industry is entertaining.

Baumanskaya Statio

Baumanskaya Station is the only stop that wasn’t suggested by the students. Pulling in, the network of statues was just too enticing: Out of half-circle depressions in the platform’s columns, the USSR’s proud and powerful labor force again flaunts its success. Pilots, blacksmiths, politicians, and artists have all congregated, posing amongst more Art Deco framing. At the far end, a massive Soviet flag dons the face of Lenin and banners for ’05, ’17, and ‘45. Standing in front of the flag, you can play with the echoing roof.

Ploshchad Revolutsii Station

Novokuznetskaya Station

Novokuznetskaya Station finishes off this tour, more or less, where it started: beautiful mosaics. This station recalls the skyward-facing pieces from Mayakovskaya (Station #2), only with a little larger pictures in a more cramped, very trafficked area. Due to a line of street lamps in the center of the platform, it has the atmosphere of a bustling market. The more inventive sky scenes include a man on a ladder, women picking fruit, and a tank-dozer being craned in. The station’s also has a handsome black-and-white stone mural.

Here is a map and a brief description of our route:

Start at (1)Kievskaya on the “ring line” (look for the squares at the bottom of the platform signs to help you navigate—the ring line is #5, brown line) and go north to Belorusskaya, make a quick switch to the Dark Green/#2 line, and go south one stop to (2)Mayakovskaya. Backtrack to the ring line—Brown/#5—and continue north, getting off at (3)Novosblodskaya and (4)Komsolskaya. At Komsolskaya Station, transfer to the Red/#1 line, go south for two stops to Chistye Prudy, and get on the Light Green/#10 line going north. Take a look at (5)Dostoevskaya Station on the northern segment of Light Green/#10 line then change directions and head south to (6)Chkalovskaya, which offers a transfer to the Dark Blue/#3 line, going west, away from the city center. Have a look (7)Elektroskaya Station before backtracking into the center of Moscow, stopping off at (8)Baumskaya, getting off the Dark Blue/#3 line at (9)Ploschad Revolyutsii. Change to the Dark Green/#2 line and go south one stop to see (10)Novokuznetskaya Station.

Check out our new Moscow Indie Travel Guide , book a flight to Moscow and read 10 Bars with Views Worth Blowing the Budget For

Jonathon Engels, formerly a patron saint of misadventure, has been stumbling his way across cultural borders since 2005 and is currently volunteering in the mountains outside of Antigua, Guatemala. For more of his work, visit his website and blog .

Photo credits: SergeyRod , all others courtesy of the author and may not be used without permission

Rock slide closes highway to popular NC mountain tourist town. What drivers should know

A rock slide during severe storms closed a main highway this weekend to Blowing Rock , the popular tourist town in the N.C. mountains.

The slide closed both directions of U.S. 321 just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday, state highway officials said.

The highway remains closed from Blackberry Road to the Green Park Inn in Blowing Rock due to “ dangers of more falling rock ” near the inn, the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook.

Fierce storms pummeled the mountains and other parts of the state during the week, spawning an EF-1 tornado in the Wilkes County town of Wilkesboro and another one in the Rowan County community of Mount Ulla. No injuries were reported.

U.S. 321 is scheduled to remain closed until 9 p.m. Sunday according to Drive NC.gov , the state’s real-time map of road closures.

Police released photos of the rock slide, including one that shows a house above it.

A woman who answered the phone at the nearby Green Park Inn on Saturday said the slide has not affected business. The hotel has seen more bookings this month than last April, she said.

On Facebook, the police department in nearby Boone infused a little humor into the closing.

“Hey, at least it’s not leaf season,” Boone Police said in reference to long lines of motorists who drive mountain roads during fall. “Can you imagine??”

Drivers who typically take U.S. 321 to Blowing Rock from Gaston, Lincoln, Catawba and other counties to the south should consider the following alternate route, highway officials said:

Take N.C. 18 east to N.C. 16 North. Turn left onto U.S. 421 North into Boone and return to U.S. 321 toward Blocking Rock.

Pope will travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore in longest trip of papacy

FILE -Pope Francis waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced Friday, April 12 ,2024, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

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Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced Friday, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility.

The Vatican confirmed the Sept. 2-13 visit, saying the 87-year-old pope would visit Jakarta, Indonesia; Port Moresby and Vanimo, Papua New Guinea; Dili, East Timor; and Singapore. Further details will be announced later.

Francis’ health has become a source of increasing concern and speculation, even though the pontiff is able to carry on with a rigorous schedule of meetings at the Vatican and even excursions to local parishes.

Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, had to cancel a planned visit to Dubai late last year after he came down with a bad case of bronchitis. He suffered from respiratory problems all winter and had to curtail his participation in Holy Week events to save his energy for Easter.

Francis has also been using a wheelchair for nearly two years because of bad knee ligaments, and has said that traveling has become increasingly more difficult.

And yet at 11 days, the trip would be the longest of Francis’ papacy, outpacing by a few days some of his long trips to the Americas early on in his 11-year papacy. It will bring the Argentine Jesuit to the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, as well as the former Portuguese colony of East Timor, where the Catholic Church wields enormous influence.

There is also a chance of another leg to the trip being added later: This week, the Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, was in Vietnam and discussed a papal visit, Vatican News reported, without providing details.

In a statement announcing the visit, the Indonesian foreign ministry welcomed the visit and recalled that it had originally been scheduled for 2020 but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The visit of Pope Francis to Indonesia holds significant importance to the Indonesian people, not only for Catholics but also for all religious communities. The visit is also expected to strengthen the message of tolerance, unity and world peace,” the statement said.

Indonesia is home to roughly 242 million Muslims and 29 million Christians — 8.5 million of whom are Catholics — according to a 2022 report by the Religious Affairs Ministry.

East Timor, which today has a population of about 1.2 million people, is Southeast Asia’s only predominantly Christian nation with the exception of the Philippines. According to the 2015 census, 97.6% of East Timor’s population is Catholic.

The visit to East Timor will likely reignite attention over a clergy sex abuse scandal involving its revered independence hero and Nobel Peace Prize winner. The Vatican confirmed in 2022 that it had sanctioned Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations that he sexually abused boys there during the 1990s. Belo is believed to now be living in Portugal.

Francis will be the first pope to visit Papua New Guinea since St. John Paul II went there in 1984. The country, in a strategically important part of the South Pacific, has struggled with tribal violence and civil unrest.

John Paul also visited Singapore, in 1986. The country today is home to 395,000 Catholics and Francis in 2022 made its archbishop Singapore’s first cardinal.

In a statement welcoming the visit, Cardinal William Goh, said it “will bring renewed fervor to all Catholics in Singapore, uniting them in faith and mission, especially in these most challenging of times.”

The Vatican has planned only one other papal trip this year — to Belgium to celebrate the anniversary of the country’s Catholic university. Francis has also said he wants to return to his native Argentina , but no plans or dates have been announced.

Karmini contributed from Jakarta, Indonesia.

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Claudia Looi

Touring the Top 10 Moscow Metro Stations

By Claudia Looi 2 Comments

Komsomolskaya metro station looks like a museum. It has vaulted ceilings and baroque decor.

Hidden underground, in the heart of Moscow, are historical and architectural treasures of Russia. These are Soviet-era creations – the metro stations of Moscow.

Our guide Maria introduced these elaborate metro stations as “the palaces for the people.” Built between 1937 and 1955, each station holds its own history and stories. Stalin had the idea of building beautiful underground spaces that the masses could enjoy. They would look like museums, art centers, concert halls, palaces and churches. Each would have a different theme. None would be alike.

The two-hour private tour was with a former Intourist tour guide named Maria. Maria lived in Moscow all her life and through the communist era of 60s to 90s. She has been a tour guide for more than 30 years. Being in her 60s, she moved rather quickly for her age. We traveled and crammed with Maria and other Muscovites on the metro to visit 10 different metro stations.

Arrow showing the direction of metro line 1 and 2

Moscow subways are very clean

To Maria, every street, metro and building told a story. I couldn’t keep up with her stories. I don’t remember most of what she said because I was just thrilled being in Moscow. Added to that, she spilled out so many Russian words and names, which to one who can’t read Cyrillic, sounded so foreign and could be easily forgotten.

The metro tour was the first part of our all day tour of Moscow with Maria. Here are the stations we visited:

1. Komsomolskaya Metro Station is the most beautiful of them all. Painted yellow and decorated with chandeliers, gold leaves and semi precious stones, the station looks like a stately museum. And possibly decorated like a palace. I saw Komsomolskaya first, before the rest of the stations upon arrival in Moscow by train from St. Petersburg.

2. Revolution Square Metro Station (Ploshchad Revolyutsii) has marble arches and 72 bronze sculptures designed by Alexey Dushkin. The marble arches are flanked by the bronze sculptures. If you look closely you will see passersby touching the bronze dog's nose. Legend has it that good luck comes to those who touch the dog's nose.

Touch the dog's nose for good luck. At the Revolution Square station

Revolution Square Metro Station

3. Arbatskaya Metro Station served as a shelter during the Soviet-era. It is one of the largest and the deepest metro stations in Moscow.

Arbatskaya Metro Station

4. Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station was built in 1935 and named after the Russian State Library. It is located near the library and has a big mosaic portrait of Lenin and yellow ceramic tiles on the track walls.

Lenin's portrait at the Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station

5. Kievskaya Metro Station was one of the first to be completed in Moscow. Named after the capital city of Ukraine by Kiev-born, Nikita Khruschev, Stalin's successor.

Kievskaya Metro Station

6. Novoslobodskaya Metro Station was built in 1952. It has 32 stained glass murals with brass borders.

Novoslobodskaya metro station

7. Kurskaya Metro Station was one of the first few to be built in Moscow in 1938. It has ceiling panels and artwork showing Soviet leadership, Soviet lifestyle and political power. It has a dome with patriotic slogans decorated with red stars representing the Soviet's World War II Hall of Fame. Kurskaya Metro Station is a must-visit station in Moscow.

Ceiling panel and artworks at Kurskaya Metro Station

8. Mayakovskaya Metro Station built in 1938. It was named after Russian poet Vladmir Mayakovsky. This is one of the most beautiful metro stations in the world with 34 mosaics painted by Alexander Deyneka.

Mayakovskaya station

One of the over 30 ceiling mosaics in Mayakovskaya metro station

9. Belorusskaya Metro Station is named after the people of Belarus. In the picture below, there are statues of 3 members of the Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II. The statues were sculpted by Sergei Orlov, S. Rabinovich and I. Slonim.

10. Teatralnaya Metro Station (Theatre Metro Station) is located near the Bolshoi Theatre.

Teatralnaya Metro Station decorated with porcelain figures .

Taking the metro's escalator at the end of the tour with Maria the tour guide.

Have you visited the Moscow Metro? Leave your comment below.

January 15, 2017 at 8:17 am

An excellent read! Thanks for much for sharing the Russian metro system with us. We're heading to Moscow in April and exploring the metro stations were on our list and after reading your post, I'm even more excited to go visit them. Thanks again 🙂

December 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm

Hi, do you remember which tour company you contacted for this tour?