foo fighters 2011 tour rider

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The Hilarious Foo Fighters Illustrated Tour Rider

by twistedsifter

The Smoking Gun, the Masters of obtaining documents of interest, have produced a 25-page excerpt from the Foo Fighters’ 52-page 2011 Tour Rider. The document includes a wildly entertaining ‘Field Guide to Food: Coloring Book and Activity Pages’ section along with a detailed outline of their food requirements with hilarious jokes and references littered throughout.

Below you will find the full-section of the colouring book along with choice excerpts from their food requirements section. To read the full text, head over to the Smoking Gun for the goods.

THE FOO FIGHTERS FIELD GUIDE TO FOOD: COLORING BOOK AND ACTIVITY PAGES

The foo fighters 2011 tour rider: choice excerpts, if you enjoyed this article, the sifter highly recommends:.

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Categories: ART , FUNNY , MUSIC Tags: · illustration

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Dave Grohl Explains Foo Fighters’ Hilarious 52-Page Tour Rider

By Simon Vozick-Levinson

Simon Vozick-Levinson

The Foo Fighters have been known to sneak jokes into their backstage riders on past tours , but they’ve topped themselves this year. The hilarious 52-page list of demands for venues on the Foos’ 2011 world tour – complete with coloring book pages, word searches and more – went viral this week after the Smoking Gun posted it online.

“Our tour manager, Gus Brandt, has always been the one to write the rider,” frontman Dave Grohl tells Rolling Stone . “That’s his personality and sense of humor – he’s a wicked smartass. And after the last rider gained so much positive attention, we were all very proud that someone got it.”

Video: Foo Fighters Hang With Rolling Stone Backstage at SXSW 2011

Earlier this year, Grohl asked Brandt what he had in mind for their latest road trip. “The first idea was to make the rider look exactly like a laminated Waffle House menu, with, like, suggested servings and shit like that,” the singer says with a laugh. “But evidently that was just a little too tricky, so we opted for the coloring book.”

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Perhaps the funniest section of the new rider deals with catering – one page helpfully depicts the difference between a “LAME ENTREE” (sandwich with a side of rocks) and an “AWESOME ENTREE” (steak with a baked potato). But Grohl denies being a picky eater himself. “Most of the rider is meant to make sure that the road crew are fed properly – those guys show up at fucking seven o’clock in the morning, and they don’t leave that venue until about two o’clock in the morning. To be honest, that rider has more to do with them than anybody else. I could survive on microwaved burritos and Crown Royal.”

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Dave grohl explains foo fighters' hilarious 52-page tour rider.

• The Smoking Gun posted the tour rider that went viral this week
• It's complete with coloring book pages, word searches and more
• The funniest section of the rider deals with catering, such as the difference among entrees

( Rolling Stone ) -- The Foo Fighters have been known to sneak jokes into their backstage riders on past tours , but they've topped themselves this year.

The hilarious 52-page list of demands for venues on the Foos' 2011 world tour -- complete with coloring book pages, word searches and more -- went viral this week after the Smoking Gun posted it online.

"Our tour manager, Gus Brandt, has always been the one to write the rider," frontman Dave Grohl tells "Rolling Stone." "That's his personality and sense of humor -- he's a wicked smartass. And after the last rider gained so much positive attention, we were all very proud that someone got it."

Video: Foo Fighters hang with "Rolling Stone" backstage at SXSW 2011

Earlier this year, Grohl asked Brandt what he had in mind for their latest road trip. "The first idea was to make the rider look exactly like a laminated Waffle House menu, with, like, suggested servings and shit like that," the singer says with a laugh. "But evidently that was just a little too tricky, so we opted for the coloring book."

Perhaps the funniest section of the new rider deals with catering -- one page helpfully depicts the difference between a "LAME ENTREE" (sandwich with a side of rocks) and an "AWESOME ENTREE" (steak with a baked potato). But Grohl denies being a picky eater himself.

"Most of the rider is meant to make sure that the road crew are fed properly -- those guys show up at fucking seven o'clock in the morning, and they don't leave that venue until about two o'clock in the morning. To be honest, that rider has more to do with them than anybody else. I could survive on microwaved burritos and Crown Royal."

Photos from the 2011 Sasquatch! Festival: Foo Fighters, Wilco, Flaming Lips and more

Copyright © 2011 Rolling Stone .

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Foo Fighters Tour 2011 Production Rider

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Foo Fighters's tour rider is a hoot

No "tiny islands of chicken boobs"

Money. Fame. Groupies. Turns out, being a real rock star means more than all that - it means having a way-cool tour rider. In which case, The Foo Fighters must be the biggest rockers around, because their catering requirements are both meticulously planned and wildly entertaining.

One section reads, "Please try to make [the soup] a vegetarian selection. Meaty soup make roadies fart," while another spells out the band's definition of pasta: "We do not mean spaghetti soup as your town already has a homeless shelter."

The rider asks that meals be served in a "bug-free area," which should be something of a no-brainer. Concert promoters looking for any form of band appreciation should heed this one passage concerning chicken: "A bunch of lightly cooked chicken with goo on them are not fun, not exciting and definitely not going to GET YOU A HUG FROM OUR BASS PLAYER, NATE (He's the real people person, not the guy from Nirvana )."

If you want to read the whole thing in side-splitting detail, The Smoking Gun has it.

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Foo Fighters’ Hilarious Activity-Book Tour Rider

By now, every semi-aware rock star has learned that his potentially embarrassing tour rider is bound to show up on the Smoking Gun sooner or later. So, if you can’t beat ’em, might as well entertain them. That’s the approach the Foo Fighters have taken with their new rider, which substitutes the traditional section on catering with a funny activity book detailing the band’s needs. Obviously culled from Dave Grohl’s 20+ years of tour experience, it decries such things as “promoter pasta,” “sweaty meat,” pre-packaged salad, and croissants (“This blows… even in France”) in favor of hearty meals, real vegetables, and recognizable brands of soda. The grand finale? A detailed guide to good and bad ice. Sure, it’s a smidge condescending. But if the intent was to entertain, then the Foos have succeeded — and it’s not like they come off sounding any worse than your average entitled entourage . Page through the “Foo Fighters Field Guide to Food: Coloring Book and Activity Pages” after the jump.

[ The Smoking Gun via BuzzFeed ]

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Foo Fighters

Foo fighters artistfacts.

• 1995- Dave Grohl Vocals, guitar Pat Smear Guitar 1995-1997; 2010- Nate Mendel Bass William Goldsmith Drums 1995-1997 Taylor Hawkins Drums 1997-2022 Franz Stahl Guitar 1998-1999 Chris Shiflett Guitar 1999- Josh Freese Drums 2023- Rami Jaffee Keyboards 2017-
• "Foo Fighters" are what the US Air Force calls UFOs. Dave Grohl has had a fascination with UFOs since childhood. "When I was 10 or 11, I had this romantic idea that there was something outside the world we know," he told Uncut magazine in 2007. "I've always done my own little investigations here and there. I've never been visited by aliens or had any sort of close encounter, but I've had a couple of dreams that were really vivid, dreams where the sky implodes and it's the dawn of this new era where we learn to live in the same world as things from other planets."
• Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana. After Kurt Cobain died, he switched to guitar and formed The Foo Fighters.
• The Foo Fighters impose a $100 fine for "any mispelling or other stupid typos" on advertising materials, as their 2000 concert rider reveals. The rider also notes that the guys would rather have the promoter buy their underwear. Much funnier is the band's US/Canada 2008 rider, where cereals are wanted unopened and "not recycled from last night Dio's show," dressing or ketchup is to be fresh, not with "the last 4 millimeters" in the bottle, lunch should include "soup of the day" but only vegetarian because "meaty soups make roadies fart," and many other food demands "since rock bands and their crews need to eat every 90 minutes or so." The 2008 rider also contains some advice on how meat should be prepared, as "lightly cooked chicken breasts with goo on them... are definitely not going to get you a hug from our bass player, Nate." The preferred meat for the Foo Fighters is "big ass kielbasas that make men self conscious" or bacon which is "god's currency." As a sort of an apology for all the whims of the band comes the last sentence of the rider food and drink part, "We are just another band trying to make enough money to fuel our private jet. Please help." The tour manager's sense of humor also manifests in the demand for specific cups – solo red or blue plastic cups, about which he says in the rider, "I will call out a catering jihad if we do not have these cups." Then there's the "Wow, rock stars ask for some stupid crap" part of the rider, where the Foo Fighters give a detailed request on DVDs, magazines and again underwear. The rider concludes with advice about leftover food, which is to be given to a local kitchen or shelter or collected by "our roadie that looks like Osama Bin Laden."
• Grohl takes on a lot of side projects. He played drums for the band Queens Of The Stone Age and fronted the death-metal group Probot.
• Their first album was a solo project for Dave Grohl because he didn't have a band yet.
• Hawkins was part of the backing band for Alanis Morissette before he joined the Foo Fighters. She was devastated when he left but knew he was destined for greatness elsewhere. He appeared in the videos for " You Oughta Know ," " You Learn ," and " All I Really Want ."
• Grohl often chews gum before and during their sets, which keeps his mouth from getting dry. He prefers Dentyne Ice, and says, "Onstage, I need a minty-fresh microphone."
• The bands debut album was written and recorded almost entirely by Grohl. He wrote just about all of the songs while he was still the drummer for Nirvana. >> Suggestion credit : Mark - Chicago, IL
• Their original second guitarist Pat Smear was also the second guitarist for Nirvana when they toured for In Utero . >> Suggestion credit : Justin - Rochester, England
• Grohl hates drum machines. He ranted to UK newspaper The Sun . "All that s--t ruins music these days," he said. "Drum machines work for pop artists, but when it comes to rock and roll, don't [mess around] with the human element. I had favorite drummers because of their inconsistencies. Modern production has robbed drummers of personalities, and it really pisses me off."
• Keeping with his alien fascination, Grohl named his record company Roswell after the city in New Mexico where a supposed flying saucer crashed on a ranch in 1947. >> Suggestion credit : Dave - Lowbanks, ON
• Dave Grohl's greatest influence is John Bonham. He even has the Led Zep drummer's trademark three-circle logo tattooed on his wrist.
• Dave Grohl plays guitar like a drummer. "I was never taught how to play the guitar. I don't know what the chords to ' Everlong ' are," he told Rolling Stone . "I only know what happens when I put the fingers there. But that riff is a good example of how I look at the guitar." "The low E string is the kick drum," Grohl added. "The A and D strings are snares. The G, B and high E are the cymbals. So you have a kick-snare relationship in the riff. Then when the chorus comes around, you wash all the high strings as you would wash a cymbal. It makes it percussive, and it gives that dynamic. It's why I play those Trini Lopez-model guitars – you can play them real soft. And you can beat the f--k out of them. They have that range."
• While on tour in Auckland, New Zealand, Foo Fighters inspired an audience of 50,000 to dance so hard that it registered as seismic activity by volcanic watchdog site GeoNet. Two separate monitoring stations picked up the ground shaking three times per second, which registered as a steady rhythmic motion - about the same level as a volcanic tremor.
• In 2011, the Foo Fighters had a 52-page tour rider that was filled with such fun activities as coloring book pages and word searches.
• Dave Grohl's mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, is a former English teacher, who published her first book at the age of 79 in 2017. From Cradle to Stage is a collection of interviews with the mothers of other famous musicians including the moms of Pharrell Williams, Kelly Clarkson and Dr. Dre.
• The first song to get Dave Grohl's attention for its drumming was... The Edgar Winter Group's " Frankenstein ." "I remember being really inspired by that song," he told Mojo magazine. "Up to that point I would just listen to whatever my parents or my sister were listening to, things like the West Side Story soundtrack, Carly Simon and The Beatles."

Comments: 24

• Luna Loud from Royal Woods, Michigan They recently announced that Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, The Offspring, session musician) is going to be the new drummer for the 'Foos.
• 10xtrivia from Somewhere In The Milky Way This is one of my favorite artist facts pages yet! It shows the FF's have a fantastic f--king sense of humor!
• Charles from Muncie, In i think its funny that Them Crooked Vultures isn't even mentioned.
• Austin from Nashville, Tn Grohl plays drums for Probot.
• Naioka from Sptsyltuckey, Va Oh!!! I like the Foo Fighters! EVERLONG is Probably the prettiest song ever recorded.
• Sam from Portsmouth, Va Krist Novosoelic was going to be bassist of Foo Fighters but both Dave and Krist decided not to do it because they think people will think they were a post-Nirvana supergroup.
• Jordan from Richardson, Tx One question for Josh: Does October come before April in England? I think October of '94 comes after Kurt's death in April of '94.
• Matt from Somewhere, Ca dont tell me we're talking about kurt cobain on a foo fighters page! this is foo fighters, not nirvana. if you wanna babble about conspiracies, join the other lunatics on the nirvana page. btw nirvana rocks and so do foo fighters
• Josh from New York, Ny hey frances shut ur retarded mouth of course he killed himself who would write a suicide note and not do it? considering how he shot himself w/ a shotgun after OD'ing on heroin, i'd say that qualifies as suicide... unless you're gonna say "oh courtney made him do it" or "the media made him do it," which is true but doesnt matter he didnt have to kill himself. so dont talk about stuff you clearly dont know anything about.
• Max from Austin, Tx Pat Smear's real name is Georg Ruthenburg. He changed it after he learned about 'pap smears' in high school, and thought it was the grossest thing he had ever heard of.
• Ken from Dupont, Pa Yeah, Kurt didn't kill himself! Yoko did it!
• Danny from Sydney, Australia Grohl is best in QOTSA. QOTSA kick a**.
• Vegard from Trondheim, Norway Ehhh, Probot is not Death-Metal, far from Death-Metal as a matter of fact.
• Frances from Hartford, Ct I think the Foo Fighters are really good, but i think dave has changed alot , and i'm not sure if it's good or bad, but one thing i do know is that i don't love him anymore, oh and josh , kurt did'nt kill himself you stupid idiot,don't talk about things you obviously don't know about
• Micah from Huntington Beach, Ca foo fighters are great and they live right next to me!
• Mark from Chicago, Il FROM 2 COMMENTS DOWN -"On a late night talk show, the Foo Fighters did a cover of Led Zeppelins 'Stairway to Heaven' Dave Grohl forgot the words of the first half, but made up for it in a quite loud, and rocking second half. All and all, not a bad recording. - Jason, Keizer, OR" Thats actually not true...Dave Grohl has been listening to Led Zeppelin since he was 12 and John Bohnam was his inspiration for playing drums...He purposely leans back to ask the drummer what the next line is as a joke...There are even versions of Nirvana covering this song...Trust me, Dave knew the words!
• Jason from Keizer, Or On a late night talk show, the Foo Fighters did a cover of Led Zeppelins "Stairway to Heaven" Dave Grohl forgot the words of the first half, but made up for it in a quite loud, and rocking second half. All and all, not a bad recording.
• Jason from Keizer, Or Drummer Taylor Hawkins mentioned that the only gripe he has with the Foo Fighters is that they never play the song "Floaty" live.
• Leia from New York, Ny Dave Grohl owns a house next to my aunts in Alexandria, VA and when i went to visit her once you could hear him playing guitar in his house (which he only stays at once in a while because he owns his main house in california). He has a soundproof basement there and it's where some of the FF's songs have been recorded. I never did get to meet him because I didn't want to ring his doorbell and invite myself over. My aunt says he and his wife are great people though!
• Josh from Cambridge, England Foo Fighters had already started the first album "Foo Fighters" before Kurt killed himself.Kurt died in April 1994 and the first album was recorded on 17-23 October 1994.
• Scott Evans from Bradford, Finland Pat Smear appears in 'Don't Speak' by No Doubt. He is playing guitar alongside Tom Dumont in the durong the solo.
• Lyndon from Christchurch, New Zealand Pat Smear usted to play guitar in nirvana along with Dave, Kurt and Krist
• Windle from Montgomery, Al French Pilots during World War One used the phrase "Foo Fighters" to describe UFO's...that's where it started...thanks....B)
• Erin from Melbourne, Australia Dave Grohl also drummed for the band Tenacious D, and featured in the video for Tenacioys D's Tribute as the demon in the middle of the road. The band has gone through three line-up changes. During the recording of their second album, The Colour And The Shape, drummer William Goldsmith left the band, citing creative tensions, leaving Dave to complete the rhythm tracks for that album. He was replaced by former Alanis Morissette drummer Taylor Hawkins. Guitarist Pat Smear also left the band just before the touring for TCATS was to begin. He was replaced by Franz Stahl, who left the band at the completion of that tour. The band recorded their third album as a trio, before taking on Chris Shifflet as guitarist, and it remains as such now.

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Foo Fighters playing Phoenix concert in support of new album. Everything fans need to know

Foo Fighters will be releasing a new album in advance of their first metro Phoenix concert since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, whose final U.S. show was a February 2022 headlining set at Innings Festival at Tempe Beach Park.

Dave Grohl and his bandmates will play Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on Tuesday, Oct. 3. It's unclear who will play drums.

Grohl played an unplugged solo set at Crescent Ballroom on Super Bowl weekend , an impossibly intimate setting for an invitation-only gig by someone known for selling out arenas at the helm of Foo Fighters, who even now remain one of the most successful rock acts to emerge from the alternative-rock explosion of the 1990s.

More: 'Foo Fighters is more than just a band to me': Dave Grohl on life after 'losing Nirvana'

What we know about Foo Fighters' new album, 'But Here We Are'

Prior to that Phoenix concert, Foo Fighters will release "But Here We Are," out June 2 on Roswell Records/RCA Records.

The new release has been described in press materials as "a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year," "a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family" and "courageous, damaged and unflinchingly authentic."

The album opens with the newly released lead single “Rescued,” the first of 10 songs said to "run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between."

Produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, "But Here We Are" is the 11th Foo Fighters album and the first chapter of their new life. It's said to channel "the naiveté of Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut" while also being "informed by decades of maturity and depth," resulting in "the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life."

Foo Fighters' 'But Here We Are' track list

Here's the full track listing for 'But Here We Are':

"Under You"

"Hearing Voices"

"But Here We Are"

"The Glass"

"Nothing at All"

"Show Me How"

"Beyond Me"

"The Teacher"

How to get tickets to Foo Fighters in Phoenix

Tickets are on sale now at livenation.com .

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Reach the reporter at  [email protected]  or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter  @ EdMasley .

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City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

At over 12 million people, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and second largest in Europe by population ( Istanbul is #1). An urban, cosmopolitan metropolis with more than enough glitz and glam to cater to the elite, but without losing its fair share of Soviet era roughness around the edges. It can be fast paced, brash, busy, and trendy like other big cities, but it has its blend of West meets Russia atmosphere and beauty that provides plenty of unique interest. The Red Square is as famous as it gets, but there’s so much more to this city, including the most beautiful subway system you’ve ever seen. It would take years to capture all of Moscow, but that means you have an endless amount of areas to discover.

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Moscow has to offer before you even arrive!

• Patriarch’s Pond
• Old Arbat Street
• Maroseyka Street
• Tverskoy Boulevard

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. red square.

The Red Square is the most famous square in not just Russia, but all of Eastern Europe. The name actually doesn’t come from the color of the bricks or communism, but from the name in Russian, Krásnaya, once meaning “beautiful” before its meaning changed to “red.” This large plaza is what you see on the cover of guide books and magazines for Moscow, with St. Basil’s Cathedral being the center piece next to Lenin’s Mausoleum surrounded by the Kremlin Wall. Of course, the Red Square attracts hordes of tourist due to the main attractions, but all that activity around an interesting atmosphere does provide street photo opportunities. It’s also the central square connecting to the city’s major streets, providing a good starting point to explore outward.

You’ll also find the popular pedestrian only Nikolskaya Street connecting the Red Square to Lubyanka Square. This line of expensive shops includes plenty of activity, while also leading you to another popular square. Filled with history rivaling any city, the Red Square and surrounding areas are the heart and soul of Russia.

2. Patriarch’s Ponds

Patriarch’s Ponds is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Moscow. Despite the name being plural, there’s only one large pond, but it’s worth a visit with your camera. It’s a popular spot for locals and expats to come relax or take a stroll around the pond. You get an interesting mix of young and old too, from young love to “babushkas” feeding pigeons. It’s a very peaceful park atmosphere in one of the nicer areas within the city center, while bringing enough activity for street photography. 

The pond is shallow and in the winter becomes a popular spot for ice-skating too. The area is also well-known for the location in the famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita. 

3. Old Arbat (Stary Arbat)

Old Arbat is the most famous pedestrian street in Moscow, and dating back to the 15th century, also one of its oldest. Originally, it was an area of trade, but soon became the most prestigious residential area in Moscow. During the 18th century, Arbat started attracting the city’s scholars and artists, including Alexander Pushkin. Cafes lined the streets and impressive homes filled the neighborhood. Since then, New Arbat street was created as a highway in the area, while Old Arbat was paved for a 1km pedestrian only walkway.

Due to the historic buildings, famous artists that lived here, and the bohemian atmosphere, Old Arbat has become a big attraction for tourists today. Now, there’s a mix of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, street performers, street merchants and other attractions for visitors, and some locals, to come enjoy. It can get really busy here and there’s usually something interesting going on so it’s a good street to come walk with your camera for guaranteed life.

4. Gorky Park

One of the most famous places in Moscow is Gorky Park. The official name is Maxim Gorky’s Central Park of Culture & Leisure, which gives you an idea of what goes on here. When built, it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Divided into two parts, it stretches along Moscow River. One end contains fair rides, foods stands, tennis courts, a sports club, a lake for boat rides, and more. This end brings more active life due to its number of attractions, while the other end is more relaxed, where you’ll find gardens, trees, older buildings, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Gorky Park attracts mostly locals so it’s a good spot to capture the non-tourist side of Moscow life. Muscovites come here to escape the city and unwind in a picturesque setting. The park remains alive outside of the warmer months too, especially when the lake turns into the city’s largest outdoor skating rink. I’d recommend taking the metro out here to spend at least half a day exploring the massive park’s life with your camera.

5. Maroseyka Street

Maroseyka Street is a popular area not too far from the Red Square. The long, winding street turns into Pokrovka and is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars and places to stay. It’s actually where I like to stay when I’m in Moscow due to its location and solid street photography opportunities itself. You have Kitay-gorod station near and if you keep walking southwest, you’ll get to the Red Square. But if you walk northwest, as it changes to Pokrovka, you can find a long street of activity for photography with its own interesting atmosphere.

6. Tverskoy Boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard is the oldest and longest boulevard in Moscow, beginning at the end of Nikitsky Boulevard, and finishing at Pushkin Square, a spot to come for activity itself. The boulevard is made up of two avenues, with pedestrian walkways in-between. You’ll find grass, shrubbery, trees, benches and more walking it’s almost kilometer length. Many people come here to enjoy some relaxation, walk their dog, or just to use it to walk wherever they’re going. Its center location also provides a nice place to walk with your camera near plenty of other spots you’ll want to check out anyway.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Moscow:

• Start your morning walking around the Red Square (1), while exploring the surrounding area, including Nikolskaya Street
• Then walk northwest to Patriarch’s Ponds (2) and slowly walk the pond and surrounding area with your camera
• Next, walk east to the Pushkin Monument and stroll down Tverskoy Boulevard (6)
• Once Tverskoy Boulevard (6) ends, it will turn into Nikitsky Boulevard. Follow this down until you get to the start of Old Arbat Street (3), across from Arbatskaya station
• After you’re done walking down Old Arbat Street (3) for more street photography, spend some time checking out Moscow’s beautiful metro stations
• To finish off the day with more street photography, get off the metro near Red Square (1) again, Maroseyka Street (5) or wherever you’re staying for the night.

3 Things I’ll Remember about Shooting in Moscow:

1. museum metro.

The Moscow metro system was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union and today includes 203 stations across 340km of routes. The elaborate system has some of the deepest stations in the world too, with escalators that seem to go on forever. None of this is what makes it so special, though. Many of its stations feel like stepping inside a museum, making it without a doubt the most interesting and beautiful metro system I’ve been in.

When built, Stalin wanted to make the metro stations “palaces for the people” with marble, chandeliers, and grand architecture. The best part is the variety of architecture and styles used, making many of the stations a completely different experience visually. You could easily spend a whole day traveling the stations and there are even tours available for people who wish to do just that. My advice, though, would be just to buy a ticket and hop on and off at different stations, while exploring different lines. The museum-like surrounding mixed with the crowds of characters can make for a great photography experience.

Since there are so many stations, here are some of my favorites to check out:

• Novoslobodskaya
• Mayakovskaya
• Elektrozavodskaya
• Komsomolskaya
• Ploschad Revolyutsii
• Dostoyevskaya
• Prospekt Mira

2. Moscow is Big

It’s no secret that Moscow is a big city, but it can feel even bigger with how spread out much of it is. This is especially true if you compare it to cities outside of Asia. If I compared it to cities in Europe, I’d probably say only Istanbul would warrant more time to really discover the depths of this city. Most only explore around the Red Square and surrounding area, but that is such a small part of the city. Although, that central area does give you plenty to see on its own.

Fortunately, I had a good friend living in the city to show me around, but it opened up my eyes even more to how much there is to discover in Moscow. It’s a big city with a variety of atmosphere that can take you from “east” to “west” and trendy to rugged depending on where you go. I’d imagine you’d have to live here a while to really know the city.

3. Cosmopolitan Mix of East meets West

Modern skyscrapers mixed with amazing architecture, a world-class metro system with museum-like beauty, trendy fashion and chic clubs, Moscow is a rich mix of Russian culture and history in a more western cosmopolitan package. There is a push to keep the Russian culture, while also pushing forward with a modern metropolis the whole world will envy. This comes with an impressive skyline, that continues to grow, and endless modernities, but with soviet nostalgia and atmosphere mixed in for good measure.

Mixed in with this grand western cosmopolitan atmosphere, is a strong national pride in Russia. This includes their famous leader, Vladimir Putin. Maybe no other place will you see a country’s leader more often. All over, from the pricey tourist shops to the underground walkway stalls, you’ll find goods with Putin’s likeness covering them. From t-shirts to magnets to Matryoshka dolls. There’s a strong national pride that can be seen around the city, which also extends to their leader. Moscow is many things. It’s East meets West, modernizations meets Soviet era, and a whole lot more.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Eat at a stolovaya.

Stolovayas are Russian cafeterias that became popular in the Soviet days. You grab a tray and walk down the line of freshly prepared local dishes, and select whatever you want from the chefs. They’re usually inexpensive and a much better value than restaurants, while giving you the opportunity to try from a wide selection of everyday Russian food. They’re also very tasty. I always include some borsch on my tray and go from there. The places themselves are all over Moscow and usually come with Soviet-era aesthetics to complete the experience.

Street Safety Score: 7

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Being the 2nd largest city in Europe with over 12 million people, you’re going to have your dangerous areas, but for the most part, it feels safe walking around. Russia is statistically higher in crime compared to most of Europe, but this generally doesn’t apply to tourists and visitors. Around the Red Square and surrounding city center, you should feel completely safe walking around. Pick pocketing can happen, but no more than other touristic places. I always explore Moscow freely without coming across too much to worry about. It’s a spread out city, though, so of course it matters where you are. Just use basic street smarts, know where you are and Moscow shouldn’t give you a problem. 

People’s Reaction Score: 7

Moscow is fast paced, big city life, which usually means people aren’t too concerned with you, or your camera. I don’t find people notice or pay much attention to me when I’m out taking photos in Moscow. For the most part, people just go about their day. You shouldn’t get too many looks or concern. But it can depend on the area you are in. The more you stick out, the more you might get noticed with suspicions. I’ve never had any problems in Moscow, or Russia, but just be careful who you’re taking a photo of if you get out of the city center. Other than that, it’s about average for reactions. 

Street Tips:

Learn the alphabet .

Much of Moscow, including the metro system, doesn’t use english. The Russian alphabet uses letters from the Cyrillic script, which if you aren’t familiar with it and don’t know the sounds, can be hard to decipher the words. This is most important for street names and metro stops when trying to get around. It can save confusion and make it easier getting around if you learn the basic alphabet. At the very least then, you can sound out the words to see which are similar in the english conversion, which can help matching them to maps. When out shooting street photography, getting around is as important as anything. So save yourself some time and frustration by learning the Russian Alphabet.

Use the metro

While Saint-Petersburg feels very walkable for a city its size, Moscow can feel very spread out, even for its bigger size. Outside of the Red Square area, you can have plenty of walking before getting anywhere very interesting, so you’ll need to take the metro a lot if you really want to explore the city. Maps are deceiving here too, it will always be further than it looks.

Another reason it’s less walkable than Saint-Petersburg is its completely different set-up. Moscow’s streets are mostly contstructed in rings with narrow, winding streets in-between. This is common with medieval city cities that used to be confined by walls, but you usually don’t have it in a city this massive. Saint-Petersburg has a more grid-like pattern that also uses the canals to help you know your way around. When it comes to navigating on foot in Moscow, it can be more difficult, so bring a map and take the metro when needed. It’s why Moscow’s metro carries more passengers per day than the London and Paris subways combined.

Explore other areas if you have time

Moscow is really big. While most people stay around the Red Square within the Boulevard Ring, there’s so much more to the city. I covered some other spots outside of this circle, but if you really want to see the city, you’ll need time. If you do have time, some other areas I’d check out first are Zamoskvarechye, along some of the south and western Moscow.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through the Street Photography of Moscow photographer Artem Zhitenev  and check out 33 of my photos taken in Moscow .

Conclusion:

Moscow’s name brings a certain mystique, but once you’re there it might bring a different atmosphere than you expect. It’s big and sprawling, but beautiful in many ways. It can feel like a European capital on a grand scale, but you can definitely find its Russian side in there.

The urban sprawl of Moscow can be intimidating, but give it enough time and you’ll be rewarded with plenty to discover. All with the world’s best metro system to take you around.

I hope this guide can help you start to experience some of what Moscow contains. So grab your camera and capture all that Moscow has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Moscow, feel free to comment below or email me!

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

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17 Top Tourist Attractions in Moscow

The capital of Russia is an incredible place to explore. Visitors to Moscow come away spellbound at all the amazing sights, impressed at the sheer size and grandeur of the city. Lying at the heart of Moscow, the Red Square and the Kremlin are just two of the must-see tourist attractions; they are the historical, political and spiritual heart of the city – and indeed Russia itself.

A fascinating city to wander around, stunning cathedrals, churches, and palaces lie side-by-side with bleak grey monuments and remains from the Soviet state. In addition to its plethora of historical and cultural tourist attractions, Moscow is home to world-class museums, theaters and art galleries.

Renowned for its performing arts, fantastic ballets and amazing circus acts, catching a show while in Moscow is a must. The wealth of brilliant restaurants, trendy bars, and lively nightlife means there is something for everyone to enjoy.

See also: Where to Stay in Moscow

17. Tsaritsyno Palace

Once the summer residence of Catherine the Great, the stunning Tsaritsyno Palace is now a museum-reserve. The architecture is magnificent and there is a lovely park surrounding it for visitors to explore.

Located in the south of Moscow, the palace was commissioned in 1775 and recent renovations mean its lavish interior looks better than ever before with its elegant halls and beautiful staircases.

The exhibits on display look at the life of the empress as well as the history of Tsaritsyno itself. The huge palace grounds are also home to some other delightful buildings with the elegant opera house and wonderful brickwork of the Small Palace being particularly impressive to gaze upon.

Starting out in 1935 as the ‘All-Union Agricultural Exhibition’, VDNKh has slowly morphed over the years into the fascinating open-air museum of today. Remarkably, over 400 buildings can now be found within its confines.

The huge park complex has numerous pavilions representing former Soviet republics on show, such as those of Armenia and Turkmenistan and the distinctive architecture of each of the buildings is always interesting to gaze upon. In addition to this there is the fascinating Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics which is dedicated to space exploration and the fun Moskvarium aquarium even offers you the chance to swim with dolphins.

With lots of eateries scattered about and numerous entertainment options such as horse-riding and zip-lining, there is something for everyone to enjoy; the Friendship of Nations fountain truly is wonderful.

15. Kremlin Armoury

One of the oldest museums in the city, the Kremlin Armoury has a wealth of treasures; highlights include the ornate Grand Siberian Railway egg, the historic Cap of Monomakh and the stunning Imperial Crown of Russia which often has a crowd of tourists around it, jostling to take a photo.

Once the royal armory, there are loads of fascinating objects on display. Perusing the many sabers, jewelry, armor and more is as interesting as it is educational and entertaining and the swords are so finely crafted that you’ll almost wish you could pick up one and wield if yourself.

Established in 1851, the museum is situated in the Moscow Kremlin.

14. GUM Department Store

Standing for ‘Main Universal Store’ in Russian, GUM is stunning. Its wonderful skylights and beautiful facades mean it doesn’t look out of place alongside its illustrious neighbors on Red Square.

With over 200 shops, boutiques and upmarket eateries inside, it is a shopaholic’s heaven and concerned partners will be glad to find more affordable options alongside luxury brands such as Dior and Prada.

The main department store in the city, GUM was opened in 1893. The stunning architecture makes it well worth a visit even if shopping isn’t your thing.

13. Moscow Metro

It’s not often that public transport looks like a work of art. So many stops on the Moscow Metro will astound visitors with their beauty and elegance.

Decked in marble and with frescoes covering the walls, the stations are amazing to gaze upon and are part of one of the longest metro systems in the world, with the first stations opened in 1935.

Using the metro is the quickest and easiest way to get around Moscow and braving the crowds of commuters is well worth it for the beauty all around you.

12. Arbat Street

An elegant yet lively street, Arbat is full of impressive architecture and was once a popular place to live for aristocrats, artists, and academics.

A historic place, it is down Arbat Street that Napoleon’s troops are said to have headed on their way to capture the Kremlin.

Nowadays, there are many cafes, restaurants, and shops, as well as various monuments and statues to former residents such as Alexander Pushkin who was reputed to be a lover of the Russian Empress due to his massive influence in court.

11. Novodevichy Convent

Drenched in history, the Novodevichy Convent is located in a striking building that was once a fortress. This captivating place is well worth visiting when in Moscow.

Founded in 1524, the convent houses four cathedrals; Smolensk Cathedral is the undoubted highlight due to its delightful 16th-century frescoes.

Wandering around the grounds is like stepping back in time. The Novodevichy Cemetery is where many famous leaders of the Soviet Union are buried, such as Yeltsin and Khrushchev.

10. Pushkin Museum

Despite its name, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts actually has no connection at all to the famous poet other than that it was named in his honor after his death. A delight to visit, its extensive collection focuses on European art with masterpieces by Botticelli, Rembrandt, and van Gogh all featuring.

Sculptures, graphic art, paintings and more can be found in its beautiful galleries; various sections look at themes and epochs such as the Renaissance, the Dutch Golden Age, and Byzantine art.

Among the many highlights are the clownish characters which can be found in Cezanne’s Fastnacht (Mardi Gras) and the twirling ballerinas who look so elegant in Degas’ Blue Dancers. Picasso’s Young acrobat on a Ball is also well worth checking out for its interesting use of shapes and colors.

9. Christ The Savior Cathedral

This gorgeous Russian Orthodox cathedral is located on the banks of the Moskva River, just a stone’s throw away from the Kremlin.

The church as it stands today was consecrated in 2000, as the original church that stood here was destroyed on the command of Josef Stalin in 1931 due to the anti-religious campaign.

With its delightful golden dome, spires and dazzling white facades, the Christ the Savior Cathedral is stunning. The interior is just as captivating to wander around, with its beautifully tiled floors and impressive altar.

8. Lenin Mausoleum

Opened to the public in 1924, Lenin’s Mausoleum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Moscow. The red granite structure is located at the heart of the city in Red Square.

Lenin’s embalmed body lies in a glass sarcophagus; it is a somewhat eerie experience walking past the former leader of the Soviet Union but is well worth doing as you understandably can’t do it anywhere else in the world.

After visiting the mausoleum, head to the Kremlin wall right next to it for more graves of important communist figures such as Stalin and Brezhnev.

7. Tretyakov Gallery

Home to the most extensive and impressive collection of Russian fine art in the world, the State Tretyakov Gallery is definitely worth visiting when in Moscow for the wealth of amazing art pieces that it has on display.

Having started out as the private art collection of the Tretyakov brothers, there are now over 130,000 exhibits. Highlights include the iconic Theotokos of Vladimir which you will almost certainly recognise despite probably not knowing the name and Rublev’s Trinity which is considered to be one of highest achievements in Russian art.

An absolute must for art lovers, the State Tretyakov Gallery will delight visitors with all that is has to offer.

6. Kolomenskoye

Once a royal estate, Kolomenskoye is now a museum-reserve and lies a few kilometers outside of the city center. A captivating place to visit, there is a plethora of history on show and the site overlooks the Moskva River.

Consisting of four historical sites, there are extensive gardens for visitors to explore, as well as loads of interesting old buildings, the former village of Kolomenskoye itself and the impressive Palace of the Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich – once considered the Eighth Wonder of the World by contemporaries.

Among the many stunning sights, it is the brilliantly white Ascension Church that is the undoubted highlight – dating back to 1532.

5. Gorky Park

Lying alongside the Moskva River, the huge Gorky Park is a lovely place to visit. Its extensive gardens are home to numerous cultural institutions and visitors should definitely check out the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and while the eclectic exhibits may not always feature such incredible sights as a balloon-covered rider on a zebra; they certainly always succeed in pushing back the boundaries of art.

Pop-up exhibitions and festivals can be found from time to time in the park itself and there is an open-air theatre and numerous eateries alongside a plethora of leisure activities.

Whether it’s cycling, table tennis or yoga that you are after or beach volleyball and rowing, Gorky Park certainly has it. In winter, there is a huge ice rink for visitors to enjoy.

4. Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre is the main theater in the country. The amazing opera and ballet performances it has put on over the centuries go a long way in explaining Russia’s rich history of performing arts.

While the Bolshoi Ballet Company was established in 1776, the theater itself was opened in 1825. The glittering, six-tier auditorium is lavishly and decadently decorated; it is a fitting setting for the world-class performances that take place on its stage.

Spending a night watching a performance of such classics as The Nutcracker or Swan Lake at the Bolshoi Theatre is sure to be a memorable experience and the beauty all around you only adds to the sense of occasion.

3. Moscow Kremlin

This famously fortified complex is remarkably home to five palaces and four cathedrals and is the historic, political and spiritual center of the city. The Kremlin serves as the residence for the country’s president. It has been used as a fort, and this fact is made clear by its sheer size. The Kremlin’s outer walls were built in the late 1400s.

Under Ivan III, better known as Ivan the Great, the Kremlin became the center of a unified Russian state, and was extensively remodeled. Three of the Kremlin’s cathedrals date to his reign that lasted from 1462-1505. The Deposition Church and the Palace of Facets were also constructed during this time. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower was built in 1508. It is the tallest tower at the Kremlin with a height of 266 feet (81 meters).

Joseph Stalin removed many of the relics from the tsarist regimes. However, the Tsar Bell, the world’s largest bell, and the Tsar Cannon, the largest bombard by caliber in the world, are among the remaining items from that era. The Kremlin Armory is one of Moscow’s oldest museums as it was established more than 200 years ago. Its diamond collection is impressive.

The Kremlin’s gardens – Taynitsky, Grand Kremlin Public and Alexander – are beautiful. The Kremlin has also served as the religious center of the country, and there is a tremendous number of preserved churches and cathedrals here. The collections contained within the museums include more than 60,000 historical, cultural and artistic monuments. Those who enjoy the performing arts will want to consider attending a ballet or concert at the State Kremlin Palace. Completed in 1961, it is the only modern building in the Kremlin.

2. Red Square

Lying at the heart of Moscow, Red Square is the most important and impressive square in the city. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions due to its wealth of historical sights and cultural landmarks.

Drenched in history, the huge square is home to incredible sights such as the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral and Lenin’s Mausoleum, among others. Consequently, it is not to be missed when in Moscow as it really is home to the city’s most stunning monuments.

It is here that many important moments in Russian history took place; the former marketplace has hosted everything from Tsar’s coronations and public ceremonies to rock concerts and Soviet military parades. Wandering around the massive square is a humbling experience and undoubtedly one of the highlights the city has to offer.

1. Saint Basil’s Cathedral

Located in the impressive Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral is gorgeous; its delightful spires appear as if out of a fairytale. The most recognizable building in the country, the cathedral is very much a symbol of Russia. No visit to Moscow is complete without having taken in its unique and distinctive features.

Ivan the Terrible ordered the cathedral’s construction in the mid-16th century, and legend holds that Ivan put out the architect’s eyes so that he would be unable to build another cathedral more glorious than St. Basil’s. Designed to resemble the shape of a bonfire in full flame, the architecture is not only unique to the period in which it was built but to any subsequent period. For various reasons, both Napoleon and Stalin wanted to destroy the cathedral but fortunately did not succeed.

Known for its various colors, shapes and geometric patterns, St. Basil’s Cathedral houses nine different chapels that are all connected by a winding labyrinth of corridors and stairways. On the lower floor, St. Basil’s Chapel contains a silver casket bearing the body of St. Basil the Blessed.

Throughout the cathedral are many beautiful murals, frescoes, wooden icons and other art works and artifacts. Outside the cathedral is a lovely garden with the bronze Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, who rallied an all-volunteer Russian army against Polish invaders during a period of the late 16th century known as the Times of Troubles.

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Puzzling out Moscow for visitors under 30

Navigation games on the streets and conversation clubs in hostels are all part of the fun of figuring out Moscow when you’re young at heart. Source: Press Photo.

Hugging strangers, reciting poetry and looking for bird-shaped graffiti is not usually part of a city tour—but Moscow Game Tour is no ordinary company.

Nikita Bogdanov, 25, founder of the company, says: “It’s not a regular tour, it’s a quest. You interact with Russian people, and you gain more experience.”

Moscow Game Tour is one of a new breed of innovative tours run by and for young people. They are either low-cost or free, and prioritise interacting with locals over traditional sightseeing.

Mr Bogdanov started Moscow Game Tour in 2009 to encourage visitors to explore areas outside the city centre. In the tour, which costs 700 roubles (about $22), participants are “players” and complete challenges that lead them to clues in the shape of a matryoshka doll.

Discovering fairy-tale Moscow

Strolling around the Kremlin

Discovering a glorious corner of paradise

Many tasks involve asking passers-by for directions or trying a Russian phrase. Along the way, players discover interesting features such as a monastery canteen, or a Socialist Realist statue.

Some clues are easier to locate than others. “There was one spot that we absolutely could not find,” says Vera Baranova, 25, who took part in a quest at Tsaritsyno Park in south-east Moscow. “When we asked someone, it turned out that we were actually right on top of it.”

Mr Bogdanov also operates the Moscow Free Tour, which provides an overview of major sites between Kitai Gorod and the Kremlin free of charge. In peak season, this more traditional outing attracts between a dozen and 40 people every day; the Game Tour runs only once or twice a week and usually attracts between five and 10 participants. Convincing visitors to sign up for an unconventional tour can be a challenge. “The Free Tour is more popular because it’s more easily understandable,” Mr Bogdanov says. “For the Game Tour, you need to explain to people what it is.”

Business has picked up as Mr Bogdanov has formed relationships with hotels, major tour agencies including TUI and companies such as Google. This year, he also began receiving support from Moscow’s Committee for Tourism and the Hotel Industry, which has launched a programme called “Moscow Fresh” to support creative tourism.

Moscow Game Tour is one of a new breed of innovative tours run by and for young people. Source: Press Photo.

In addition to the Free Tour and Game Tour, Mr Bogdanov’s company offers daily paid-for tours with a variety of themes. The retro Communist Tour visits central Soviet landmarks, including the Lubyanka (former headquarters of the KGB); the Gulag Museum; a Soviet-style canteen and Eliseevsky, a regal shop on Tverskaya Street considered the grandest store in the Soviet Union (which these days sells imported French yoghurt and other modern luxuries).

Visitors can also venture below ground on the Metro Tour.  The latter stops at some of the most ornate stations in Moscow’s beloved Stalinist metro system, such as the mosaic-adorned Komsomolskaya. In an attempt to supply visitors with information beyond the average pocket guide, the tour recounts little-known facts about the metro, such as how many babies have been born on it.

Alexei Sotskov, 30, was inspired to start Moscow Greeter , a local franchise of the international Greeter network, after giving informal tours to friends. “I have a lot of friends in foreign countries, and when they come to Moscow I show them interesting places. So I thought it would be a great idea to start running a tourist service,” he says.

The greeters are mostly students learning English who take visitors to lesser-known sights, such as the former royal estate Kolomenskoye, as well as exhibitions and sporting events. The greeters not only show the tourists around but they also chat to them. “Greeters talk about their lives, their parents, where they’re from in Moscow, and where they study,” says Mr Sotskov. 

“Traditional guides just give people information they read in a book.”

Valentina Lebedeva, a second-year linguistics student, has been a greeter for two months. “When most people come to Moscow, they visit the Kremlin and everything, but they go back and they still don’t really get how people really live here,” she says.

“Greeters offers tourists a good way to get a real impression of Russia, so that you don’t just visit the usual tourist sights.”

Another unconventional tour company, Lovely Russia , also strives to provide a more engaging experience for tourists. “A lot of the tours I saw being run by tour providers were really boring, just buses with large crowds of 60 year-olds,” says the company’s co-founder Anna Shegurova, 25. “There was not a lot for a younger crowd, a more off-the-beaten-path kind of thing.” Lovely Russia offers a variety of $22 tours in English. Locations include metro stations, Constructivist landmarks and a “Moscow as it is” outing that winds through the city’s side streets. At the end of the tour, guides suggest places where participants can enjoy a beer.

Ms Shegurova says the guides try to show visitors “a different side of Russia”.

“It’s a great city with a really long and interesting history… but you wouldn’t really know unless you have someone with you who’s able to share this history and make it interesting,” she says.

For visitors without a guide, getting around Moscow can still be a challenge. Over the past year,  some English-language signs indicating the locations of historical sights have been put up, but metro and street signs remain in Cyrillic.

Mila, volunteer for 'wow local'

“Coming here, it’s very hard to get orientated,” says Irina Tripapina, 25, the organiser of WowLocal . “We decided to compensate for the lack of information in English by establishing a community of volunteers who are willing to help visitors find their way.” After passing language and navigation tests, WowLocal volunteers are given T-shirts and badges emblazoned with the phrase “Ask Me, I’m Local.” 

“Tourists can meet WowLocal at any part of the city and at any time – even at night in Butovo,” says Ms Tripapina, referring to the suburb south of Moscow.

Since the project started in July, Ms Tripapina says it has recruited about 400 volunteers. She wears her badge every day on her way to work, and says she’s frequently stopped by foreigners asking for directions (as well as Russians looking for the metro).

Occasionally, she fields some more unusual requests: “Once, a guy from Britain asked me where to get a bowl of pelmeni,” she says.

WowLocal also brings together local people and tourists through city navigation games and conversation clubs at hostels. “We bring volunteers together with the travellers, so that they can share with each other,” explains Ms Tripapina.

All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

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2018 Primetime Emmy & James Beard Award Winner

In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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