Creo Chocolate

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creo chocolate tour

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Creo Chocolate - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Experience Gifts

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  • Chocolate Experiences

Portland Make-A-Bar Chocolate Tour of Creo Chocolate

Tour an Award-Winning Chocolate Factory in Portland and Make Your Own Bar to Take Home

Portland Make-A-Bar Chocolate Tour of Creo Chocolate

Portland Chocolate Tour

  • • Visit an Award-Winning Chocolate Factory
  • • Learn the Chocolate Making Process
  • • Design Your Very Own Chocolate Bar

Why Book this Chocolate Experiences in Portland OR

Portland Experience Gifts: Indulge your passion for chocolate and design your very own chocolate bar during this guided tour at an award-winning chocolate maker.

This 1.5 hour experience is the ultimate gift for a chocolate fanatic! You’ll be taken on an exciting tour around a real, award-winning chocolate factory and will learn about the process behind making chocolate – from selecting only the best cacao grown in the tropics of Ecuador, to the grinding and roasting that releases those delicious flavors and finally, designing incredible combinations of ingredients to make bespoke chocolate treats. Get your own creative juices flowing as you finish up the tour by becoming the chocolate designer yourself – selecting your most desired flavors and ingredients to create your own signature chocolate bar to take home with you.

This delicious experience in Portland is the perfect gift for a foodie or chocoholic who would love to know more about the chocolate making process.

Points Of Interest and Landmarks

Creo chocolate.

  • Creo Chocolate Portland

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Experience overview:.

One of our chocolate makers will teach you where chocolate comes from, and how we make it here at Creo. All guests will have the opportunity to design their own award-winning chocolate bar to take home.

> More Experience Gifts in Portland OR

Details & important info, additional experience details & important information.

  • Factory tends to be cool to keep the chocolate happy, so dress accordingly.
  • We require that everyone wears closed-toe shoes on our factory floor.
  • Please refrain from wearing heavy perfume, because it can flavor the chocolate.

Cancellations & Refunds

Reservation changes, cancellations & refunds.

All ticket sales are final and not refundable. Reservations cannot be changed, rescheduled or refunded once confirmed. Reservations may be re-scheduled by the operator of the activity due to reasons such as weather, minimum participation requirements, mechanical issues or other interruptions beyond their control.

All gift certificate sales are final and not refundable. Gift certificates can only be exchanged prior to redemption.

A full list of terms of sale of tickets and certificates can be viewed here .

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We opened our workshop out of a lifetime enjoyment of learning how things are made. For several years we experimented with roasting beans, using our chocolate in every recipe we could imagine, eating our way through chocolate shops in North America and visiting cacao farms in Ecuador.

When we found out that chocolate was grown in the tropics largely by rural, small multi-generational family farmers, our hearts were drawn to the common pride of growing something, by our common heritage of farming.

We were compelled to work with the farmer. So in 2014, we sold our small family farm with a desire to share this real craft chocolate with our family, friends, and community.

Product SKU: US-1591-0002 Google Business Profile: Creo Chocolate

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Taste and Learn!: Creo Chocolate Factory Offers Sweets and Tours

creo chocolate tour

Much like Willy Wonka, there’s a chocolate factory in North Portland that offers tours your family won’t soon forget. Creo Chocolate makes irresistible candy and gives eager customers a behind-the-scenes peek at how all of their chocolatey magic happens. So for a real-life Charlie and the Chocolate Factory experience, book it over to Creo Chocolates to learn how chocolate is made. There’s even a surprise at the end of the tour…let’s just say: it’s sweet.

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The Shop From brewed cacao and hot chocolate to small batches and bars, Creo offers something for every chocolate lover in the family. A bean-to-bar shop that boasts roasting, cracking, grinding, tempering, molding and packaging their own product, Creo gets its beans from a hand-picked family owned farm in the tropics that works directly with them to create unique flavors that bring back customers again and again.

Some of the littlest members of your family may be too young to make it through a behind-the-scenes peek at how sweets are made, but the tours aren’t the only reason to visit the shop. The warm, inviting environment and friendly staff welcome chocolate fanatics of all ages and your kids will love noshing on their chocolate chip cookies, brownies or any other numbers of goodies while you wash your own down with a pumpkin spice mocha! Creo offers a number of seasonal treats and drinks that provide a perfect way to get toasty and perk up after a crisp fall or winter day.

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The Tours Creo offers a Chocolate Factory Tour, a Make-a-Bar Tour and Chocolate 101 class. Both the Factory and Make-a-Bar tour are perfect for families with children ages 8 and up and provide kids and parents alike with an educational and tasty learning experience. The Chocolate 101 class is for adults only.

Chocolate Factory Tour You will learn everything you could possibly imagine there is to know about chocolate and more on this in-depth factory tour. It lasts approximately 30 minutes and takes you on an adventure to the cocoa farm in Hacienda Limon, Los Rios, Ecuador where the cacao that is used to in the creation of Creo’s specialty chocolates is grown. Your little cook will find out all about the cacao pod, how it appears after it has ripened and what happens during the fermentation process. Then you will follow the cacao bean through the drying, shipping, storage, sorting and roasting process.

Participants can expect the half hour to be packed with hands-on experiences that allow them to see, touch and smell the bean as it is broken, put through the winnower, ground down to molten chocolate and then aerated in the conche until the perfect flavor is achieved.

You will have plenty of time to ask all of the questions that pop up along the way, and your kids will love venturing behind the counters and into the back rooms where the machinery will captivate their imaginations. All in attendance will be required to wear coverings over their feet and hair nets.

Cost: Free Length of Time: 30 minutes Ages: 8 & up Online: creochocolate.com/classes/

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Photo by Annette Benedetti

Make-a-Bar Tour The name Creo means “to create,” and create you will as you join the staff for on this tour. It includes all of the information and hands-on experiences from the Chocolate Factory Tour and you  get a chance to come up with your unique version of the chocolate bar and then create it with your own two hands. You even get to design the label and package your bar like a pro!

Cost: $15 Length of Time: 30 minutes Ages: 8 & up Online: creochocolate.com/classes/

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Chocolate 101 Looking for a fun and educational date night out? Or how about something fun to do on girls, boys or couples night out? Creo offers this fun and informational two-hour course that is as interactive as it is informative. You not only learn about how cacao is grown and processed, you get to get your hand dirty by prepping, cracking and winnowing cacao beans. These classes book fast so plan ahead!

Cost: $50 Length of Time: 30 minutes Ages: adult only Online: creochocolate.com/classes/

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The Gift of Chocolate With the holidays right around the corner, we couldn’t help but notice Creo’s great options for gift giving. If you are hitting up the shop for an afternoon mocha or attending one of their tours, consider checking out some of their cool gift options as well. From tasty treats like roasted cacoa beans, sipping chocolate, chocolate bars, and roasted cacao nib to chocolate mint lip balm, chocolate candles, Creo mugs and more. There is something for everyone on Santa’s list this year.

Online: creaochocolate.com/products/

Location: 121 NE Broadway, Portland, Or Hours: Tues.-Thurs. 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Online: creochocoate.com

What is your family’s favorite chocolate treat? Share it with us in the comments below.

—copy and photos by Annette Benedetti

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Take a bean-to-bar journey on a Creo Chocolate tour

Posted by Debbie Stone | Feb 9, 2023 | Columns , Editor's Picks , Epicure , Featured , Food Tours , Put a pin in it! |

Take a bean-to-bar journey on a Creo Chocolate tour

“Don’t be a consumer of chocolate,” says Tim Straub. “Instead, savor it, as you’ll enjoy it better, plus you’ll eat less of it, but have a better experience.” Good advice, especially coming from someone in the know.

Straub is the owner of Creo Chocolate in Portland, Oregon. The company, which has been making all things chocolate for nearly ten years, combines craftsmanship, chemistry, and creativity to produce its award-winning confections.

Owner Tim Straub

Owner Tim Straub

Chocolate products abound!

Chocolate products abound!

Creo Chocolate in Portland, OR

Creo, which translates to “I believe” in Spanish, and “I make/create” in Latin, is a labor of love for Straub. He and his wife Jessica, who had been longtime berry farmers, first made chocolate as a hobby. They raised eight kids, but none of them wanted to continue the farming heritage, so the couple opted to leave the ag world behind and fully devote themselves to chocolate. Son Kevin joined them in their endeavors and today is a full-fledged chocolatier and self-described “maintenance geek.”

For several years, the Straub’s experimented with roasting beans and incorporated chocolate into every recipe imaginable, while testing their creations on family and friends. They ate their way through chocolate shops in the country and visited a variety of multi-generational, family-run cacao farms in Ecuador, a country known for growing some of the best beans in the world.

Design your own bar

Design your own bar

Choose your additives

Choose your additives

Design your own bar

In Ecuador, they spent time with farmers, watching the way they worked together, which reminded them of their berry farming years with their family. “Having been farmers ourselves,” says Straub, “gives us a heart connection that is very meaningful to us and influences the way we treat our customers, farmers and run our business.”

At Hacienda Limon in Los Rios, Ecuador, they found an unusual Heirloom variety of cacao with a delicious, complex flavor. These are the beans that Creo Chocolate directly sources for its creations, which include chocolate bars, truffles, caramels, chocolate covered fruit and nuts, chocolate drinks, baking supplies, and even skin care products like cocoa whipped body butter and chocolate mint lip balm.

Welcoome to Creo Chocolate

For a peek behind the scenes at this unique company, take the “Make-a-bar tour.” During this informative experience, you’ll learn where chocolate comes from and how it’s made at Creo, then you’ll get to design a chocolate bar to take home. And yes, you’ll need to wear a hairnet and apron for the complete stylish ensemble!

Chocolate, which is native to Central and South America, was a drink first, called “bitter water.” The Spaniards became enamored with it, brought it back to Spain and fed it to the nobility. Later, they added sugar and dairy to it and it became more like hot chocolate. Decades passed before it evolved into hard chocolate.

Creo’s small-batch process involves a series of steps. First, the beans from Hacienda Limon are shipped to the U.S. They are inspected and re-inspected along the way, requiring extensive paperwork in the export/import procedure. Upon arrival at Creo, the broken beans are winnowed to separate the husk from the nibs. The nibs are ground until they liquefy into what is called “chocolate liquor,” then mixed with sugar and other ingredients and ground together. This refinement process can take several days.

Conching is next. The chocolate is constantly agitated in a special machine called a conche, while temp and airflow are manipulated to put the finishing touches on the flavor and texture. The chocolate is then poured into blocks and stays in this form until it’s ready to be used. At Creo, the chocolate is aged for at least a month. Each finished bar is packaged by hand.

Creo Chocolate's motto is Real Chocolate, Real Relationships, Real Change

Creo Chocolate’s motto is Real Chocolate, Real Relationships, Real Change

Straub, who happened to be the guide during my tour, emphasized that the seeds are the foundation for chocolate. A dried pod has thirty to forty seeds in it and it takes about one pod to make a bar of 73% cacao. The seeds are very astringent and surprisingly, humans are the only ones who eat them. Animals spit them out.

As for the nibs, you’ll learn they have health benefits, boasting the second highest amount of antioxidants of any food in the world (the acai berry is number one). They also have polyphenol, a mood enhancer. Now I know why I feel so happy when I eat chocolate!

Throughout the tour, participants are treated to chocolate samples. On my tour, we sampled Dark Orange, Meyer Lemon Pie White Chocolate, Caramelized White Chocolate, Black Sesame Seed Brittle, Spicy Dark and Whiskey Milk Chocolate.

The Spicy Dark is made with three different chilis for a combined total of seven different spices. As I let it a sliver melt in my mouth, I first tasted cinnamon and ginger, but at the back end there was a bit of a kick from the chilis.

The Whiskey Milk Chocolate bar features roasted cacao nibs that have been barrel-aged with Portland’s own Westward malt whiskey. There’s actually no alcohol in the end product, so you get the flavor of the whiskey without the burn.

We also got to try the Washu Project chocolate bar, a mellow concoction with floral and fruity flavor notes. If you buy this bar, you’ll be supporting endangered species protection, rainforest conservation and sustainable livelihoods for Tesoro farmers in Northwestern Ecuador. This project, which is near and dear to Straub’s heart speaks directly to Creo’s motto: “Real Chocolate, Real Relationships and Real Change.”

Designing your own chocolate bar is perhaps the highlight of the tour. Each participant gets a mold of liquid dark chocolate that he/she can add ingredients to, i.e. toffee pieces, coconut, dried berries, sprinkles, peppermint, brown rice crisps, potato chips – yes, potato chips – and more. The bars, which are labeled with participants’ names, are tempered and voila, you have your own special bar to take home…or if you simply can’t wait, eat it in the car on the way home!

www.creochocolate.com

About The Author

Debbie Stone

Debbie Stone

Deborah Stone is a travel and lifestyle writer, who explores the globe in search of unique destinations and experiences to share with her readers. She works in collaboration with tourism boards, CVBs, public relations agencies, properties and lodging associations, as well as with tour companies and cruise lines in pursuit of her discoveries. She’s an avid adventurer who welcomes new opportunities to increase awareness and enthusiasm for travel.

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Creo Chocolate

creo chocolate tour

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creo chocolate tour

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creo chocolate tour

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Thomas C

CREO CHOCOLATE (Portland) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

creo chocolate tour

Family-Friendly Oregon Factory Tours

Is your kid a chef-in-training? A budding scientist? Or someone who just likes to see where their food comes from? Learn about the delicious inner workings of the food industry with one of these guided factory tours. Visit a local one, or add one of these on during a road trip!

creo chocolate tour

Franz Bakery

Groups between 10 and 40 people are welcome to see what a working bakery looks like, and how it works. You will learn a bit about Franz bakery, and then take your tour. You can enjoy a snack of bread and butter and juice, plus take home a free sample. They also offer virtual tours!

Franz Bakery offers tours of its bakery from Labor Day until summer break in June. Schedule your tour by contacting [email protected] . Children must be 7 years or older to take the tour. Each tour lasts about 30 minutes. 340 NE 11 th St., Portland

Creo Chocolate

creo chocolate tour

A tour with a delicious twist! Creo offers tours where you can design and take home your very own chocolate bar.

Paid tours are $25+. Tours are appropriate for children ages 8+, but all supervised children are welcome. Length varies based on the tour. You must sign up in advance. 122 NE Broadway, Portland

Tillamook Cheese Factory

creo chocolate tour

No trip to Tillamook is complete without a stop at the cheese factory. Free self-guided tours are available daily. You can see get a birds-eye view of the cheesemaking and packaging rooms, learn about a dairy farm and sample many different kinds of cheese. 

Self-guided tours are free, and include lots and lots of cheese. Open daily from 8 am to 6 pm Labor Day through mid-June; 8 am to 8 pm mid-June through Labor Day. 4175 Highway 101, Tillamook .

Ranger Chocolate

If you’re looking for the perfect rainy day activity, look no further than a Ranger Chocolate’s Build Your Own Bar activity and tour. Participants build 4 chocolate bars topped with any of their creative made-in-house goodies, and the event includes a “behind the bar” Q&A with drum tastings.

The class and tour are for ages 9+, but children as young as 6 may participate if a private session is booked. The cost for one participant is $75 for the tour and class.

Yamasa Soy Sauce

The fermentation of soy sauce is actually a lot like beer making—and you can learn all about it during a 50-minute tour of the international Yamasa Soy Sauce company. Start with a short video, and then move on to tour the vast Salem factory and the huge working machines inside. Expect to take home some treats as well.

Gather a group and call to secure your reservation. 503-363-8550. 3500 Fairview Industrial Dr. SE, Salem

Pacific Hazelnut – Tours temporarily postponed

Go nuts with a tour of Pacific Hazelnut Farms. Take a guided 20-40 minute tour, get your questions answered, and enjoy some samples of many of the farm’s products.

Tours are temporarily suspended during factory renovations, as of this writing. Tours run from January through mid-September. Tours must be scheduled in advance by calling 503-678-2755. Cost is $3. Children must be over 8 years old to participate.   14673 Ottaway Rd NE, Aurora 

Harry & David – Tours temporarily postponed

Yes, the creators of that magical stuff Moose Munch are located in Oregon. And now you can see it being made! Harry & David offers guided tours, where you will learn about the company’s history, and then watch as the culinary team creates baklava, cheese cake, truffles, and yes—Moose Munch. You can also watch the team assemble those yummy gourmet gift towers. You will see big machines at work, and also walk on a wide, sturdy catwalk (beware those with a fear of heights). The tour includes a bakery treat and a chocolate.

Tours are temporarily postponed as of this writing. Tickets are $5 per person. You can get your tickets on site, or by calling. Advance reservations are not required, but you may have to wait during busy season. 877-322-8000. 1314 Center Dr. Suite A, Medford OR

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Meet The Farm

Hacienda limon.

We traveled up a winding, dusty road to reach Hacienda Limon. The Ecuadorian sun was high and hot. Spending time with the farmers and watching the way they worked together, reminded us of the years of berry farming with our family. We sold the farm to pursue our dream of making handcrafted, single origin chocolate.

Our desire is to spend the time getting to know our farmers and building relationships. Having been farmers ourselves gives us a heart connection that is very meaningful to us and influences the way we treat our customers, farmers and run our business.

Hacienda Limon was different from other farms. The cacao is an unusual Heirloom variety with a delicious, complex flavor.

creo chocolate tour

Tour Details

Moscow metro tour: architectural styles of the subway.

creo chocolate tour

Duration: 2 hours

Categories: Culture & History, Sightseeing

This metro tour of Russia’s capital and most populous city, Moscow, is your chance to get a unique insight into the beautiful and impressive architecture of the city's underground stations. Admire their marble walls and high ceilings representing Stalin's desire for glory after World War 2, and see first-hand how the interiors change with the rise of new political eras. Your guide will lead you through the complex network, which is one of the most heavily used rapid transit systems worldwide, with over two billion travelers in 2011.

Opened in 1935, Moscow’s underground system, now 190 miles (305 km) long with 185 stations, is today one the largest and most heavily used rapid transit systems in the world. On this Moscow metro tour, discover the impressive architecture of Moscow’s underground stations and learn how they reflect the Soviet era.

Getting around by metro, your local guide will take you through parts of Moscow’s infamous history. Stop at stations built during the time of the USSR (Soviet Union) that are praised as one of the most extravagant architectural projects from Stalin’s time. After World War 2, he was keen on establishing Stalinist architecture to represent his rising regime and a recognized empire. Learn how when his successor started the de-Stalinization of the former Soviet Union in 1953, the extravagancy of the architecture was toned down.

Discover how the unique character of each station reflected several different eras. While stations like Kievskaya and Slavyansky Bulvar have pompous halls and high stucco ceilings brimming with extravagant decorations, those built later, like Volzhskaya, are lightly adorned with sparse furnishings. Architect Alexey Dushkin and painter Alexander Deyneka were just two of the many artists who made these magnificent landmarks possible.

Revel in Moscow's glory days, as well as the years of scarcity, on this fascinating Moscow metro experience. Conclude your tour at one of the central stations in Moscow. If you're lucky, you may even find the secret entrance to the unconfirmed Metro-2, a parallel underground system used by the government -- a mystery which has neither been denied nor confirmed today.

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creo chocolate tour

Soviet-Era Walking Tour in Moscow: Lubyanka Square and the Gulag History Museum

If you love history, would like to know more about Russia’s past, or just want to take an interesting walk, book this guided Moscow walking tour of Soviet-era sites. With your expert guide, walk through Lubyanka Squ...

creo chocolate tour

Walking Tour of Moscow's Kolomenskoye Estate

On this walking tour through the Kolomenskoye Estate in Moscow, immerse yourself in Russia’s interesting royal history. Walk around the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ascension Church, built in 1532, and enter the Hou...

creo chocolate tour

Moscow Cultural Walking Tour: Red Square, Kitay-Gorod and St Basil's Cathedral

Take a guided walking tour of Moscow's cultural highlights, like the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage-listed Red Square, said to be the central square of Russia. Walk through the adjoining district Kitay-Gorod, one of ...

creo chocolate tour

Kremlin Grounds, Cathedrals and Patriarch's Palace Tour from Moscow

A great three hour tour exploring the Kremlin Grounds, Cathedrals and Patriarch's Palaces in Moscow! The small city in the center of Moscow, once the residence of Czars and Patriarchs, contains Russia's main cathedra...

creo chocolate tour

Moscow City Tour

The Moscow City Tour covers all the highlights and most beautiful places in the enchanting Russian capital. The tour begins with a stop at the Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral, the architectural masterpiece and w...

Culture Shock Rating

We have a wide range of tours designed to give you an insight into the destination you're travelling in and there is something for everybody. The culture shock ratings considers the destination visited, transport used, activities undertaken and that "Wow, I'm really not at home now!" factor. While generalisations are always tricky, a summary of our gradings is as follows…

This is the least confronting of our tour range. Transport used on the trip is either private or a very comfortable public option, the activities included are usually iconic sites and locations that are not all too confronting.

The tour can include a mix of private and public transport providing a level of comfort that is slightly below what you would experience at home. Sites visited are usually iconic sites, tours can also include market visits, visits to communities etc that provide the traveller with a fantastic insight into destination.

Expect to rough it for parts of this tour, whether it's a packed public bus where you are forced to stand, a visit to a local market, a local community, you are sure to have an experience that is very different from what you're used to at home.

The comforts of your home town and the environment you are used to are more of a rarity. Expect some challenging transport options, visits to local sites and areas that don't resemble anything at home.

You're out there in the global community! You are likely to be exposed to the elements, travel in whatever means of transport is available and basically take it as it comes, whatever comes! It can be tough.

Physical Rating

Our physical rating gives you an idea of how much huffing and puffing you can expect on the tour. While generalisations are always tricky, a summary of our gradings is as follows…

These tours have very limited physical activity. Usually climbing in and out of the transport provided, walking through sites, markets etc included in the itinerary.

These tours have a bit of physical activity but nothing that should challenge you too much. This could be climbing on and off public transport through to a walk through the destination you're travelling in, they can include walking only tours or a combination of walking and transport.

These tours involve a bit of physical activity from walking up and down hills in the destination you're travelling in or the surrounding areas. Climbing on and off local transport or riding a bike up to 30 kms along predominantly flat terrain or jumping in a kayak for a gentle paddle on flat water.

These Tours will provide you with some solid physical activity. Whether its bike riding, walking, trekking, kayaking or riding on public transport you will need to have a good level of fitness to enjoy this tour.

Be prepared for some serious physical activity. These tours are our most challenging and involve some serious walking, hiking or bike riding. Can involve step climbs by foot or pedal and some challenging public transport options in the destination you are travelling.

Luxury Rating

Some trips are like a stroll on the beach, while others have you trekking alpine passes. Some of you thrive on camping out on the savannah, while others may prefer a hot shower and a comfortable bed in a lodge. Follow the grading systems below to find the right trip for you.

To help you choose the trip that's right for you, we've broken all of our trips down into four service levels. Measuring the comfort level of the accommodation and transport. So whether you're travelling on a budget and want to save money by using public transport, or prefer upgraded accommodation and are happy to pay a little more, then we have a level for you.

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Claudia Looi

Touring the Top 10 Moscow Metro Stations

By Claudia Looi 2 Comments

Komsomolskaya metro station

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

Arrow showing the direction of metro line 1 and 2

Moscow subways are very clean

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

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

Revolution Square Metro 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

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.

Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station

Lenin's portrait at the Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station

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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.

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Kievskaya Metro Station

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

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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.

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Ceiling panel and artworks at Kurskaya Metro Station

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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

Mayakovskaya station

Mayakovskaya metro 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.

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

Teatralnaya Metro Station decorated with porcelain figures .

Teatralnaya Metro Station decorated with porcelain figures .

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

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.

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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 🙂

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December 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm

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

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