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Metro (underground subway)

Before entering the hidden depths of the metro, you should know that this underworld is sign posted in Russian only, no English is found down there.

The metro operates on 4 colour coded lines Red, Blue, Green and Yellow - 6 interchanges allow you to access all of its 58 stations.

Entrance is 14 roubles, once in it’s possible to travel around the whole system. Special tokens or multi-entry metro cards must be purchased from kiosks found in the entrance of every metro station. Either is required to allow passage through the turnstiles. Depending upon the station and time, lines (queues) for the kiosks can be lengthy, so it’s worth buying more than you need to avoid another time wasting exercise for the subsequent return trip. Some stations have introduced self-service automatic token machines.

Unfortunately there is no metro station at the airport - the nearest one, "Zvezdnaya" on the blue line, is about a 5 minute ride.

Entrance gates to metro stations open around 05:30 and close around midnight.

Most metro stations have an ATM (cash-point machine) at the entrance - arguably not the best place to withdraw money, but the convenience is there.

Metro stations and their entrances play host to a whole fraternity of mini-stalls selling a wide range of material from magazines and bootlegged CD's to umbrellas and bags.

Metro etiquette:
- Try to walk on the right hand-side along metro passages. On escalators stand on the right, the left is for people who wish to actively move down.

- When a train arrives wait to the side of the doors to let passengers disembark before proceeding.

- If seated and see an elderly passenger or mother with children in the immediate vicinity offer them your seat.

- If the train is full with no possible space simply barge into the crowd and create some - you'll see!

Caution:Watch all your belongings - this is a pickpockets' playground.

Note:Photography in the metro system is not allowed, however, if you try and are caught it's just a verbal warning, smile and walk away!