Russia - Transport Options for this route ??

Hi Folks,

I am in Moscow this week and will be here quite frequently in the coming weeks..
My hotel is near Belorusskaya metro station and office near Smolenskaya meto station.. As I travel alone and have laptop etc, I have been advised by my client to take a taxi daily from and to office and hotel..
Now, since the past two days, the morning trip to office has taken around 25 - 30 mins which is manageable.. The taxi takes tverskaya - yamskaya street and then turns right into sadovaya kudrinskaya Ul and further on to my office.. The problem is on the return for some reason they never take this route and take some route which crosses the kremlin and then takes a left into tverskaya street.. This route has always taken me around 1.5hrs on the way back !! I asked the driver and it seems that this is the best way for the return !!!

My queries :
1. Is there any other route you would suggest for the return from Smolenskaya to tverskaya Yamskaya street ??
2. I am open to taking the metro on the way back since it would not take more than 20mins in my opinion . Is this safe at peak office hrs and considering I know nothing of russian and will have a laptop bag with me and clearly look a foreigner here ?

seek ur advise..
Abhi

Driving in Moscow has always been confusing because of the ridiculous number of one-way streets as well as no left turn/no u-turn/no any kind of turn regulations all over the city. The signs are often hard to spot or, in fact, nonexistent, but regular drivers know all of the rules (there are substantial fines to be incurred for breaking them). That's why you end up taking what seem to be very convoluted routes from point A to point B, and as in your case, a different route back from point B to point A. It is just one of those things you have to know about Moscow.

Anyway, to your question, the metro is actually very easy to use, perfectly safe, and MUCH faster than driving. To get from Smolenskaya to Belorusskaya you will need to change trains once, at Kievskaya. Even if you don't read Russian, it is not that hard to figure out: the signs that direct you where to go for one platform/line or another have a full list of the stations on that line/platform as well as the color of the line marked. What I would do is bring piece of paper/map with the words Belorusskaya and Kievskaya written on it in Russian (Бeлорусская, Киевская), and then just stand there squinting at the signs until you find the right platform to stand on. From Smolenskaya to Kievskaya it is just one stop; from Kievskaya to Belorusskaya it is just two stops, so all you have to do is notice how many stations you're going through.

Look here (http://engl.mosmetro.ru/pages/page_0.php?id_page=8) for information on fares and the various kinds of multi-ride farecards. Buying the tickets may be a little daunting--there are machines as well as ticket windows--so you might feel like corraling one of your Russian colleagues to help you out with this. Or you may just want to go for it. Mr. travelmad478 does not speak/read a word of Russian, and he managed to get around on the metro without me last summer for a week when he accompanied me to Moscow on a business trip.

Driving in Moscow has always been confusing because of the ridiculous number of one-way streets as well as no left turn/no u-turn/no any kind of turn regulations all over the city. The signs are often hard to spot or, in fact, nonexistent, but regular drivers know all of the rules (there are substantial fines to be incurred for breaking them). That's why you end up taking what seem to be very convoluted routes from point A to point B, and as in your case, a different route back from point B to point A. It is just one of those things you have to know about Moscow.

Anyway, to your question, the metro is actually very easy to use, perfectly safe, and MUCH faster than driving. To get from Smolenskaya to Belorusskaya you will need to change trains once, at Kievskaya. Even if you don't read Russian, it is not that hard to figure out: the signs that direct you where to go for one platform/line or another have a full list of the stations on that line/platform as well as the color of the line marked. What I would do is bring piece of paper/map with the words Belorusskaya and Kievskaya written on it in Russian (Бeлорусская, Киевская), and then just stand there squinting at the signs until you find the right platform to stand on. From Smolenskaya to Kievskaya it is just one stop; from Kievskaya to Belorusskaya it is just two stops, so all you have to do is notice how many stations you're going through.

Look here (http://engl.mosmetro.ru/pages/page_0.php?id_page=8) for information on fares and the various kinds of multi-ride farecards. Buying the tickets may be a little daunting--there are machines as well as ticket windows--so you might feel like corraling one of your Russian colleagues to help you out with this. Or you may just want to go for it. Mr. travelmad478 does not speak/read a word of Russian, and he managed to get around on the metro without me last summer for a week when he accompanied me to Moscow on a business trip.

thanks a lot for ur detailed reply :)
i took the metro as suggested by you and infact also bought a 20 ride ticket for 520 RUB .. I just will be extra careful with my bag and wallet and it should hopefully be fine ..
But, the time we save is priceless ^

Thanks once again..

You are most welcome. I have never had any issues with pickpocketing/theft on the metro in Moscow (used it daily for the 3.5 years I lived there and still ride it whenever I am in the city). In general Moscow is a very safe city as far as petty crime goes.

You are most welcome. I have never had any issues with pickpocketing/theft on the metro in Moscow (used it daily for the 3.5 years I lived there and still ride it whenever I am in the city). In general Moscow is a very safe city as far as petty crime goes.

I guess this needs to be noted ;)

Anyway, from your experience, which are the most beautiful metro stations to be seen.. i believe moscow has some of the most beautiful stations..

Ploshchad' Revolutsii is unmissable. Komsomolskaya is also a good one, as are your own stations, Belorusskaya (look up at the ceiling), Kievskaya, and Smolenskaya. Basically every station that is on or inside the Circle (brown) line is worth seeing--they are all different, and all built in the early days of the system when artistry was as important as functionality. The stations outside the Circle line tend to get grimmer and more bare-bones the farther out you go.

Ploshchad' Revolutsii is unmissable. Komsomolskaya is also a good one, as are your own stations, Belorusskaya (look up at the ceiling), Kievskaya, and Smolenskaya. Basically every station that is on or inside the Circle (brown) line is worth seeing--they are all different, and all built in the early days of the system when artistry was as important as functionality. The stations outside the Circle line tend to get grimmer and more bare-bones the farther out you go.

thanks for the prompt info..
am returning to moscow next week and will give these a try 1 by 1 ..:)

Let me add Komsomolskaya (on the ring line) and Novokuznetskaya and Mayakovskaya (both on the green line) as beautiful stations.

Let me add Komsomolskaya (on the ring line) and Novokuznetskaya and Mayakovskaya (both on the green line) as beautiful stations.

thanks for the advice.. have multiple trips to moscow coming up..
will surely try some of these :)

I love the stained glass in the Novoslobodskaya Metro station.

It took me a while to figure out the correct exit at the Belorusskaya Metro station - there are several and I was always exiting at the wrong one.

My advice to taking the metro in Moscow is to "sharpen your elbows".

Your hotel can supply you with a metro map.

I love the stained glass in the Novoslobodskaya Metro station.

It took me a while to figure out the correct exit at the Belorusskaya Metro station - there are several and I was always exiting at the wrong one.

My advice to taking the metro in Moscow is to "sharpen your elbows".
Your hotel can supply you with a metro map.

:D:D:rolleyes: