METRO

Riding the metro means never having to say "I'm sorry."

The St. Petersburg metro operates from 06:00 to 00:30 and unless you really want intimate contact with the Russian people (all of them at once) try to avoid travelling during the peak commuter hours of 08:00 to 10:00 and 17:00 to 19:00. Stations are indicated by a large "M" and as you approach you will see two sets of doors, one for incoming (marked ) and one for outgoing (marked ). It's pretty easy to see which is which - just go with the flow. The doors weigh about ten tons and swing back and forth with the force of a wrecking ball.

The metro is very deep because it passes through soggy marshland under the canals and rivers. Many of the stations were designed with huge built-in bomb shelters and civil defense classes instructed Leningraders to go to the nearest metro in the event of a nuclear attack. Kids love to slide small coins down the gutter next to the escalator handrails so don't be surprised if these go whizzing past you. The left side of the escalator is a passing lane so keep to the right unless you want to jog.

Emergency stop switches are located near the top and bottom of the escalator, labeled . Turn these to stop the escalator in an emergency, or just to be annoying.