St. Petersburg's metro is perhaps not quite as majestic as Moscow's, but architecturally it's still a cut above nearly any other public transport system in the world. It is also the world's deepest subway, so be prepared for vertiginous views from the top of the escalator.

The system is also remarkably efficient. During the day, trains arrive every 2-3 minutes, with slightly longer waiting periods early in the morning and late at night. On average, the stations open at about 5:45am and close between midnight and 0:30am You can transfer from one line to the other until 0:15am.

History of St. Petersburg Metro

The first plans to build a metro in St. Petersburg were drawn in 1899, but were not implemented due to the outbreak of WWI and then the Revolution of 1917. In 1941, 8 years after the Moscow metro was opened, building was started on the Leningrad metro, but a few months later the U.S.S.R. was forced to enter WWII. After the war the construction work resumed and the first metro line (from Avtovo to Ploschad Vosstania) was opened on November 15, 1955. Since then the metro network has grown to five lines with an average of 1.9 km (1.19 miles) between its 67 stations.