Suomenlinna

Basic Information

Suomenlinna lies southeast of central Helsinki, Finland’s capital, and is spread across eight islands.

Suomenlinna consists of 200 buildings and 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) of defensive walls. Construction of the fortress began in 1748, when the Kingdom of Sweden built it to defend against the expansion of the Russian Empire.

Location:

Opening hours:

It basically depends on the ferry timetable.

Suomenlinna itself is an open area, so the ferry timetable is the main thing you actually need to check.

Suomenlinna ferry timetable

I visited in winter, when there was roughly one ferry every 40 minutes.

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Getting There

This is the location.

I forgot to take photos at the time, so I can only describe it in words.

There is a sign at the pier showing the departures. When it is nearly time, you can go through the gate. We had bought HSL tickets for zones ABC, so we simply scanned the QR code to enter.

The ferry has an upper and a lower deck. The upper deck is outdoors, while the lower deck is indoors.

It can even carry an ambulance, which we saw on our return journey to the pier.

The whole journey takes around 15 minutes. If you stay outside, that also means around 15 minutes in the wind.

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Arriving on the Island and the Island Map

This is the map of Suomenlinna.

Official map

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Our Route Around the Island

As soon as we got off the ferry, we kept walking to the right without following the map.

We did not follow the signs either, although their directions were very clear.

Along the way, we saw a supermarket. K-Market seems to be a well-known local supermarket, as they are everywhere.

This is what it looked like on the other side.

Some local people live here as well. Apart from having no cars, it basically has all the facilities residents need.

We decided to keep going right, so we crossed the bridge.

Then we just kept walking.

We crossed another bridge.

After that, we continued wandering around aimlessly.

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Sights Along the Way

We saw some tunnels, which were probably once used by soldiers to transport ammunition.

There were cannons.

An anti-aircraft gun.

Views out to sea.

There were also traces of its history.

There was a football pitch.

While wandering around, we came across a small pier.

We continued wandering.

We found a church and went inside for a look.

After going back outside, we saw this unidentified structure.

After passing through a small grove, we came across another wall. It seemed to be a library.

It started raining along the way, so we found an old-town-style corridor where we could shelter from the rain.

There happened to be an ashtray inside, so I enjoyed a cigarette during our break.

Then we carried on walking.

There was a large bell.

A thoughtful warning sign. You can tell that many people have slipped here.

The Military Museum.

As there was an admission fee, we just took a photo outside and left.

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There was a small park.

After that, we passed a souvenir shop.

Then we returned to the visitor centre to wait for the ferry.

The toilets at the visitor centre are free, although you have to queue.

It was only 4 p.m. when we left, but the sky was already completely dark.

Afterword

We visited in December. Before our flight departed, I chatted with the flight attendants, and all they said was that Suomenlinna was large and windy. They were not lying.

From the moment we boarded the ferry until we took it back, it was windy almost everywhere except the middle of the island.

It also became colder as the evening went on.

If you enjoy military history, you should not miss it. It is best to find out which places you want to visit before setting off.

It felt as though we had walked for three hours and still had not covered the whole place.

If you are sensitive to the cold, make sure you finish exploring before dark.