Ferries from Suomenlinna, päälait

Around eight hundred people live on this fortress, which is the reason the ferry runs at dawn in February and why it is priced as a bus rather than an attraction. Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is also somebody's commute.

The crossing

Suomenlinna to Kauppatori takes about 15 minutes, with 80 sailings in our timetable, operated by HSL on standard Helsinki public transport fares. It runs all year, through the winter ice.

The main pier is on Iso Mustasaari, at the northern end of the island chain — the first thing you see arriving and the place everything is measured from.

⚠ Check the last boat before the light goes

The fortress spreads across several linked islands and it takes longer to walk than the map suggests. In winter the daylight is gone by mid-afternoon and the paths on the outer bastions are unlit and icy.

The service runs late, but the walk back to the pier from the far end of Kustaanmiekka is twenty-five minutes in good conditions and rather more in snow.

What the fortress is

Construction began in 1748 under Swedish rule, as a defence against Russia. It fell to Russia anyway in 1808, served as a garrison through the imperial period, and became Finnish in 1918. The layers are all still visible, which is why UNESCO listed it.

It is not a restored museum piece. Grass grows over the ramparts, the cannons sit where they were left, and people hang laundry between the barracks.

Practicalities on the island

There are cafés, a brewery, several museums and a submarine, but no supermarket to speak of and limited shelter in bad weather. The residents' shop is small and closes early.

Bring what you need for the day, particularly in winter.

The other pier

A second, summer-only HSL route serves the western end of the island chain. If your map shows a pier the main ferry does not call at, that is why.