Visiting Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Helsinki

Suomnelinna island, Helsinki
Suomenlinna island

Visiting Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Helsinki is a travel post about my last June’s visit to interesting Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. I visited my best Finnish friend who showed me around Helsinki. One of her suggestions for our time together was to take a ferry over to Soumenlinna islands. We took the public ferry from the Market place (Kauppatori). I purchased a single ticket from the machine at the quayside and it cost less than 3 euros. Other than that there is no admission fee for Suomenlinna islands apart from the museum tickets. For more practical info about Suomenlinna Sea Fortress click here.

Suomenlinna fortress is an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991 as an unique monument of military architecture. It is situated on a group of 7 tiny islands in Helsinki bay. The islands are actually inhabited and we even walked past a school and a post office. The construction of this maritime fortress began in 1748 during Swedish era. Suomenlinna served in the defense of three realms: Sweden, Russia and Finland. Today it is a popular destination for both tourists and locals seeking to explore its rich heritage and stunning natural surroundings.

Our ferry ride from central Helsinki was short and enjoyable. We both took photos of beautiful views of Helsinki. The ferry navigated around tiny islands with small houses on its way to Suomenlinna. For some reason, even before we set foot on the ground, Suomenlinna reminded me of Lerins island across Cannes (France). This feeling lingered during our exploration of this interesting island.

military fortifications and ramparts

geese!

There are several signs and pathways around the island. We more or less tried to follow the Blue route in the general direction of the King’s gate. I remembered my friend’s posts about geese all around Helsinki so I wasn’t surprised when we came across an entire flock of geese with their goslings. Then, we walked past several colorful wooden houses, a church, museums and remains of some military fortifications. The island’s military history is still present at almost every step due to a large number of ramparts, tunnels and cannons. For a moment I thought I was transported to New Zealand and the Lord of the Rings film set when I noticed some underground houses such as the house in the left photo below.

Snapshots from Helsinki (June 2023)
King’s gate

At some point we felt a bit hungry and thirsty so we had a short break at a small cafe. I had blueberry doughnut and my friend had salmon soup. Refreshed we continued our leisurely stroll around the island. It was such a lovely, sunny day but a bit windy. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to spend any time inside so we skipped the museums. Once we reached the impressive King’s Gate we retraced our steps back to the small port area. Finally, we crossed the bridge to the other island where you can find the Naval academy and we had a short snoop around. Honestly, we could have spent an entire day exploring Suomenlinna learning about its rich history but we had other plans for the afternoon. Alas, it was time to catch the ferry back to central Helsinki.

Naval academy
view of Helsinki from our ferry, going back to the city after our morning at Suomenlinna island

We spent a delightful morning walking around Suomenlinna. I’d definitely recommend visiting Suomenlinna Sea fortress for its fascinating history, stunning panoramas and peaceful ambiance.

Have you visited Helsinki? Have you been to Suomenlinna?

36 thoughts on “Visiting Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Helsinki”

    1. Yes, I visited Helsinki last June. It was mostly warm and sunny. I published photo post last year, still need to write about the things I saw/did. This is just one of the posts I plan to publish about my Helsinki trip(actualky I did door post and Christmas ornament too, I’m sure you saw them)

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  12. I’ve only seen Suomenlinna in the distance when I visited Helsinki, but never went. Looks like it’s worth a trip over to see more of the city, let alone Finland! Thanks for sharing, Tanja 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  13. One can’t visit Helsinki without going to Suomenlinna.
    I remember being gobsmacked at the i
    extraordinary view of the city on the way back from Suomenlinna. The way the cathedral stands out above all the other city buildings. Amazing. Glad you enjoyed your time there with Snow. I loved Helsinki too.

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