Ferry to Suomenlinna Helsinki 🇫🇮

Suomenlinna or Sveaborg (Swedish) , is a sea fortress composed of eight islands , of which six have been fortified, it is about 4km southeast of the city centre of Helsinki , the capital of Finland . Suomenlinna is popular with tourists and locals , who enjoy it as a picturesque picnic site . Originally named Sveaborg (Castle of the Swedes) , or Viapori as referred to by Finnish speaking Finns , it was renamed Suomenlinna (Castle of Finland ) in 1918 for patriotic and nationalistic reasons , though it is still known by its original name in Sweden and by Swedish speaking Finns . Due to its strategic geographical location , it sometimes use to be known as the Gibraltar of the North. Suomenlinna became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1991. The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism . During the Finnish war , Sweeen surrendered the fortress to Russia , on the 3rd of May 1808, paving the way for the occupation of Finland by Russian forces in 1809 , the islands were then used as a base for the Russian Baltic fleet in World War 1 . Russian forces left after Finland declared its full independence in 1917, Finland then managed Suomenlinna through its Defence Department until turning most of it over to civilian control in 1973. There is a ferry service to Suomenlinna which runs 1-4 times per hour from the morning till night throughout the year and the journey takes approximately 15mins . The ferry departs from the east side of the Market Square opposite the Presidential Palace , and arrives and departs from the main Pier of Iso Mustasaari Island , on the north shore of Suomenlinna. There are ticket machines to purchase tickets in the departure Pier . There is plenty to do on Suomenlinna including several Museums , Toy Museum , Custom Museum and Military , including the Submarine Vesikko . And also several Bars and Restaurants and gift shop . I spent a whole day there exploring and had a great time before getting the ferry back to Helsinki and my Hotel. And it’s definitely worth a visit ! 👍🏼