Wine on a Tiny Island Between Two Fortresses

Lonna is a speck of an island — just 300 metres long — sitting between the mainland and Suomenlinna fortress. The old military buildings now house a restaurant and a terrace bar with water on every side. Order a glass of something crisp and watch the ferries shuttle between Helsinki and the fortress islands. The sauna is wood-fired, the views are 360 degrees of archipelago, and the only way here is a 10-minute water bus from Kauppatori. Summer only — and one of the most magical wine-sipping locations in Finland.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Read the Island That Changed Empires History · Free

   Where: Walk the entire island — it's only 300 metres long, so you can cover it in 10 minutes. Start at the ferry dock and walk south to the rock cliffs facing open water.

   What: Read this before you step off the boat. In 1808, Swedish commanders rowed out to this exact island to negotiate the surrender of Sveaborg Fortress — the greatest military fortification in all of Scandinavia, built over 60 years at staggering cost. They held the negotiations here, on Lonna, not at the fortress or the mainland. The Russians renamed it Peregovorny Island — "Negotiation Island" — because that's what happened here. Sweden lost Finland that year and never recovered strategically. The island then became a Finnish military demagnetization station (fighting magnetic mines) until 1955, then sat off-limits to the public until 2014. The restaurant and sauna you're about to enter occupy buildings that were defence infrastructure less than 70 years ago.

   How: Walk south from the ferry dock. Touch the rocks at the southern tip — the open water you're looking at leads directly to Suomenlinna, the fortress that was surrendered. Count the buildings: there are only a handful. The zinc-roofed structure to your right is the sauna (nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2022). The main stone building ahead is the restaurant and bar. Lonna is tiny enough to hold the entire story in your field of vision.

   Backup: This step is always available — walking and observing the island costs nothing and takes 10 minutes. Do it first, before the bar, so you know what you're standing on.

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2. 2 Board the Water Bus from Kauppatori Adventure · Price: low

   Where: Keisarinluodonlaituri pier at Kauppatori (Market Square) — find the FRS Finland boats between the HSL Suomenlinna ferry and the Korkeasaari ferry. Look for the small ticket booth at the waterfront.

   What: Find the pier and buy your ticket. Return: €9.20 adults, €5.20 students/seniors, €3.20 children 4–17. As you cross, watch the relationship between the city, Lonna, and Suomenlinna reveal itself. Lonna sits exactly in between — the tiny negotiation island between the mainland and the UNESCO fortress. The 10-minute crossing is the reveal itself: you watch the city shrink and the archipelago open up.

   How: Buy tickets online at suomenlinna.frs-finland.fi or directly on board. Waterbuses run May 1–September 30. Two vessels operate on rotation throughout the day. Spot the zinc roof of the OOPEAA sauna as you approach — it's the distinctive pitched structure near the southern tip of the island. The ferry docks on the northern end.

   Backup: If the water bus is disrupted (extremely rare), Lonna is not accessible by any other public transport. Check the FRS Finland schedule in advance. The island is only 1.5 km from shore but there's no bridge.

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3. 3 Taste the Wine Nobody Else in Helsinki Pours Wine · Price: low

   Where: The Coffee Shop & Bar terrace on the ground floor of the main building. No reservation needed. Then borrow one of the inflatable air sofas from the bar and carry it to the western rock cliffs.

   What: Taste something you can't get anywhere else in the city. Lonna holds a restaurant import licence that lets it bypass Finland's Alko state monopoly and source wine directly from small European producers — some self-imported, meaning no other venue in Helsinki stocks the same bottles. Ask the bartender what they're pouring from their own imports right now. The selection rotates through the season. The philosophy matches the kitchen: small batches, organic where possible, known origin every time. Then look up: Suomenlinna is 800 metres to your left. The Helsinki Cathedral dome is 1.5 km to your right. You're drinking wine on the exact spot where an empire changed hands.

   How: Ask for whatever they're proudest of today — say you want something from their own imports if they have it. Take your glass to the western rock cliffs. Observe the Baltic: the water is clear and very cold (swimming is possible — the entry is rocky, bring footwear). The rhythm is: sun on rocks, cold sea, wine. Repeat as needed.

   Backup: The bar also serves Finnish craft beer and coffee. The terrace itself — without walking to the cliffs — delivers 270 degrees of open archipelago.

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4. 4 Climb Nine Steps to the Award-Nominated Sauna Adventure · Price: moderate

   Where: The sauna building at the southern end of the island — zinc-plate sculptural pitched roof, larch cladding. Book in advance at lonna.fi/en/services/sauna/ (reservation calendar opens March 2026 for the summer season).

   What: Climb the nine wooden steps inside this sauna and you'll find something you won't find in any other sauna in the world: floor-to-ceiling windows at 80°C, looking directly out to sea, in a building nominated for the European Prize for Contemporary Architecture — the Mies van der Rohe Award 2022. Architect Anssi Lassila of Helsinki studio OOPEAA designed it in 2014–16. The stoves are wood-fired, loaded from outside so there's no smoke smell inside. Larch interior — same species used in Finnish rural saunas for 400 years — inside a 21st-century zinc roof that got shortlisted alongside projects from across Europe.

   How: Book your session (€23 per person / 2 hours, includes soap, shampoo, seat cover; towel rental €9 extra). Open Tuesday–Saturday. The rhythm: 10–15 minutes on the lauteet (hot benches) at the top, then descend to the sea ladder on the rocks, jump in, return, repeat three times. By the third cycle the Baltic stops feeling cold. Swimwear is optional.

   Backup: The sauna sells out quickly in July–August — book the moment the March calendar opens, or target early June or September when demand is lower.

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5. 5 Sit Down for the Tasting Menu That Rewrites Itself Weekly Wine · Price: high · Optional

   Where: The main restaurant — 60 seats, covered terrace. Reserve via tableonline.fi/en/helsinki/lonna/281 or lonna.fi directly. Dinner is Tuesday–Saturday; lunch Tuesday–Friday 12:00–14:45 (May 19–August 31 only).

   What: Ask when you sit down what changed on the menu since last week. The kitchen rewrites it multiple times per season based purely on what's arriving from Finnish organic farms and local waters. Three-course and five-course tasting menus — always a fish option, meat option, vegetarian option, and dessert. The wine list follows the same brief as the bar: self-imported small-producer bottles that rotate with the season. The chef and the sommelier work from identical principles: no filler, no compromise on origin.

   How: Reserve as far ahead as possible — 60 seats, summer-only, word has spread. Flag dietary requirements at booking. Groups over 10: contact them directly rather than using the online calendar. Ask the sommelier what they imported themselves this season — it's a different answer every few weeks.

   Backup: If the restaurant is fully booked, the bar terrace with a glass of their own-import wine and a sunset over Suomenlinna delivers 80% of the essential Lonna experience. The island is the thing.

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