IISI Vallisaari Island Wine Tasting

Take a 20-minute ferry from Helsinki's Market Square to Vallisaari, a 19th-century fortress island in the Baltic archipelago. On the seaside terrace of IISI, a sommelier guides you through 5 wines paired with a tapas buffet. During midsummer, the sun barely dips below the horizon. You're drinking Mediterranean wines at 60°N while ferries glide past and the fortress walls catch the last light.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Board the ferry at Kauppatori Adventure · Price: low

   Find the Keisarinluodonlaituri pier at Helsinki's Market Square (Kauppatori). Buy a round-trip ferry ticket to Vallisaari (EUR 13.90). Board the waterbus for the 20-minute crossing through the Helsinki archipelago. Count the fortress islands as they appear. The city skyline shrinks behind you — this crossing is the threshold between ordinary Helsinki and island time.

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2. 2 Walk the fortress path to Cafe IISI History · Free

   Find the path from the ferry landing and walk about 200 metres through former military fortifications to Cafe IISI. Read the information boards about Vallisaari's history as a military ammunition storage island, closed to the public until 2016. Count the plant species reclaiming the stone walls — over 400 have colonized the ruins during decades of isolation.

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3. 3 Taste 5 wines on the seaside terrace Wine · Price: moderate

   Find your seat on IISI's large seaside terrace overlooking the Helsinki archipelago. Taste 5 wines — typically spanning Italy, Spain, France, and rotating selections — as the sommelier introduces each one. Ask the sommelier about producers when they circulate table to table. The tapas buffet pairs with each wine. Friday and Saturday tastings at 13:00 and 17:00.

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4. 4 Find the panoramic view from Aleksanterinpatteri Adventure · Free · Optional

   Find the path to Alexander Battery (Aleksanterinpatteri) in the south-west of the island, about 900 metres' walk from Cafe IISI, and climb to the lookout platform of this Russian-era coastal battery. Turn a full circle and count what you can see: Suomenlinna's fortress walls, the open Gulf of Finland, the islands of the Helsinki archipelago. On summer weekends IISI holds morning yoga on this terrace.

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5. 5 Taste the famous salmon soup at IISI Bistro Wine · Price: low · Optional

   Find IISI Bistro at Torpedolahti harbour on the island's east shore, about 490 metres' walk east of Cafe IISI. Taste the salmon soup that TripAdvisor reviewers call the best in the Helsinki archipelago (EUR 15-20). Ask the staff which wine pairs best with it. The bistro is a container restaurant concept on a harbour terrace overlooking a small boat marina.

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