Aland Islands

Aland is an autonomous, Swedish-speaking region of Finland, a scatter of some six thousand red-granite islands in the Baltic between the two countries. With its own flag, ferries linking island to island, and a maritime past written in tall ships, it is a summer world of cycling, sailing and quiet coves.

Background

In Finnish the islands are called Ahvenanmaa. They lie where the Gulf of Bothnia opens into the Baltic, and the region covers 1,580 km2 with 30,654 inhabitants. About 90% of them live on Fasta Åland, the main island. About 6,500 skerries and islands spread eastward, merging with the Finnish archipelago, and people live on about 60-80 of them. To the west, 38 km of open water separates Fasta Åland from the Roslagen coast of Sweden. Settlers of the Comb Ceramic culture arrived around 7000 years ago, once the land had begun to rise out of the sea after the last Ice Age, and six Iron Age hillforts survive.

Source: Wikipedia, "Åland"

What's there

• Mariehamn - the small maritime capital with its museum ship Pommern.
• The island-hopping ferries - the free and cheap ferries linking the outer archipelago.
• Kastelholm castle - the medieval castle on the main island.
• Red-granite coast - the smooth pink rock, coves and lighthouses of the Baltic shore.

When to go

High summer for warm seas, full ferry timetables and the sailing season; spring and autumn are quiet and many services wind down. It is very much a summer destination.

Good to know

It is spread across many islands linked by ferries, so getting around takes time and planning, ideally with a bike or car. Outside summer much closes and the ferries thin out. It is gentle and maritime rather than dramatic, best enjoyed slowly.

Nearby

Ferries connect to Turku and its archipelago in Finland and to Stockholm in Sweden; the Kvarken lies up the coast.