Mariehamn grew up round the farming village of Overnas, situated on a peninsula. The harbours built in sheltered bays came to be of great importance. The streets of Mariehamn are wide and straight. Housing sites were large from the beginning, but today they have been divided to provide space for several houses. A distinctive feature is the Esplanade, an avenue of lime trees stretching from west to east, from harbour to harbour.
The russian heritage is mainly responsible for the layout of the town. It follows the same basic guidelines as can be found in many russian cities, with large avenues with promenades in the middle of the street. Apart from that, the only russian signs left from that era is the multitude of tombstones in the graveyards in Aland.
Least expensive are flights from Helsinki (Air Aland). Rates vary.
Flights from Stockholm-Arlanda (Air Aland) do not run on weekends or vacation periods. They are more expensive (149 ?), but sometimes there are reduced rates (19 ?!).
Flights from Turku (Turku Air) do not run on weekends. They are the most expensive at 180 ?.
The airport is just 3 km north of the city centre. There is a restaurant in the building, usually open every day. There is no airport bus.
There are also a service from Kapellskar with connecting bus from Stockholm, which takes less time than the Stockholm boat.
This is by far the quickest and easiest way to get to Mariehamn by boat. Book your trip at www.vikingline.ax (ax being the top level domain for Aland), and check the bus option. The bus leaves about 1.5 hours beforehand fron Cityterminalen in Stockholm, and from there you'll be herded all the way off the bus, through the (mostly non-existent) customs, aboard the passenger ferry and off again when in Mariehamn.
Tallink runs daily from Tallinn.
Birka Cruises runs daily from Stockholm, using their own terminal in the Western port, facing the Adlon hotell and pizza restaurant.
Viking, Silja and Tallink all use the same terminal in the Western port. The terminal is open 24 h. Tickets can be bought when a boat is due to leave. Facilities are limited. There are several lockers, a money exchange machine (EUR-SEK), toilets and a customs office. Just outside, there is a cafe and a small kebab restaurant.
Please note that the sea can get pretty rough in the autumn. The Alands hav (the part of the Baltic you'll be travelling through) is infamous for its nauxeating rolling dunes.
On the other hand, you'll easily walk from one end of town to the other in less than 15 minutes.
Nightlife in Mariehamn is sparse and centers around the two restaurants "Dino's" and "Indigo" - although heavily frequented by locals they don't compare well to establishments in larger cities.
At 12-02 AM those restaurants close, and almost everybody migrate to nearby nightclub "Arken". Considering Alands history (a Swedish archipelago until 1809, then Russian and later Finnish since 1918 - Alanders speak Swedish, they use some russian expressions and they drink like Finns) the later hours are dominated by the occasional bar-brawl, heavily intoxicated teens and vomiting.
That's about it. The "Arken" closes at 4 AM, and then it's all over.
The shopping street is the northern part of Torggatan.
Shops usually close at 17:00 or 17:30 on weekdays and at 14:00 on Saturdays. Some close at 20:00 on Thursdays.
Most shops accept Visa and MasterCard, but some of them do not accept Visa Electron.
ATM's ("OTTO") are thin on the ground. There are some in the city centre, outside the four bank offices along Torggatan. Another one is situated in Strandnas, at the Alandsbanken bank office.
Almost everything is more than 20 % more expensive in the Aland Islands than anywhere else in northern Europe. Despite this, stores occasionally lacks goods to sell. Mariehamn is without a doubt the worst place for shopping within a 1.000 mile radius.