When a little electric sauna isn't enough and you're craving for a big, steamy sauna bath, it's time to look into the many amazing public saunas in Finland. Many of them don't even require you to bring your own towel, and they often offer beverages and other special services that make the sauna experience even more unique and pleasant. You can choose from small and cute steam rooms that offer a peaceful place to rest in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city or from big saunas that offer modern services and delicious food. Listen to birds chirping while enjoying the heat, or watch busy people on the street while you take it easy. You can also have a casual chat with other people in the sauna, because that is the one place where nobody cares about your title or what you do for a living. Enjoy the sauna on your own or take the whole family with you! Many saunas can also be rented for a private party – what a fun way to celebrate something. Release your inner sauna elf!
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Löyly
Sit down in the heat of a designer smoke sauna and make the day perfect with salmon soup
- Families
- Food
Have a relaxing evening with the sweet heat, delicious food and nice Baltic sea breeze of Löyly. Löyly was opened in 2016 and is located in Hernesaari, near the centre of Helsinki. It's made its way into the hearts of people who appreciate saunas and unique architecture. Löyly has both a traditional sauna and a smoke sauna – both perfect to relax you after a stressful day. You can cool down on a terrace that opens up to the Baltic Sea, and you can also have a refreshing swim in the ocean. If you get hungry after all the heat of a sauna, look no further: a steaming sausage, a veggie burger or a bowl of salmon soup named after one of the developers of Löyly, Jasper Pääkkönen, will no doubt fill you up. The saunas are mixed, so don't forget your swimwear and slippers. You can also rent swimwear there. Löyly is very popular, so you should definitely book in advance. The ticket price gives you 2 hours of sauna time and it includes a seat cover, shampoo and shower gel. Kids under 10 get in for free if they share a dressing room with an adult.
Location: Hernesaarenranta 4, 00150 Helsinki, Finland
Open: Monday–Thursday from 4 pm to 10 pm, Friday–Saturday from 1 pm to 11 pm and Sunday from noon to 6 pm.
Phone: +358 50 3820 885
Mapphoto by Roopeank (CC BY-SA 4.0) modified
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Allas Sea Pool
Enjoy an amazing sauna and swim in the most gorgeous spot in Helsinki
- Families
Now this is a sauna with a great location! In Helsinki, next to Market Square (Kauppatori), you will find Allas Sea Pool, which spreads over the waves of the Baltic Sea. There you can spend a lovely day going to the sauna and swimming in beautiful scenery. First you can get nice and sweaty in the sauna and then cool down in the seawater pool – or if you think that might be too chilly, you can choose the heated pool next to it. There's a separate kids' pool for the children to play in. The pools of Allas Sea Pool are built on a patio over the sea, so you have both a sea view and a view to central Helsinki. Don't forget their refreshing drinks, crispy salads and delicious meatballs! Allas Sea Pool offers a lot to do besides saunas and pools: you can take care of your body in yoga, work out in the outdoor training sessions or jam in the concerts hosted in the summer. There are also different levels of swimming courses from beginners to triathletes, and there are also different kinds of swimming schools for kids. You can buy tickets online or at the door, and kids under 2 get in for free. If you forgot your swimwear or towel, don't worry -- you can also rent them and other kinds of swimming equipment.
Location: Katajanokanlaituri 2a, 00160 Helsinki, Finland
Open: Monday–Thursday from 6.30 am to 9 pm, Friday from 6.30 am to 10 pm, Saturday from 9 am to 10 pm, Sunday from 9 am to 9 pm
Phone: +358 40 565 6582
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Smoke sauna in Kiilopää (Kiilopään savusauna)
Enjoy the magic of sauna in the middle of the prettiest part of Lapland
- Families
- Photo
Whether it's winter or summer, this smoke sauna with soft heat charms everybody from babies to granddads. The Smoke sauna in Kiilopää has been called the best smoke sauna in Finland. It's located in Suomen Latu Kiilopää Mountain Centre in the Urho Kekkonen National Park, about 10 miles from central Saariselkä. After a long day of hiking or cross-country skiing in the gorgeous nature of Saariselkä, there's no better way to relax your muscles and mind than by spending a peaceful evening in a sauna. Next to the sauna there's the Kiilopuro Brook, where sauna-goers can go cool down in the summer and in the winter. You'll get a magical addition to the atmosphere from the stars in the night sky, or if you're lucky you might see the northern lights in all their colourful glory. The sauna is heated for the public 3 times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but you can also book it in advance to enjoy a private sauna experience. Kids under 14 get in for free when they're with an adult. You can rent a swimsuit or a towel if you didn't bring your own. It's easiest to get there by car.
Location: Kiilopääntie 620, 99830 Saariselkä, Finland
Open: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 3 pm to 8 pm.
Phone: +358 (016) 670 0700
Mapphoto by Timo Newton-Syms (CC BY-SA 2.0) modified
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Rauhaniemen kansankylpylä
Relax in this lakeside sauna on a sunny afternoon
- Families
When the sun is shining and the weather is nice and warm, it's time to spend a relaxed, sunny afternoon in Rauhaniemen kansankylpylä. This sauna is located by Lake Näsijärvi, a bit over a mile from Tampere Central Square (Keskustori). It has 2 saunas, 2 beaches and a summer café. So pack up a swimsuit, towel and sunscreen, take the kids along and forget your worries – enjoy the summer in all its glory! First get sweaty in the sauna and then have a refreshing swim in Lake Näsijärvi. If you like some speed in your swimming experience, you can jump in using the diving board. Kids can have fun building sand castles in the beach designated for children; you can also borrow some sand toys from the summer café. Between sauna and swimming you can enjoy delicious treats from the summer café. Both saunas in Rauhaniemen kansankylpylä are unisex, so you'll need a swimsuit even if you're not planning on swimming. In the winter the dressing rooms are heated and you can take a dip in Lake Näsijärvi through a hole in the ice. You can get there easily by car or bus.
Location: Rauhaniementie 24, 33180 Tampere, Finland
Open: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3 pm to 8 pm, Tuesday and Friday from 3 pm to 8.30 pm, and Saturday–Sunday from 1 pm to 9 pm
Phone: +358 3 261 4371
Mapphoto by Haltiamieli (CC BY-SA 4.0) modified
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Lähde Sauna (Lähteen sauna)
Enjoy the beautiful views of this charming and historic sauna
- History
- Unusual
Lähde Sauna is located in the former Lapinlahti mental hospital, so you can feel the quaint historical atmosphere everywhere. This sauna, built in the 1880s, is located in Lapinlahti, a neighbourhood near the centre of Helsinki, and it used to be used by the staff and patients of the hospital. Its beautiful spaces, where you can see the passing of time, and the surrounding hospital environment create a great milieu for a sauna experience. There's a beach just 330 feet away, and the nearby Café Lähde offers something to eat and drink afterwards. The dressing room of the sauna is unisex, and you can choose a time reserved for just women, just men or both together. Customers can rent a towel if they forgot to bring their own. Normally the sauna is heated for the public almost every day, but during the covid pandemic you can only book the sauna for the use of your own group.
Location: Lapinlahdenpolku 8, 00180 Helsinki, Finland
Open: During the covid pandemic you can only book the sauna for the use of your own group. Normally you can check the opening hours on the Lähde Sauna Facebook page.
Phone: +358 40 1783 454
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Smoke sauna in Jätkänkämppä (Jätkänkämpän savusauna)
Enjoy the heat in one of the biggest smoke saunas in Finland
- Families
- Food
In this sauna you don't have to squeeze in – enjoy the space! Jätkänkämppä is a part of Spa Hotel Rauhanlahti in Kuopio and can fit up to 70 sauna-goers at once. Jätkänkämppä was originally an accommodation for timber rafters in Nurmes, where it was moved log by log to Kuopio at the end of the 1980s. After doing that they also built a huge smoke sauna to go with it. Every Tuesday in Jätkänkämppä they organise different kinds of traditional and smoke sauna events, where guests can enjoy a sauna and a swim but also a buffet meal and accordion music, community singing, dancing and timber rafter performances in the summer. The sauna is open to the public on Fridays as well in the summer. Take a swimsuit with you, because in this sauna, men and women bathe together. You don't need your own towel since that's included in the price of a ticket. You can dip into the nearby Lake Kallavesi in the summer and winter. The hotel offers plenty of different kinds of services, such as a gym, restaurants, indoor climbing and a spa with pools, hairdressers and spa treatments. You can arrive by car, bus and boat (only in the summer).
Location: Katiskaniementie 8, 70700 Kuopio, Finland
Open: Tuesdays from 4 pm to 9 pm all year round. Summer Fridays from 4 pm to 9 pm.
Phone: +358 30 608 30
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Kesän Sauna
Climb onto a river ferry for a sauna
- Families
- Unusual
If you're looking for a different kind of sauna experience, Kesän Sauna, built on a ferry, is just for you! The ferry floats in Oulujoki River, in Tuira, and its sauna was built by professional architects. This unisex sauna is run by volunteers. Change into a swimsuit in one of the changing cubicles and with your towel and refreshments in tow head to the manually operated cable ferry that helps you get to the sauna ferry. Leave your things and drinks in one of the little lockers and lock it before you step into the heat of the sauna. You're not allowed to use soap or shampoo on the ferry, so you'll have to wash yourself in the heated river water shower or directly in Oulujoki River. Underage kids can get in the sauna ferry with adults, and infants get in for free. Admire the beautiful river view and enjoy the fresh water of Oulujoki. A carefree summer night won't get better than this!
Location: Koskitie 58, 90500 Oulu, Finland
Open: Monday–Friday from 5 pm to 9 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 2 pm to 9 pm. On Fridays in the morning as well from 8 am to 11 am. The sauna is closed if there are volunteers to heat up the sauna or if the weather is too inclement.
Phone: +358 40 7457 314
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Rajaportti Sauna (Rajaportin sauna)
Enjoy the soft heat of the oldest public sauna in Finland
- Families
- History
Tampere is called the sauna capital of Finland, and indeed you can find the oldest public sauna still in use there. Rajaportti Sauna was built in the Pispala neighbourhood in the beginning of the 1900s, and it impresses you with its grand brick sauna stove, almost original historical look and steamy heat. The stove is 1 cubic yard in size and the rocks -- weighing over a tonne -- are heated every morning with a log 3 feet long. The big steam room is divided into men's and women's sections. In addition to the lingering heat from the white sauna stove, the unique atmosphere is made even better by other people in it, since this famous sauna gets visitors from all over the city and even the country. Chat with the regulars in the homey outside space while enjoying a beverage you bought from the sauna keeper. You can also rent a towel or a seat cover from them, if you forgot yours at home. There's also a café with small and big snacks, and they offer a massage service as well. Kids under 6 are admitted to Rajaportti for free.
Location: Pispalan valtatie 9, 33250 Tampere, Finland
Open: Monday and Wednesday from 4 pm to 10 pm and Friday–Saturday from 2 pm to 10 pm.
Phone: +358 40 776 5198
Mapphoto by Janne Ranta (CC BY 3.0) modified
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Kotiharju Sauna (Kotiharjun Sauna)
Enjoy a traditional woodfire sauna in the middle of a busy city
- Families
If you suddenly have the urge to go to a sauna in the middle of a shopping trip in the city, you don't have to look far! Kotiharju Sauna is near central Helsinki, at Harjutori, Kallio, and it's the perfect place to forget the hustle and bustle of the city for a while and enjoy the heat and glow of a traditional woodfire stove. You don't have to book a slot for the sauna in advance, and all you need can be found at the register, for example towels, refreshments and a vihta (a traditional birch whisk used to whip the skin). You can stay in the heat as long as you want, and on Saturdays you can make the experience even more traditional and get washed by an employee. There are 3 saunas: for women, for men and for private use (when you book the whole sauna for your group). On the men's side there's a loft that's even higher than the other seats; this is meant for the most experienced sauna-goers. You can cool down on the street in front of the sauna and enjoy some people-watching in Kallio. You can take your own food and drinks in the sauna building, but not into the sauna itself.
Location: Harjutorinkatu 1, 00500 Helsinki, Finland
Open: The sauna is closed for renovation until 1/8/2020. After that the sauna is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 2 to 8 pm (you can stay in the sauna until 9.30 pm).
Phone: +358 97 531 535
Mapphoto by Matti Paavonen (CC BY-SA 3.0) modified