Helsinki's public saunas

Map of 9 locations in Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki's sauna culture is split between two things a visitor has to choose between: wood smoke and a lockable changing room. These are the places where either is available to anyone who turns up or books, from a volunteer-run stove on Mustikkamaa that costs nothing to a design complex on Hernesaari with a heated pool open through February. Each entry notes how it is heated, whether swimsuits are worn, what the cold plunge actually is, and how you reach the door.

Places in this collection

  • Saunasaari — An island in the Helsinki archipelago given over entirely to bathing, opened on 26 June with several separate saunas including a traditiona…
  • Allas Pool — Built in 2016 on the harbour edge beside Market Square, with a filtered sea water pool left cold, a warm pool held at 27°C all year, and sa…
  • Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall — A 1920s classicist building in the centre of the city, opened in 1928, where the full-size pool comes with three different sauna types: ele…
  • Kotiharjun Sauna — The last wood-heated public sauna in Helsinki, running without interruption since 1928 in Kallio, a few minutes' walk from Sörnäinen metro…
  • Löyly — A sculpted timber building by Avanto Architects on the Hernesaari waterfront, holding three wood-fired saunas, one of them a smoke sauna, w…
  • Uusi Sauna — Kimmo Helistö's modern take on the old Arla neighbourhood sauna, built in Jätkäsaari beside a former cargo harbour. Separate men's and wome…
  • Sauna Hermanni — A post-war neighbourhood sauna serving customers since the 1950s, with separate sides for men and women and nude bathing on both. The entra…
  • Sompasauna — Three wood-burning saunas with no staff, no showers and no fee: whoever is there chops the wood, fetches the water and looks after the plac…
  • Lonna Sauna — Two wood-burning seaside saunas on a small island ten minutes by ferry from Helsinki's Market Square, each holding twelve people. Sessions…

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