Water hitting the stove, a sizzling sound, and a rising column of steam: it doesn’t get much more Finnish than that.
Not all Finns are lucky enough to have a sauna at home, especially in more populous cities like Helsinki, where apartment blocks are everywhere and space is precious. This is where public saunas come into play! While they used to be a very common sight a few decades ago, Helsinki’s rapid post-war development meant most of them had to be scrapped to make way for new dwellings. However, public saunas are experiencing a bit of a renaissance nowadays thanks, in part, to new, trendy urban saunas opening in recent years.
Here are our top urban sauna picks!
1. Löyly
“Löyly”, a beautifully descriptive Finnish word, means “sauna steam”. Opened in 2016, it is located in Hernesaari. Both a wood-burning sauna and a traditional smoke sauna are on offer. There is a restaurant on site featuring terraces that overlook the Baltic Sea, and the building is also a must-see attraction because of its original design.
Another very new urban sauna by the Market Square in central Helsinki. This complex boasts fresh- and seawater pools, as well as three saunas. Events such as concerts and exhibitions are also held here rather frequently!
Photo by Robert Douglass
Not only a sauna, but also a public swimming hall, it is definitely an experience every Helsinki resident should enjoy. Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall was bult in 1928 and, as such, it is the oldest public swimming hall in Finland. There are separate sessions for men and women, during which swimsuits are voluntary—meaning you can splash around in your birthday suit, and then (obviously) head back to the sauna and warm up.
4. Sompasauna
Sompasauna describe themselves as “the most public sauna in Helsinki”, and for good reason. The wooden sauna, located by the sea, is open 24/7 and everyone is free to use it. If you’re not too familiar with wooden sauna (or saunas in general), make sure to come with a Finn!
Photos by Wikimedia Commons unless otherwise stated