Finland has 3.3 million saunas for 5.5 million people. If you visit Helsinki and do not sit in one, you have technically not been. This route takes you through four saunas that cost, in order, nothing, twenty euros, thirty and sixty. Four completely different crowds. You can do two in one day, or all four if you are serious.
The walk
- 1
Sompasauna
Verkkosaarenkatu 14Free, public, volunteer-run sauna on the waterfront in Kalasatama. Open 24/7. You bring your own towel, chop your own wood if it runs low. Mixed, swimwear required. The cleanest and most unreasonable free thing in Helsinki.
Go after 19:00, it fills with a mix of students, locals and one or two confused tourists. Nobody will mind which you are.
- 2
Kulttuurisauna
Hakaniemenranta 17A modern public sauna next to Hakaniemi, designed by Tuomas Toivonen and Nene Tsuboi. Separate men's and women's sections, traditional, no phones allowed, no food, no music. A deliberately minimal experience. 20 euros.
- 3
Allas Sea Pool
Katajanokanlaituri 2aThree outdoor pools on the harbour, one heated, one cold, one sea-water. Saunas attached. You can swim with a view of the presidential palace. 18 euros entry for the pools and sauna.
Closes early on winter weekdays. Check the hours.
- 4
Löyly
Hernesaarenranta 4Architectural sauna and restaurant on the seafront, opened 2016. Expensive at 24 euros for two hours. Has a traditional smoke sauna on site, which is the real reason to go. Book ahead.
The terrace is open to restaurant customers too. You can eat there without paying for sauna.
What tends to surprise visitors
- •Sompasauna is genuinely free and genuinely open 24 hours, winter included.
- •Swimwear is standard in mixed saunas. Traditional single-gender ones, nudity is the norm, nobody cares.
- •Ice swimming (avanto) is a separate Finnish habit. Most public saunas have an ice hole cut for winter. Try it once.
Where to eat
Hakaniemi Market Hall (Hämeentie 1) for lunch between Kulttuurisauna and Sompasauna. Löyly's restaurant after the last sauna.
Practical
Bring a towel and swimwear. Sompasauna has no shower and no soap. The others do. Do not drink a full beer in the sauna, it is not the thing, locals do not do it. Water or non-alcoholic beer is fine.
Next walk
Punavuori without the chains
Design District on foot, small studios only