The 10 best saunas in Europe

Finland's oldest public sauna · Tampere

Finland's oldest public sauna, in operation since 1906 in Tampere. The wood-heated stove and the dark, low-ceilinged sauna room have not fundamentally changed in over a century. Where the rest of this list is the tradition travelling, this is the source.

Smoke · € · Drop-in

Estonia's UNESCO smoke ritual · Haanja

A working farm in the Haanja hills keeping Estonia's UNESCO-listed smoke-sauna tradition. Master Eda Veeroja leads a ritual of at least three hours: a chimneyless sauna heated slowly over a day, whisking with birch, cooling in the pond. Booking is by arrangement only; this is the ceremony, not a quick sweat.

Smoke · €€€ · Cold plunge · Session-booked

Malmö's 1898 sea-pier bathhouse · Malmö

An open-air bathhouse on a pier reaching into the Öresund, in operation since 1898 and known in Malmö as Ribban. Heat in the saunas, one of them wood-fired, then a ladder straight down into the sea. An aufguss tradition runs here too, and sunset over the strait is the slot to aim for.

Finnish · Steam · under kr25 · Cold plunge · Drop-in

Floating heat under the Opera House · Oslo

Wood-fired floating saunas on the Oslofjord, one moored beneath the Opera House and another at Aker Brygge facing Akershus Fortress. The cold plunge is the fjord off the back step. The KOKcruise variant casts off entirely and glides through the inner harbour between rounds.

Finnish · Floating · kr25–50 · Cold plunge · Session-booked

The community movement's London flagship · London

Britain's slot goes to the flagship of London's community sauna movement: seven wood-fired saunas in a converted bathhouse by the canal at Hackney Wick. It is non-profit, and the heat is uncompromising. It is also the pick on this list we know best firsthand.

“Since they first opened, they’ve made a bunch of changes, added quite a lot of new saunas.” · James

Finnish · £ · Cold plunge · Session-booked

Pilot your own Alpine sauna · Zürich

A wood-fired sauna boat you pilot yourself across Lake Zürich, no licence needed. You warm by the stove behind panoramic glass, then plunge straight into the lake, with the Alps on the horizon. Sessions cast off from the Mythenquai for a small group at a time.

Finnish · CHF50–100 · Cold plunge · Private hire

Copenhagen's DIY harbour heat garden · Copenhagen

A wood-fired sauna and hot-tub garden on Copenhagen's Refshaleøen waterfront, where you stoke the fire yourself. Cooling off is a plunge tub or the harbour itself, and private bookings add a hot-tub boat you can sail around the city. Industrial, slightly anarchic, and entirely about heat and cold water.

Finnish · kr25–50 · Cold plunge · Session-booked

Amsterdam's naval-dock sauna flagship · Amsterdam

Kuuma's flagship central Amsterdam site: two saunas, Bjørk and Matsu, on the old naval-yard basin, with open-water swimming in the dock a few steps away. Self-service, no-frills and sociable, with views out over the IJ. The Netherlands' new sauna wave in one stop.

“Self-service check-in saunas, with the option to use restroom at a nearby hotel.” · Josje

Finnish · € · Cold plunge · Session-booked

Galway Bay's Atlantic window · Galway

An oceanside sauna on Spiddal Pier on the Wild Atlantic Way, with a panoramic window across Galway Bay to the Aran Islands. Monthly guided ritual sessions run alongside the regular bookings. Remote enough to feel like a destination, close enough to Galway city to be practical.

Finnish · €€ · Session-booked