Saunas with cold plunge in Finland

Helsinki, Finland

A floating sauna and pool complex in Helsinki's harbour, directly opposite the Market Square and the Presidential Palace. 3 saunas and 2 pools, one heated, one Baltic seawater. Touristy by Helsinki standards, but the setting is unbeatable and the sea pool in winter is genuinely bracing.

Tampere, Finland

A smoke sauna and an electric sauna on a lake shore in forest about 13 km from central Tampere, in a 1968 building extended in 2006. A group hires the whole place, with an outdoor hot tub, a grill on the veranda and a separate meeting room. Swimming is in the lake in summer and an ice hole in winter.

Turku, Finland

Harjattula manor's beach sauna sits on the shore south of Turku, with two hot tubs beside it. It is booked privately for most of the year, and the estate opens public shifts in season. Those run to winter swimming evenings, morning saunas with breakfast, and summer Thursday sessions.

Jyväskylä, Finland

The Jyvässeutu traditional sauna association keeps this sauna on the shore of Tuomiojärvi, close to the centre of Jyväskylä. An electric stove heats it for separate men's and women's shifts, and in winter there is an ice hole to swim in. Entry is EUR 8 at the door; the sauna is aimed mainly at members.

Tampere, Finland

A lakeside public sauna on the shore of Kaukajärvi in eastern Tampere, run by the swimming club Uinti Tampere ry. Two sauna buildings open daily through the year, with swimming straight off the shore and ice swimming in winter. A kiosk sells refreshments in summer.

Tampere, Finland

A public wood-fired sauna on the shore of Näsijärvi, run by Tampere's winter swimmers' club. An ice hole is kept open through the winter, and entry is pay-at-the-door with no booking. Quiet hours are set aside at some sessions, and a smaller yurt sauna shares the changing rooms.

Kaarina, Finland

A farm at Piikkiö in Kaarina with two smoke saunas and an ice-swimming hole cut in a pond in the woods. Through the winter it sells open Tuesday evenings that anyone can book online, using one or both saunas depending on the night. The rest of the year the saunas go with private hire of the estate.

Kuopio, Finland

A function space on the Kallavesi shore about four kilometres from Kuopio market square, hired whole for evenings, meetings and courses. The sauna seats twelve to fifteen, and a terrace, jetty and swimming ladders sit twenty metres from the door. A hot tub and winter ice-hole swimming can be arranged.

Rauma, Finland

Three wood-heated saunas stand on the shore of Narvijärvi, twenty minutes from Rauma, lit every day of the year. The family who took on the old municipal beach sauna in 2019 still run them. Swimming is from the sandy beach in summer and an ice hole in winter, with a heated outdoor pool and a café on site.

Espoo, Finland

One of Löylykontti's self-service shore saunas, this one stands on Matinkylä swimming beach in Espoo with a panorama window to the sea. Book a bench place on a shared hour or the whole sauna for your group, then let yourself in with a door code. Swimming runs all year; the outdoor rinsing shower opens June to September.

Helsinki, Finland

Two container saunas sit on the Sörnäinen shore promenade, with heated steps running from the terrace down into the sea. Book a slot online and let yourself in with a door code, either a shared bench place or the whole sauna for your group. Swimming carries on through the winter.

Lahti, Finland

Two lakeside saunas, Anna and William, stand in the grounds of a manor hotel on Vesijärvi at Lahti. Public shifts alternate with private hire of either sauna. The lake is there to cool off in year round, with an ice hole cut in winter and a hot tub facing the water.

Lappeenranta, Finland

Lappeenranta's public shore sauna on Myllysaari, a short walk from the harbour and run by LiveLife since 2024. Shifts alternate through the week between women, men and mixed, and it opens year round: a ladder off the jetty leads into an ice hole in winter and into Saimaa in summer. Pay the staff on arrival, no booking.

Kannonkoski, Finland

Four electric saunas share one lakeside building at the Piispala youth centre on Kivijarvi, alongside two fireplace lounges, changing rooms, terraces and a dock. Ice holes are cut off the shore in winter. Time is hired by the hour for a whole group rather than sold by the head.

Helsinki, Finland

Three wood-fired saunas on the sea at Länsiulapanniemi in Lauttasaari, run by the Helsinki police summer home association but open to anyone. Public sessions are booked and paid for online in advance. A group can also hire the saunas privately and heat them itself, and a dock by the shore is used for swimming and winter dipping.

Kuopio, Finland

A 1950s logging-camp cabin on the shore of Kallavesi, six hundred metres from the Rauhalahti hotel along a sand track through a nature reserve. Its smoke sauna has held more than a hundred bathers at once. Traditional evenings run every Tuesday year round with a buffet dinner and live music.

Tampere, Finland

A wood-fired yurt sauna on the Näsijärvi shore at Kaupinoja in Tampere, sharing the beach with the older public sauna there. Walk in during opening hours and pay the sauna tender directly, or use a ten-visit card. Swimming is from the shore, year round.