Seaside saunas in Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland

A small electric sauna on Itäinen Pihlajasaari, designed and built by architecture students and run by the City of Helsinki. Six people fit inside, it is used self-service, and the whole sauna is booked for a slot through the city's Varaamo service over the summer season. The island is reached by ferry from Merisatama or Ruoholahti.

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.

Helsinki, Finland

The sauna section at Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa sits beside an 11-metre heated pool on the Gulf of Finland shore. Two saunas are hired by the hour for groups of two to twenty, and in summer the terrace and hotel beach open straight off them. Food and drink are ordered from the hotel restaurant in advance.

Helsinki, Finland

The rare sauna that earns the word 'beautiful' without apology. A 2013 public sauna on the Helsinki waterfront designed by Tuomas Toivonen and Nene Tsuboi, with a birchwood interior and direct access to the sea. It gets busy on summer evenings, which adds to it, so book in advance.

Helsinki, Finland

An 1880s sauna in the Lapinlahti hospital park by the sea, reckoned to be the oldest public sauna still working in Helsinki. Mixed, women's and men's shifts run through the month with no booking: you turn up and pay at the door. The whole sauna can also be hired privately, and the beach is under 100 metres away.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki's most architecturally striking public sauna, a timber-lattice building on the Hernesaari waterfront with direct sea access. The smoke sauna and wood-heated sauna sit side by side, both opening onto the Baltic. There is a restaurant on site for afterwards, and it earns the hype.

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.

Helsinki, Finland

The City of Helsinki's wood-heated shore sauna sits on the south side of Länsi-Pihlajasaari, a ten-minute water bus from Merisatama or Ruoholahti. One group books it at a time for a three-hour slot, up to seven people, and heats it themselves with the firewood provided. The sea is a few steps from the door.

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.

Helsinki, Finland

A seaside sauna building in the grounds of Hotel Rantapuisto in Vuosaari, with room for fourteen, an electric stove and a terrace looking out over the archipelago. Steps lead down to a jetty for a dip in the sea, though there is no ice hole in winter. Weekend shifts are ticketed, and groups can hire it.

Helsinki, Finland

A wood-fired sauna boat moored at the Mustikkamaa marina in Helsinki, run by Saunalautta.fi alongside its smaller m/s Sauna. The 12-metre vessel takes sixteen at the dock, with a heated hot tub, a sheltered lounge and a ladder into the sea. It is booked whole, by the shift or as a cruise.

Helsinki, Finland

A wood-heated sauna raft moored at Taivallahti in Töölö, with a roof terrace, a shower and room for ten on the benches. Public hourly turns are booked online seat by seat, and the whole raft can be taken privately, and in summer it leaves the dock for anchored cruises for up to twelve. Swimming is straight off the deck.

Helsinki, Finland

Two traditional smoke saunas on the northern tip of Vasikkasaari, with the Helsinki skyline across the water. Sea swimming and a hot tub sit beside them, and the RÖK summer kitchen cooks over open fire and smoke. A boat runs out from the Market Square on summer weekends, and the island is also let for private events.

Helsinki, Finland

A free, volunteer-run sauna on Mustikkamaa, the island park a footbridge away from Kalasatama. No staff, no booking, no rules beyond basic sauna etiquette. Bring your own towel and an open mind: Helsinki at its most democratic.