Finnish Sauna Culture

The sauna is not a luxury in Finland but a fixture of ordinary life, with around three million of them for a population of five and a half million, from apartment blocks to summer cottages. The whole ritual of heat, steam, cold plunge and calm is inscribed by UNESCO as living intangible heritage, and to understand Finland you go for a sauna.

What you actually see

• Loyly - throwing water on the hot stones to raise the steam, the core of the ritual.
• The cold plunge - the leap into a lake, the sea or a snowbank between heats.
• Public city saunas - the revived old and new public bathhouses of Helsinki and Tampere.
• The smoke sauna - the oldest, softest, chimneyless kind, heated by wood and time.

When to go

Year-round; winter adds the exhilarating snow or ice-hole plunge, summer the lake. Evenings are the traditional sauna hour. Any Finnish town has a public sauna to try.

Honest expectations

It is a genuine social and cultural ritual, so approach it with respect for the etiquette rather than as a spa gimmick - most saunas are enjoyed nude and quietly. The heat is serious, so build up and stay hydrated. Mixed or single-sex sessions vary by place, so check.

Nearby

Loyly and Allas in Helsinki, Rajaportti in Tampere and countless lakeside saunas across the country all welcome visitors.