Traditional smoke sauna built into the earth, creating a dark, atmospheric space with soft, humid heat. Guided rituals often end with a plunge into outdoor cold tubs followed by grilling sausages over a fire pit.
Year-round recreation area centered on a small lake and traditional public smoke saunas. Locals alternate between the intense heat of the sauna and a cold plunge in the lake – even through a hole cut in the winter ice.
Monumental concert and congress hall on Töölö Bay, clad in brilliant white Carrara marble. The interior is a total work of art: every surface, fixture, and piece of furniture was designed by the architect Alvar Aalto.
Waterfront public sauna built into a sculptural, pine-slatted structure with rooftop sea views. Three wood-heated saunas – including a traditional smoke sauna – are paired with cold plunges in the Baltic and a modern Scandinavian restaurant
Public saunas on a small island, housed in a former red-brick factory and reached by a short ferry. Locals alternate between hot steam and a cold plunge into the sea – even through a hole cut in the winter ice.
Log-framed public sauna on a historic military island, reached by a ten-minute ferry. The two wood-fired saunas are co-ed, with large windows looking out to the archipelago and a shared terrace for a post-steam plunge in the sea.
Minimalist off-grid cabins sitting on the rocky edge of the Helsinki archipelago. The solar-powered interiors run on fold-down beds and dry toilets, with large windows looking straight out over the Baltic Sea.
Rustic, wood-heated saunas operating out of a converted 19th-century fishing shed on a historic seaside estate. Locals cycle between the intense heat and bracing dips in the Baltic Sea – even breaking the ice for a swim in winter.
