Seven Helsinki saunas by the seaside

Surrounded by the Baltic Sea, Helsinki has 130 kilometres of spectacular shoreline. For Helsinkians, the seaside infuses just about every aspect of daily life, including that quintessentially Finnish activity: sauna – which is best enjoyed near water!
Try out one or all of these waterfront saunas. Most are open all year round, and each has its own original Helsinki charm.

New Sompasauna in Verkkosaari

Stylish sauna complex 

Löyly Helsinki is an architectural masterpiece with three saunas, including a coveted traditional smoke sauna, a rarity in the city centre. Named after the steam created when water is ladled over the sauna stove’s rocks, Löyly has a terrace with stairs leading to the sea for a swim.
Next to the saunas, a bar and restaurant overlook the water. Named one of the World’s 100 Greatest Places by Time magazine, Löyly is one of the top destinations for locals and international travellers to sample Finnish contrast therapy – combining a hot sauna session with a cold plunge. Booking in advance is recommended.

Archipelago retreat 

The tiny, picture postcard island of Lonna is just a ten-minute ferry ride away from Helsinki’s busy central Market Square. Yet, you’ll feel like you’ve travelled a world away.

Lonna’s stylish modern loft saunas are shorefront so sauna-goers can take a refreshing dip in the Baltic Sea in between löyly sessions. 

The island’s varied history – it was once used for storing and clearing mines – is evident in the older structures, including the repurposed brick building housing the bespoke restaurant with an adjacent mini-museum chronicling Lonna’s past.

Lonna is only open during the summer months; advance sauna booking is recommended. All sauna sessions are mixed, so bring your bathing suit.

Harbourside happiness

Outdoor Allas Sea Pool floating swimming pool and sauna complex, complete with a cold-water pool, is nestled into Helsinki’s central harbour next to the Market Square. Its panorama sauna (mixed, with bathing suits) offers views of the boats and ferries plying the waters between the local islands and points further afield such as Stockholm and Tallinn. There are also smaller saunas in the dockside changing room cabins. The main swimming pool is kept at a comfortable 27 degrees Celsius, which keeps swimmers smiling year-round.
Allas is also a popular summer concert venue and offers a range of yoga classes, including sauna yoga (of course!), a series of gentle stretches in the warmth of the sauna. 

People sitting in front of Lonna island sauna

Calm Nature

Urban Sauna

Relaxing in the sauna at Löyly (2)

Mini getaway 

On the shores of Helsinki’s Laajasalo neighbourhood, Furuvik is an 18th-century villa with a small beach and two saunas: a yard sauna and a seaside sauna housed in a red wooden cottage with a dock for dips in the sea. The seaside sauna’s large window brings natural light into the steam room, while the changing area is furnished like a cosy family cabin, complete with wooden tables and benches and colourful traditional rag rugs.
There’s a range of public sauna sessions, as well as options for private hire.

Communal sweat

Sompasauna bills itself as ‘Helsinki’s most public sauna – open 24/7/365, run by everyone who uses it.’ Its three saunas are located on the Helsinki shoreline near Kalasatama, though Sompasauna is slated to move to a new location on Mustikkamaa island during 2025. 

There is no staff, changing rooms or showers, but you can bring your own lock for the cupboards and jump into the Baltic Sea to cool off. 

One of Sompasauna’s golden rules is sauna peace, which means respect for others and taking care of the collective spaces. Sompasauna is free of charge.

Karelian hospitality

On the coast of eastern Helsinki, Villa Salmela Sauna is housed in a small wooden cottage next to Villa Salmela, the summer home of the Karelians, who are known for their warmth and friendliness. (Karelians are a Baltic-Finnic ethnic group indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia.) The sauna’s porch overlooks photogenic Villinki Strait, with sea access off the dock. Reservations recommended.

Spiritual sauna 

Lähde sauna, one of the city’s oldest public saunas, dates back to the 1880s and is on the grounds of what was once a psychiatric hospital. The large neoclassical building designed by Carl Ludwig Engel (who created much of Helsinki’s historic centre) is now a vibrant cultural community centre and Lähde sauna’s creative energy reflects that. There are public sauna sessions throughout the week, as well as impromptu jam sessions when regulars bring their musical instruments. 

Outside, just across from the sauna, there’s a small dock and sandy beach for post-sauna swims.