Naked Saunas in Helsinki, Finland
Free Modern Saunas in Hotels and Nude Swimming in Public Baths
For Finns, it's traditional to strip off and sit in a hot, sweaty room with members of the same sex without any clothes on. In the capital city, skinny dipping is in.
The Finnish Sauna: A National Hobby
If Finland has a defining national hobby (other than getting lashed on duty free booze on the Helsinki to Tallinn ferry) it is having a sauna. In a way, the activity sums up the stereotypical Finnish personality; quiet, reserved, contemplative. On the whole, the Finns aren’t ones for wild Italian gesticulating, American whooping and hollering or African flamboyance. It’s a country where individualism is often expressed visually – be it through architecture or bizarrely dyed hair – rather than vocally.
Exceptions: Helsinki Bars
This is not to say that all Finns are quiet. Indeed, visit a Helsinki bar at the right time and it’ll be as rowdy and raucous as any across the world, but on the whole, the sauna suits the Finns and the Finns suit the sauna.
Traditional Wood Fire Sauna
Alas, the traditional wood fire sauna is now quite rare in Finland. This is necessarily a bad thing, as they can be a lot harder to breathe in than the more modern saunas, but in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, the old versions have pretty much died out. The sauna itself hasn’t though.
Free Saunas in Hotels
In fact, as most visitors will discover, the sauna still plays an integral role in Helsinki. Most hotels will have their own sauna for guests to use. There is sometimes a charge for this, but a lot of the time free use of the sauna is included with the hotel room price. Eagle-eyed customers will notice that, where there are not two separate saunas, there are certain times allocated to male guests and others set aside for female residents.
Stripping off with the Same Sex
This is not because the Finns are prudish about letting both sexes loose together in their swimwear. It’s quite the opposite in fact – in Finland, saunas are taken naked. To the visitor, stripping off and sitting around inside a hot, sweaty room with equally starkers members of the same sex may seem both weird and unnerving, but it is the way it is done here.
Reflect on Life
Theoretically, the sauna is about taking away the stresses and accessories of the outside world and having the chance to reflect on life. And in this sense, it most certainly works. Even if it can be uncomfortably hot at the time – most Finns don’t appear to believe in the minimum setting.
Nude Swimming in Public Baths
Of course, those who rather enjoy getting naked will be in their element in Helsinki. Alongside all the saunas there is the Yrjonkadun Uimahalli on Yrjonkatu. It’s an Art Deco public swimming pool and, again, there are separate hours for men and women. The reason? It is compulsory to swim in the nude at these public baths. Like many people need to be ordered to go skinny dipping…
