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Worldwide Travel T e Travel Guide
Full steam ahead in Helsinki, birthplace of the urban public sauna
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Whether you’re visiting for 24 hours or 24 days, there’s a transformative experience that takes you directly to the heart of Finnish culture. Sau- na, one of the only Finnish words to make it into the international lexicon, off ers an egalitarian well- ness ritual with sacred roots dating back 10,000 years. Inscribed in the UNESCO Rep-
resentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, sau- na is one of the secrets to joy in the World’s Happiest Country for eight years running. In the löyly, which is the steam
created when water is gently ladled over the rocks of the sauna stove, everyone is welcome and accepted as they are. Mobile phones don’t belong in the sauna, which makes it one of the few offl ine social spaces left in the world.
BETTER LIVING: FOUR WAYS TO SAUNA LIKE A LOCAL As Helsinki is the birthplace of the urban public sauna, which has been
around in the Finnish capital for more than 200 years, there are nu- merous options for enjoying a relax- ing steam. Here are just a few.
OLD WORLD CHARM Embrace the heat at Kotiharjun Sau- na, founded in 1928, in the diverse Kallio neighbourhood. Here, at the large wood-burning
saunas — a
rarity in the city centre where elec- tric saunas are much more common — men and women sauna separately. In addition to therapeutic ex-
periences such as a scrub down, sauna-goers can also sample vihta, a sauna whisk made of soft birch branches and their leaves. Tapping or gently beating the body with a sauna whisk relaxes muscles and in- creases circulation.
URBAN GETAWAY Nestled on the city’s southern shore- line, Löyly Helsinki is a design sauna complex with three permanent sau- nas including a traditional smoke sauna, another rarity in the city cen-
tre. Once named one of the World’s 100 Greatest Places by Time maga- zine, Löyly has a large wooden ter- race with stairs to the sea for refresh- ing dips in between steams. Here, the saunas are for every-
one, so swimsuits are worn, though there are separate changing rooms and shower facilities for women and men. T e on-site bar and restaurant serve up locally produced classics in- cluding ‘Jasper’s salmon soup’, a take on the Finnish favourite created by Löyly’s owner environmentalist and actor Jasper Pääkkönen.
HARBOUR SWIM AND STEAM Floating swimming pool and sau- na complex, complete with a cold plunge pool, Allas Pool is in Helsin- ki’s central harbour next to the Mar- ket Square. T e large scenic sauna (mixed, swimsuits mandatory) off ers original views of the boats and ferries plying the waters between the local islands and points further afi eld such as Stockholm and Tallinn. Smaller saunas in the wooden changing room cabins on the deck of the swimming pools off er a more intimate milieu.
HIPPY CHIC Helsinki’s most public sauna is free, open around the clock, every day of the year. Sompasauna is run by volunteers who chop wood for the saunas, fetch water and take care to keep the saunas clean. Its two saunas are located on the eastern end of Mustikkamaa (‘Blueberry Is- land’), steps from a sandy stretch of beach. T ere are no staff , changing rooms or showers, but you can bring your own lock for the lockers and wade into the Baltic Sea to cool off . Swimsuits optional.
myhelsinki.fi
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