For me, there is no better way to explore a city and its people than by visiting its bathhouses. The sauna tradition is rooted in the earliest civilizations, gathering community around a fire — a ritual of warmth and connection. In the sauna's dark, steaming stone walls, inhibitions drop, and the body and mind can easily open. Strangers gather half-naked, seeking a soothing escape from the day's stressors. This unique experience can offer a glimpse of the city’s history, energy, and people.
Generally speaking, high-end luxury hotel spas don’t interest me. The realm of the bathhouse — the rustic temples of ancient healing practices — draws me. The people who frequent these places carry something wild and adventurous within. To immerse themselves in the penetrating heat of a fiery stove and awaken all senses and opportunities.
Budapest, Kelenhegyi út 4, 1118 Hungary
Built between 1912 and 1918, the Gellért Thermal Bath in Budapest, Hungary, is the quintessential traditional Eastern European bathhouse. In these sprawling salty baths and steamy rooms, you will soak alongside guests who have been returning for decades. An Art Nouveau masterpiece of a building, the Gellért offers a sprawling, ancient complex of impeccably tiled steam rooms, saunas, and mineral baths with indoor and outdoor options. Enjoy a local breakfast of cinnamon coffee and pastries before checking into the baths for the rest of the day.
88 Fulton Street, New York, New York
I prefer the Wall Street Bath & Spa 88 for an authentic Russian bathhouse experience in New York City. It is nestled deep beneath the sidewalks of the Financial District, where ancient stone walls rumble with the subway cars above. This place is always alive with characters. From movie stars, musicians, and athletes to young, anxiety-ridden finance types and, most likely, some Russian mobsters — especially in the facility’s smoking room where cigars, cigarettes, and marijuana cloud the lounge... Anything goes! Aside from the impressively hot saunas and steam rooms, there’s a fantastic restaurant where guests can dine on traditional Russian fare, drink gallons of herbal tea, or line up vodka shots — a popular choice after the platza treatment. Upstairs holds a large, rarely utilized swimming pool for those who want to get a few laps in before leaving.
14 Rue Saint-Fiacre, 75002 Paris, France
Les Bains du Marais embraces the beauty of traditional North African hammam bathhouses in a stunning marble oasis off the beaten path of tourist-heavy Parisian streets. While most bathhouses and saunas welcome uninhibited chatting and storytelling amongst guests, the vibe here is a little more mellow. Conversations are hushed. Parisian culture can sometimes seem cold to the average, bright-eyed American tourist. Putting all Emily in Paris scenarios aside, following the locals’ conservative lead in initiating chitchat in this setting is best. Quiet time is something to be cherished. It’s a very eclectic crowd of young and old, locals and foreigners, and a light sprinkling of tourists. This unique and rustic bathhouse offers a glimpse of the beauty of Paris's multicultural mix.
3915 W. Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, California
The second I touch down at LAX, my first stop, bags in hand, is always Olympic Spa in Koreatown. The downside of this phenomenal gem is that it is strictly a “women only” space (please call their front desk for details and specifications around this if you’re curious about their policies). Korean bathhouses are traditionally gender-specific experiences, though most offer services to men and women in divided spaces.
Be advised that a Korean sauna is hot! Olympic Spa offers wood-fired and infrared saunas, steam rooms, and a gorgeous heated Himalayan pink Salt chamber. There is nothing quite like soaking in a hot tub of Kukicha-infused tea water before being brought to a stainless-steel table where a black lingerie-clad woman washes and scrubs every inch of your body’s naked skin with exfoliating gloves and hot water. Buckets of warm milk and honey are slathered all over you before a rapid, aggressive oil massage. You’re then swaddled like a newborn baby in clean cotton and invited to rest on a heated marble floor. It’s a transcendent experience to invigorate the senses. After all that sweating, soaking, and scrubbing, I suggest several cups of their complimentary Korean barley tea. You’re going to need it.
Norangdal 41, 6196 Norangsfjorden, Norway
The sauna at The Hotel Union Øye in Norangsfjorden, Norway, is perhaps the most remote location I’ve ever visited. An hour's flight northwest of Oslo and two ferry rides later, you will arrive at the town of Øye, where this gorgeous, historic hotel sits. Built in 1891 and carefully maintained over the years, this stunning hotel is like stepping back in time.
The hotel sauna is a short walk from the main building, down a paved road, and then a thin dock reaching out into the fjords below. This sauna is for hotel guests only — an intimate moment of sweat. The expansive glass wall of the structure frames the most breathtaking view of the Nordic countryside: sprawling, snow-capped mountains with a vast and dark body of water below.
Once you’ve reached your boiling point in the sauna, you must step out and bathe in the fjord's icy waters. Norwegians take their sauna rituals very seriously, and this setting immerses you in the stoic beauty of the culture. The stark contrast of cycling through hot and cold plunges forces the vascular system to expand and contract, moving circulation more efficiently through your body and encouraging the lymphatic system to move out stagnation and toxins. There’s an unmatched feeling of invigoration and clarity from this cycle — and a profound way to shake off jet lag or a hangover!
55000 CA-1, Big Sur, California
Esalen Institute is considered one of America’s leading luxury spas — a place of respite for the incredibly wealthy. However, the legend goes that when the Indigenous Esalen Tribe sold this land to developers in 1962, they had one severe requirement: The prospected health spa must be available to people free of charge in some capacity. Esalen once hosted a free Public Night Bathing gathering in their iconic natural hot springs between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. to honor this promise. But per the institute’s website, reservations for free night bathing are closed.
Over the years, Esalen Institute has seen many changes to its services and offerings, but it always caters to those seeking a holistic, spiritual experience with the land. Consider this bucket-list experience for spiritual seekers: A chance to strip down naked under the stars, soaking in hot sulphuric waters dangling off a cliff over the Pacific Ocean.
At my visit some years ago, I steamed with strangers in silence, a full moon above us and the ocean's crashing waves below. A group of adventurous hooligans smirked and giggled, fumbling with our clothing, exposing our naked bodies, suddenly awestruck by the majesty of the moment. I’ve never felt more magical or human than I did that night.
3330-20 Motojuku, Higashiagatsuma, Agatsuma District, Gunma 377-0933, Japan
Though I have yet to visit Japan, the Yakushi Onsen Hatago in Nakanojo is at the top of my bathhouse list. Home to a powerful, natural hot spring over 200 years old, thousands flock to this onsen yearly for its healing mineral-rich waters.
The Japanese onsen tradition is similar to that of Turkish hammams and Western bathhouses. It is a destination for those seeking rest and rejuvenation and, for many, a daily ritual for health and vitality. Japanese culture is steeped in century-old traditional health practices in a country rich with natural hot springs. One could have a packed itinerary touring just one city’s vast onsen offerings. My idea of perfection is to recline and unwind in milky mineral waters, out in the lush greenery of the Japanese countryside, with arms extended out against a stone-lined frame.
𓄟𓋫𓄟𓋫𓄟𓋫𓄟
Every culture across the globe cherishes the timeless ritual of gathering around warmth for healing. Despite the advances in science and medicine, nothing compares to the holistic fulfillment of unwinding in a serene, warm environment. For some, the bathhouse experience is a meditative, solo journey, while others seek it to fulfill the fundamental human need for connection.
In this piece, we invite you to embark on an adventure into the heart of another culture’s ancient health practices. Discover the traditional bathhouse, a sanctuary where the values and comforts of a community are celebrated. Open your mind and immerse yourself in this age-old ritual, finding rejuvenation and connection in its soothing embrace.
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