Things have come a long way since the oldest Finnish saunas, which date back hundreds of years and were essentially holes dug into the ground. Here is a roundup of inviting saunas worldwide.
Above: In Montreal, Bota Bota is an old ferryboat from the 1950s that Sid Lee Architecture renovated into a Scandinavian spa.
Above: “Our team set out to re-create an environment reminiscent of an ocean-liner voyage, even though the ship would remain at dock, contemplating the Montreal skyline and the river,” says project design architect Jean Pelland of Sid Lee Architecture.
Above: Sauna in Wingårdhs Mill House in Västra Karup, Sweden.
Above: Klafs Sauna in Hotel Cervo Zermatt in Switzerland.
Above: The sauna at the Herb House Spa at the Limewood Hotel in Hampshire, England.
Above: Six Senses Spas at Hotel Arts Barcelona, overlooking the Mediterranean.
Above: Salt & Sill, a floating hotel located off the west coast of Sweden, has 6 buildings, including its own sauna boat.
Above: The sauna boat is available for rent in case you want to throw a private sauna party.
Above: The sauna of a private home, located on the Stockholm archipelago, by local architects Widjedal Racki Bergerhoff.
Above: The view from within the sauna.
Above: The Floating Sauna in Norway was designed by Finnish architects Casagrande Laboratory and Rintala Eggertsson in cooperation with the Västlands Art Academy. You get to the sauna by rowboat.
Above: Simple seating made of pine.
Above: In early saunas, rocks were heated in a fireplace and water was thrown on the rocks to create steam; here, a small wood-burning stove heats things up.