Gay couple review of the Finnish design sauna LÖYLY in Helsinki. A visit to Finland wouldn’t be perfect without the sweating experience in a Finnish sauna, at least once. Next to all the public saunas all around the city, in May 2016 Helsinki got a new design attraction: the “design-sauna-experience” LÖYLY. And of course, we as sauna fans were excited to start our Saturday morning with a two-hour stop on the peninsula of Hernesaari in the southeastern part of Helsinki. Join us on our Helsinki-Sauna experience and get sweaty in the Finnish Design Sauna LÖYLY Helsinki through a couple of men‘s eyes.
Do you know what “löyly” actually means? We asked the friendly staff of the Löyly sauna. Löyly means “the steam that comes when you throw water on hot stones in a sauna”. And isn’t that what it is all about in a Finnish sauna?
”One of the 100 Greatest Places in the World”
Time Magazine Magazine
Advertisement
KLM Flight Offers
Fly with our partner airline, the gay-friendly KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and its partners Air France and Delta Air Lines in Economy, Premium Comfort and Business Class to LGBTQ+ welcoming destinations worldwide.
Design Sauna Löyly in Helsinki
This relaxing, gay-friendly hotspot with several saunas, like a traditional smoke sauna, is completely heated by firewood collected in the woods of Finland. Especially the morning hours at Löyly sauna are less busy and a great way to start a day during a gay city trip to Helsinki, in our case, for Helsinki Gay Pride. After all the sweating, we cooled down by swimming in the open water of the Gulf of Finland and enjoyed the view over the bay with a good Finnish breakfast from the rooftop terrace. Interesting for us gay travel bloggers is that Finland has 3.3 million saunas for 5.4 million Finns. Although the need for public saunas is rising as part of the new urban culture, the number of public saunas is decreasing.
The Finnish sauna Löyly designed by the Finnish architect office Avanto Architects became literally one of the new hot spots of Helsinki. The extraordinary design was created with wood material from responsibly managed forestry. At the same time, the heat and electricity are produced by water and wind power, except for the firewood-heated three saunas. With this strict concept, the sauna of Löyly became the first FSC-certified building in Finland and the second in Scandinavia (FSC = Forest Stewardship Council, promoting responsible management of forests).
Gay Travel Index 2025
The Berlin-based Spartacus informs LGBTQ+ and queer travelers about how gay-friendly a holiday destination is according to several ranking factors and criteria.
Which country ranks first? Where is it safe to travel to as a gay and LGBTQ+ traveler?
You can use the GTI to prepare for your gaycation and as a guide when choosing a holiday destination.
Sauna & Restaurant in an FSC-certified building
Löyly is created for foreign visitors to experience an authentic Finnish sauna, less than two kilometers from the city center of Helsinki. Therefore, at Löyly, there are three different saunas. All of them are wood-heated but in various ways. A continuously heated one, a once-heated sauna (that stays warm all day after being heated in the morning), and a smoke sauna. Following the information from Löyly, this traditional smoke sauna is a true rarity in an urban sauna culture, even in Helsinki. In between the different sauna times, Löyly offers its visitors a spa area with cold water basins, a fireplace room to relax with a drink in.
If you are brave enough, like we were, jump into the cold water of the sea. After our time in the sauna part of Löyly, we had a delicious lunch in the “soft minimalism” restaurant, which serves organic food and sustainably caught fish. It’s good to know that you cannot make a reservation. Our favorite spot at Löyly is the rooftop terrace on top of the wooden design architecture. If you want to do it like the Finnish do, order an original Finnish long drink (Gin and Grapefruit) and you will understand why the Finnish people love their sauna tradition.
Gay Saunas in Europe
From the bustling streets of Berlin to the romantic canals of Amsterdam, each sauna for gay men offers a unique and unforgettable cruising experience. Join us as we take you on a tour of the top gay saunas in Europe, providing a glimpse into their distinctive features and vibrant communities.
Gay Helsinki City Trip
Kept as a secret, the citizens of Helsinki take great pride in living in their wonderful city, which is closely connected to nature and the Baltic Sea. Moreover, Finland has recently been ranked as the world’s most socially progressive country. It also legalized gay marriage officially in spring 2017.
More Blog Articles about Helsinki:
- Activity tip: Have fun at Helsinki’s theme park Linnanmäki >
- All you need to know about a gay couple’s city weekend in Helsinki >
- Our best Photos of the Helsinki Gay Pride Festival >
- Happy Pride Season! All about our Gay Pride Trips around the World >
- Plan your trip with our reviews of gay-friendly hotels worldwide >
Plan your day at the Finnish Design Sauna LÖYLY Helsinki
Address:
Löyly Helsinki
Hernesaarenranta 4
00150 Helsinki
Finland
Official Website: www.loylyhelsinki.fi/en/
Contact: Tel.: +358 9 61286550
Good to know:
Don’t forget to make a reservation well in advance. The design sauna experience Löyly is usually jam-packed and an internationally known institution for an extraordinary Finnish sauna adventure. If you are planning to visit in wintertime when the bay is frozen, don’t miss the chance to try ice swimming in an “avanto”, a hole in the ice for winter swimming (a popular hobby in Finland).
Do you like it? PIN IT!
Would you like to learn more about us, gay travel bloggers, and experience our queer adventures together with us? Then stay tuned and follow us on Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram! See you soon again in Scotland, Glasgow, or on one of our next Gay Pride trips worldwide!