Saunas in Berlin

Hi ya!

I’ve just had a hell of a week that got the best of me . I would love to wind down a bit and feed my brain some goodies. So, all I need a nice hot Finnish sauna, but I'm not in the mood for trial and error.

Could somebody recommend a neat one?

Cheers

There's a great one in Bitterfeld high street.

Depends on what you're looking for. There's nice luxurious "Saunalandschaft" in "blub", a big privately-owned swimming pool complex. U-Bahn Grenzallee. Closer in, Rykestrasse 10 in Prenzlauer Berg; Olivin, Schönhauser Allee 177... and many many more. Here's a website with a few of the more interesting ones.

There's the Thermen Europa Centre. Which is very good. Four saunas and four steam rooms. Plus spa pools and a swimming pool. And there's a Damfbad and another sauna out in the Sauna Garten(though I think this is is closed in mid Winter).

Another recommendation for you is the Winter Badeschiff. Which is very cool. As it's on the River Spree and you get a panoramic view from the saunas. There are only two saunas(both heated to 95C) and a swimming pool. Plus a bar and relaxation area. But it's a great place. I went there last month and loved the place. Attracts a generally young crowd. http://www.kulturarena-berlin.de/609.aspx

And as allready mentioned the Sauna Blub. Buskragelle 64. U-Bahn stop Grenzallee. A good number of saunas of varying temperatures, and a damfbad. Plus (small) swimming pool and two spa pools.

The Europa Centre Thermen has gotten a reputation as a hangout for Russian mafia. I don't know if that's still the case.

No, the Thermen Europa Centre is good. Haven't seen any Russian mafia there.

But for anyone unaquainted with saunas in Germany, avoid weekday daytimes(up till about 4pm) as they're dominated with OAP's! Unless of course you are of the more advanced age. Or don't mind this.

OAP??? Please refrain from using abbreviations not everybody understands.

OAP's= Old Age Pensioners. Or Senior Citizens.

I very very highly recommend this place:
www.kristall-saunatherme-ludwigsfelde.de

Its beautiful, and huge, and i would feel completely comfortable going there by myself, as a young woman.

The only problem is that its a bit far out, however, there is some sort of taxi-carpool that i saw advertised recently when i was there. it is cheap and picks up from the hauptbanhof. i dont remember the details though, so you may want to call, if you dont have your own car.

Thanks for that recommendation Stumbellina. Looks good that place. Anyone else have any recommendations for saunas in Berlin, please let us know. Whenever I goto Berlin, my three sauna hang-outs are Thermen Europa Centre, Sauna Blub, and the Winter Badeschiff. But wouldn't mind trying another one.

I love the German saunas. The ones we have in England are complete rubbish by comparison. Just wish we had some like the German saunas. The only ones which are any good are the travelling ones which are at some of the Summer festivals.

I notice you said you'd be comfortable going to the sauna you mentioned as a young woman. Is there saunas in Berlin that you wouldn't feel comfortable going to as a young woman then? As I thought you wouldn't get any problems of guys following you round, being a nuisance, or whatever in the German saunas?

Eh? You "feel completely comfortable going there by myself, as a young woman"?

Wait a minute, are the saunas actually gender mixed in Germany?

I assume this is not a serious question

They are indeed. Unless you go to one of those funny ones...

Funny ha ha or do you mean the Gay ones?

They certainly are, and it's considered 100% socially acceptable to be naked in the presence of members of the opposite sex even if you're not otherwise a naturist ie someone who would go nude on the beach. This applies to standalone saunas as well as those in hotels and fitness centres. Most saunas offer some "Damenstunden" or maybe "Männerstunden" but are otherwise assumed to be mixed. By the way, wearing anything aside from a towel is frowned upon, and if you go in a bathing suit or bikini bottom, you may be asked to remove it or leave.

Leave your modesty in the locker, along with your clothes.

No one is going to point at you or make fun of you because you're naked. And it being mixed as well, well everyone's in the same boat, everyone's naked. There is no need to be embarassed. The German's treat it all very naturally.

Is quite funny when I've been at the Therman Europa Centre on a few occasions, and some people(most likely non German, and not used to sauna etiquette in Germany) enter the complex in their swimwear and they see a load of naked people walking about. Their faces and reactions to this are an absolute picture. It could make a brilliant scene from one of those hidden camera show things that you see on telly.

I suggest you try it and see how you get on. And if in the unlikely event that you didn't enjoy the experience, well at least you tried it.

Saunas in fitness centres in Germany can vary a bit. Allthough the nudity compulsary rule still applies, they are not all strictly mixed. Some places may have single sex saunas in the male and female locker rooms. Some may have a mixed sauna(and maybe steam room), but there also being a female only sauna area as well. And some may indeed be truly mixed.

Hmmm... funny.

In Sweden all saunas are in the large public swimming/sporting halls (almost all of them owned by the city), and connected with the showers/dressing rooms. And they are (very) gender separated. If one would try to mix with the opposite gender in a sauna you definitely would get thrown out, and probably arrested for sexual harassment.

So gender mixed saunas are completely new to me.

I thought Germany was a pretty conservative country. I might have to revaluate that a bit.

Actually I was surprised how conservative Sweden is in this regard, after long being used to Germany's sauna culture. The taboo against mixed nudity has become so weak that I've noticed that swimming complexes in northern Germany (not Berlin) don't seem to have gender-separated changing areas any more. There are privacy booths available for those who are modest, but most people seem to just simply change out in the open. I've seen this in several places on the Baltic (in the former West) and in Hamburg.

I quite like the Stadtbad Neukoelln. Often close to empty, and a really nice saunalandschaft.

Hi All,
Came across this and have only just come back myself from Berlin, so a few lines. As previous poster I have been to Thermen Europe , Sauna Blub and Winter Badeschiff, I would highly recommend all 3 (favourite is Thermen). You should plan to spend the best part of each day at each location, on average I paid about £5 - £10 (15 euro), there are many hotels on route, having spent several years in Berlin, I would highly recommend these 2 hotels
Melia Hotel
Artist Riverside Hotel & Spa

Book at http://www.speedyroom.co.uk

Each have there own Sauna and fitness (better than most places where I have paid).

Back soon, will update again

Have done a search for sauna in Bitterfield High Street Berlin. Doesn't get me anywhere. What is the name of this sauna please? Is it a big spa centre comparable to the likes of Thermen Europe and Sauna with multiple saunas, steams rooms, etc. Or is it more like one of those places where it's literally just one or two saunas and showers?

I've had a crappy week and am quite tempted to try the Thermen center - bit of swimming, bit of sauna-ing, total chill out. Just wanted to check though, this is one that is totally nude right? from sauna to swimming pool?! Its doesnt bother me, in fact would probably more convenient because it would mean i wouldnt have to go and buy a swimsuit

Yes the sauna and spa area is nude only. Swimming pool is clothing optional.

I have been to the Badeschiff, which others have also recommended. But the one I most frequent is Olivin, which I like for its intimate, small setting; the tranquil-theme of its design; and the outdoor bamboo garden. One sauna room, co-ed lockers and sauna (except one 'Frauentag' each week) and conveniently across from Senefelderplatz station in Prenzlauer Berg.

Has anyone tried the Liquidrom?

If so, what do you think of it? How many different sauna and steam rooms does it has inside? Or is it more really the swimming pool as the main attraction? Is it actually nudity mandatory in the sauna and steam rooms or must swimwear be worn? I ask that as the website has a picture of a woman appear to be lieing in the steam room with swimwear? But maybe this picture is just for decency purposes. I was thinking of going last weekend, but as I didn't have any swimwear with me I wasn't sure about the rules.

For single-sex, specifically gay saunas, the Appollo and Steam are the best options. They're both in Kurfrstenstrasse, two mins walk from Witenbergplatz, pretty much opposite the entrance to the Zoo's Aquarium. Clean, chilled, with bar and food available round the clock. For a few extra euros you can buy a personal cabin. Best time to go Friday and Saturday nights ( or the Berlin version of that, ie 3 o'clock in the morning!). There's another one called the Gate Sauna which I believe is in Wilhelmstrasse... a bit clinical and featureless, but some people like it, and it gets a lot of travellers and tourists. The gay listings mag Siegessaule has all the details, opening hours etc.