Wear what the sign at the door says. In Canada, the US and the UK that almost always means a swimsuit or a wrapped towel; in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the single-sex saunas of Finland it means nothing at all, plus a towel to sit on. Three rules hold everywhere: shower first, keep a towel between your skin and the wood, and take off anything metal.
By Fuentes, founder of Lanoviss · October 2026
The surprise is where the strictest no-swimsuit rule lives, and it isn't Finland. Carita Harju, who heads the Finnish sauna-industry association Sauna from Finland, told the German news agency dpa that on her first visit to a mixed public sauna in Germany she walked in wearing a swimsuit and was told the cabin was a nude-only zone. In Finland, by her account, mixed nude bathing happens at home, within the family (dpa via Tageskarte).
What do people wear in a sauna in each country?
The real dividing line is mixed versus single-sex, not north versus south. Where men and women bathe separately, nudity is the norm almost everywhere; where they bathe together, it depends on the country.
| Country | Typical dress code | Mixed-sex sessions | Bring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | Nude in single-sex public saunas; swimsuits banned in swimming-pool saunas | Swimsuit or wrapped towel | Towel, seat cover (pefletti) |
| Sweden | Traditionally nude, not obligatory; pool saunas often ban swimsuits | Swimsuit | Small towel to sit on |
| Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland | Nude; swimwear is the faux pas | Common, and nude | Towel long enough for your whole body, sandals |
| Switzerland | Nude in the German-speaking north; swimwear in mixed saunas in Engadin, Ticino and Valais | Depends on the region | Same as Germany |
| Denmark, Norway, UK, France, Italy (except South Tyrol) | Swimwear | Swimwear | Swimsuit, towel |
| Russia (banya) | Nude or wrapped in a sheet, in separate men's and women's sections | Rare | Felt hat, plastic slippers, a sheet (prostynya) |
| Turkey (hammam) | A peştamal wrap over underwear or a swimsuit | No: separate hours or days | Slippers, a kese scrub mitt |
| Japan (onsen, sento) | Fully nude, single-sex; small towel kept out of the water | Rare | Small towel; check the tattoo policy |
| South Korea (jjimjilbang) | Nude in the single-sex baths; provided T-shirt and shorts in the co-ed sauna rooms | Yes, in uniform | Nothing: uniform and 2 small towels come with entry |
| Canada, US | Swimsuit at gyms, spas and community centres; single-sex banya nights are often nude | Swimsuit | Swimsuit, sandals, water bottle |
Sources: dpa (Europe), MyHelsinki, The Local, The Moscow Times, Daily Sabah, Japan National Tourism Organization, Seoul Tourism Guide, The Globe and Mail.
Why do Germans go to the sauna naked?
Hygiene, mostly, and a 1970s budget decision. Rolf-Andreas Pieper, managing director of the Deutscher Sauna-Bund (the German Sauna Association), says sauna bathing in textiles is unhygienic because swimwear carries faecal germs into the cabin. He also points out that the heat sanitises from the top down: on average around 10,000 colony-forming units on a sauna floor, against about 120 on the top bench (dpa via Tageskarte).
The mixed part is economics. In the 1970s, Pieper says, operators had to choose between buying everything twice, meaning two cabins, two rest rooms and two plunge pools, or running one sauna with separate days for men and women. Doubling was too expensive and split days left the rooms half empty, so the shared, textile-free sauna became the German standard.
In practice that means no swimsuit, a towel long enough that no skin touches the wood (feet included), and sandals left outside the cabin door. Canadian travel writer Carol Perehudoff learned the "no skin on wood" rule in the middle of an Aufguss in Bad Kreuznach, and notes that many German saunas still keep one women-only day a week (Wandering Carol).
Why are swimsuits banned in Finnish and Swedish pool saunas?
Because of what a swimsuit brings in from the pool, not because of the fabric. Helsinki's official visitor guide says swimsuits are forbidden in the single-sex saunas of public swimming pools "due to fumes they may cause in the heat" (MyHelsinki). The Local reports the same ban in Sweden for the same reason: pool chlorine vaporising off a wet suit (The Local).
Melting is not the issue. Polyester melts at around 252 °C and a Finnish sauna runs 80–100 °C at face height, a gap of more than 150 degrees; we went through the numbers in merino vs regular wool vs synthetic at 90 °C.
Mixed saunas flip the rule. Löyly, the waterfront complex in Helsinki with a smoke sauna and two wood-heated saunas, asks every guest to wear a swimsuit at all times because its saunas are shared (MyHelsinki). Most other mixed public saunas in the city accept a swimsuit or a wrapped towel, and the disposable seat covers you sit on are called pefletti.
What do you wear in a sauna in Canada or the US?
A swimsuit, in almost every public sauna. Gym and campus saunas often post it as a rule: the University of New Orleans' campus fitness-centre sauna lists "No nudity" directly above "Do not add water to rocks" (UNO).
Nordic spas work the same way. Scandinave Spa Whistler, about two hours north of Vancouver, puts a swimsuit ("one or even two") at the top of its what-to-bring list, includes a hooded robe and two towels, and asks guests to remove jewellery and glasses because of the sauna heat (Scandinave Spa). In the US, the eight-location chain Sauna House makes bathing suits mandatory for everyone (Sauna House).
The exception is the banya. The Globe and Mail found Russian banyas "hidden away inside suburban strip malls across the Greater Toronto Area," where patrons often skip swimsuits because nights are reserved for women or for men (The Globe and Mail). When a venue runs single-sex sessions, the dress code usually loosens with them, and the sign at the door will say so.
Can you wear gym clothes, a T-shirt or underwear in a sauna?
At home, wear whatever you like. In a public sauna, usually not: venues that require swimwear mean swimwear, and textile-free venues mean nothing. The objection to gym clothes and underwear is the same one Germany's sauna association makes about swimsuits, that fabric worn elsewhere carries sweat and germs onto shared benches, and German sauna-goers add that sweat can't evaporate through it (Wandering Carol).
Two places reverse the rule. Korean jjimjilbangs hand you a cotton T-shirt and shorts with your entry, typically ₩10,000–20,000 for 12 hours, and that uniform is what you wear in the co-ed sauna rooms (Seoul Tourism Guide). In a Turkish hammam, most bathers keep underwear or a swimsuit on under the peştamal, the cotton wrap everyone wears (Daily Sabah).
Whatever you wear, leave the metal behind. Zips, buckles, underwire and jewellery heat up with the room, which is why spas like Scandinave ask you to take jewellery off before the sauna.
What should you wear on your head and feet?
On your head, either nothing or a wool or felt hat. In a Russian banya the hat is standard kit: The Moscow Times' beginner's guide lists "a felt or wool hat for the steam room" next to plastic slippers, and you can buy a felt bannaya shapka at the ticket booth (The Moscow Times). At hot public saunas in Canada it is now unremarkable; what a sauna hat actually does is a separate question from whether it's polite.
Ours is pressed from a single piece of 3 mm, 100% merino felt, one size for heads of roughly 55–61 cm, at $59.99 CAD: the Lanoviss merino wool sauna hat. The usual worry with wool in heat is itch, and merino fibre is far finer than ordinary wool, so it bends against the skin instead of prickling it.
"Love these - so soft"
— Brigitte, verified Etsy buyer, August 2026
Tie long hair up; Korean bathhouses require it in the bath halls. On your feet, wear sandals or flip-flops between rooms, which Scandinave calls "strongly recommended." In German saunas they stay outside the cabin door, and inside, a towel goes under your feet as well.
What about a home sauna, an infrared cabin or a steam room?
In a home sauna, the household decides, and in Finland that is where mixed bathing without swimsuits actually happens. In an infrared cabin at a spa, the venue's sauna rules apply; Sauna House uses one dress code for both. In a steam room, wear a swimsuit and leave the wool hat outside: at close to 100% humidity it soaks through and stops insulating, as we explain in sauna vs banya vs steam room vs infrared.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to be naked in a sauna?
No. Nudity is the norm in German, Austrian and Dutch public saunas and in Finnish single-sex saunas, but most public saunas in Canada, the US and the UK require a swimsuit. Even where nudity is the norm, wrapping yourself in a towel is widely accepted.
Can you wear a swimsuit in a Finnish sauna?
In a mixed sauna, yes: most mixed public saunas in Helsinki accept a swimsuit or a towel, and Löyly requires one. In the single-sex saunas of public swimming pools, no; swimsuits are forbidden there because of the fumes they give off in the heat.
Why do some saunas ban swimsuits?
Hygiene and chlorine. Germany's sauna association says swimwear carries faecal germs into the cabin, and Finnish and Swedish pools ban suits because one fresh from the pool releases chlorine fumes in the heat. Melting is not the reason: polyester melts at around 252 °C.
Can you wear underwear in a sauna?
Not in a public sauna. Venues that require swimwear don't accept underwear, and textile-free saunas expect nothing at all. The exception is the Turkish hammam, where underwear or a swimsuit under the peştamal wrap is normal.
What should I wear to a Nordic spa in Canada?
A swimsuit and sandals. Scandinave Spa Whistler suggests bringing two swimsuits if you're booking a massage, provides a hooded robe and two towels, and asks you to remove jewellery and glasses before the sauna.
What do you wear in a Korean spa?
In a Korean jjimjilbang you are nude in the single-sex bath halls and wear the provided cotton T-shirt and shorts in the co-ed sauna rooms and lounges. The uniform and two small towels come with your entry ticket.
Should you wear a hat in a sauna?
It is optional everywhere and standard in a Russian banya, where felt or wool hats are part of the kit. In a hot, dry sauna a wool hat keeps the hottest air off your scalp; in a steam room it soaks through and does very little.
Fuentes is the founder of Lanoviss, which makes one product: a seamless 100% merino wool sauna hat, pressed from a single piece of 3 mm felt and shipped from Vancouver, British Columbia. Every external claim on this page links to its source. More about who makes it and why.
Related reading: sauna etiquette for your first time · sauna vs banya vs steam room vs infrared · the sauna hat size guide