If you like a bit of bathhouse action, then the saunas of Europe are likely to figure high on your gay travel wish list.
While brushing up on our best gay sauna tips is a good starting point, there are some cultural differences between gay saunas in North America and those that you’ll find in Europe.
We’ve done some research on this subject, so here are some of the bathhouse destinations that you might want to include in your European itinerary.
SunCity – Paris, France
While the French bring plenty of attitude to everything they do, the SunCity bathhouse is surprisingly easy to navigate.
You’ll find SunCity on Boulevard de Sébastopol, which is in the gay neighbourhood of Le Marais.
The staff is generally fairly accommodating of tourists—if your French is a bit rusty, you’ll be able to figure things out in English. At check-in, you’ll get a locker and a towel.
Known for their regular pool parties, SunCity has all the wet area facilities you’d expect and gay dark rooms.
There are no gay douching stations at SunCity, so make sure that you’re feeling clean and confident before you leave your hotel.
As well as all the play areas, the bathhouse has a bar and a lounge area. There’s also a gym area if you fancy some hot gay gym cruising.
Sauna Nieuwezijds – Amsterdam, Netherlands
If you’ve read the report from our Certified Travelling Slut Phil, you might be feeling inspired to sample the delights of Sauna Nieuwezijds in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is a compact city, so you can pretty much walk anywhere you need to go – although the network of canals can sometimes make it difficult to get your bearings.
Amsterdam is relatively straightforward for visitors —it’s an international city that attracts visitors from all over the world, and English is widely spoken.
Locals are direct and to the point. That can sometimes feel a bit abrupt or cold – for example, the staff at the sauna may not seem particularly friendly – but they’re just being efficient.
Once you’ve found your locker and got naked, it’s a good idea to explore and get a feel for the layout of the bathhouse. As expected, this venue has cubicles, glory holes, and a dark room.
The wet areas include a jacuzzi, steam room, and communal showers.
Because of the city’s international nature, you can expect to encounter European and Middle Eastern men, as well as plenty of local guys.
SweatBox Soho – London, England
A couple of the big bathhouses in London have closed in recent years, but SweatBox – centrally located in the gay neighbourhood of Soho – is still going strong.
While in-house massage therapists aren’t common in North American gay saunas, booking in for a massage is still a feature of a visit to a sauna in London. Just because you’re in a sex-on-premises venue, however, doesn’t mean that your massage is going to come with a happy ending. The local laws about sex work are a bit complicated, but if you want a proper erotic gay massage, then you’re better off booking that privately rather than through an establishment such as a bathhouse.
The check-in process at Sweatbox is a bit complicated. Because of some issues in the past, the venue has had to introduce quite strict drug-control policies. This means you have to keep your phone in a lockbox behind reception, and you can’t return to your locker until you’re ready to leave. The staff are generally pretty friendly and will explain all of this to you, but it still takes some getting your head around.
One of the features of Sweatbox is the large jacuzzi in the ground-floor bar area. This is a social area, so there’s no sex in the jacuzzi. All of the action happens downstairs, with a big steam room and a maze of cubicles.
The gym at Sweatbox is pretty well equipped, and they offer regular naked workout sessions, which are fun.
Trombeta Bath – Lisbon, Portugal
The bathhouse experience in Portugal can be a bit hit or miss – while Lisbon is a very liberal city in many respects, Portugal is still quite a socially conservative country, so a sex-on-premises venue such as Trombeta is a fairly discrete kind of experience.
This discrete vibe extends to the staff. If you’re used to American-style service – all smiles, personality, and upbeat energy – you will get the opposite in Portugal. Don’t take it personally, it’s just a different vibe.
While entry to the bathhouse is at street level, everything inside is downstairs—you’ll find a dry sauna, a steam room, a darkroom, and a lounge area.
Maybe it’s because a lot of the local guys there seem to be on the down-low, and most of the action seems to happen in the darkroom – if your fantasy is to get gang-banged by anonymous hairy men who don’t talk much, this could be what you’re looking for.
Got any favourite European bathhouses that you feel should have been included in our list? Jump into the comments below and share your expertise and experiences with the world!
There’s nowhere like the Kaiserbrundl in Vienna. I call it the Neuschwantein of saunas. It’s a 19th century three floor maze in Moorish style, a phantasmagoria of colonnades, arches, finials, stairs, cabins, erotic murals – and hot European men.
I reccomend H2O in Benidorm, Valencia Spain.
Also in Spain Cleopatras in Barcelona.