In 2008 one of the gondola cabins at Ylläs was a sauna. It was heated through a power socket, the bathers rode in swimsuits with warm clothes on board, and there was a fire extinguisher. Thirteen minutes, up and down.

Saunas have gone into buses, boats and even bicycles. Then Helsinki made one go round: a 40-metre Ferris wheel by the harbour, with one wooden gondola that is a sauna for four or five people. One lap takes about twelve minutes. On a Saturday the hour costs 320 euros.

So who was first? Helsinki calls its SkySauna the first sauna on a Ferris wheel. Ylläs calls its cabin the only sauna in a gondola lift in the world. Both are right. Different machines.

There is just one small detail. The Ferris wheel sauna is closed in winter, November to March. In Finland.

A Finn hears this and nods slowly. Then he walks home, to a sauna that does not close.

Would you ride it?

Sources: SkyWheel Helsinki, skywheel.fi (SkySauna prices and the November to March closure, 2026); Wikipedia, Finnair SkyWheel and Ylläs; Vol.at, 30 July 2008, on Doppelmayr's sauna gondola at Ylläs. The "world firsts" are each venue's own claim.
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