Copenhagen changes character when the temperature drops.
The harbour gets quieter. The towels get thicker. And the quick summer dip turns into a ritual of cold water, hot sauna and that slightly addictive feeling of stepping back into the city afterwards.
For us, this is when Copenhagen’s relationship with the water becomes most interesting.
What was once an industrial harbour has, over the past decades, become one of the city’s most important public spaces. Swimming is now part of everyday life here, not only on warm summer afternoons, but throughout the year.
Morning dips before work. A quick swim after a run. Sauna with friends after dark. Coffee with wet hair afterwards.
This is life by urban waters.
Copenhagen now has a growing network of harbour baths, dipping zones and city saunas, making it easier than ever to turn cold water and heat into part of an ordinary weekday.
Here are a few of Team POND’s favourite places to get cold, warm up and repeat.
Stubkaj, Nordhavn
One of the newer additions to Copenhagen’s swimming map, Stubkaj offers a beautifully simple way to access the harbour.
The wooden pier is deliberately uncomplicated: somewhere to sit, look across the water and descend directly into the harbour.
In winter, that is basically everything you need.
Bring your swimmers, a towel and something warm for afterwards.
Google Maps: Stubkaj, Nordhavn
Analog Sauna, Nordhavn
Cold water is only half the ritual.
Our good friends at Analog Sauna have created a sauna experience in Nordhavn built around exactly the kind of contrast we love: heat, cold and a moment away from everyday noise without actually leaving the city.
Guided saunagus, cold water and a deliberate focus on slowing things down make Analog a particularly good place to disappear from your phone for an hour and come back feeling slightly reset.
Insider tip: Remember to sneak over to the marina pier for a dip in the open water. We think it beats the cold plunges. Just watch out for sharp objects around the safety ladders.
Sauna House, Nordhavn
Also in Nordhavn, our friends at Sauna House take Copenhagen sauna culture in another direction.
With multiple saunas, cold-water facilities, changing areas and regular saunagus, it makes heat and cold feel less like an occasional wellness experience and more like something that can simply become part of the week.
Which is very much an idea we can get behind.
Insider tip: Sauna House recently opened an additional changing room in the adjacent building. It makes for a much more comfortable experience.
Google Maps: Sauna House, Nordhavn
Svaneknoppen
For the more hardcore dippers.
Svaneknoppen sits on the northern edge of Copenhagen at Svanemølle Harbour, with open water, big skies and a surprisingly wild feeling for somewhere still very much inside the city.
The local winter-bathing club has been here for years and has its own sauna and changing facilities, but these are for members only. So unless you happen to be one of the lucky ones, Svaneknoppen is primarily about the cold water.
And honestly, that is enough.
The location is wonderful, especially on a clear winter morning. From the tip of Svaneknoppen, you look north across the water towards Copenhagen’s northern suburbs, with a wide horizon that suddenly makes the city feel very far away.
The perfect place for a quick, uncompromising dip when you do not need a hot sauna waiting for you afterwards.
Insider tip: This one is for the more seasoned winter dipper. Bring plenty of warm layers and something hot to drink afterwards, and always check the current bathing access and conditions before getting in.
Butchers Heat, Margretheholm
One of the originals.
Butchers Heat has been part of Copenhagen’s modern sauna scene since long before putting a cold plunge on Instagram became an acceptable personality trait.
Their stationary sauna sits directly by the water at Margretheholm Harbour, where guided gus sessions are broken into three rounds with pauses for cooling down in between. The location also gives you direct access to a proper harbour dip.
It is raw, maritime and slightly removed from the polished city around it.
Insider tip: At Butchers they fire the sauna with a wood-burning stove, and ‘sauna mama’ Kat really knows how to turn up the heat. Watch out!
Google Maps: Butchers Heat, Margretheholm
La Banchina, Refshaleøen
Hardly a secret anymore, but still one of Copenhagen’s great combinations of city, water, food and sauna.
The tiny waterfront spot has become something of a Copenhagen institution. In winter, its sauna and direct access to the harbour make it a natural destination for a cold dip followed by some serious warming up.
Insider tip: Go when the weather is slightly miserable. It somehow makes the whole thing better.
Sauna85, Rentemestervej
No harbour in sight, but definitely worth the bike ride.
Sauna85’s Rentemestervej location brings the hot-and-cold ritual into Copenhagen NV with guided saunagus, outdoor cold plunges and showers.
The team describes the experience as a kind of “forced meditation”: three rounds of heat, interrupted by breaks for cooling down and getting ready to go back in.
Insider tip: We like it because it proves that life by urban waters does not necessarily require an actual harbour outside the door. Sometimes a cold tub will do.
Google Maps: Sauna85, Rentemestervej
Kalvebod Bølge
Just across the harbour from Islands Brygge sits one of our favourite central Copenhagen dipping spots.
Kalvebod Bølge extends the city directly onto the water through its wooden decks, platforms and bathing areas.
In summer, it is made for lying around between swims. In winter, it becomes something altogether calmer: cold water, city lights and very few excuses not to get in.
Its central location makes it an easy option for an early morning plunge, a swim during lunch or a quick after-work dip.
Insider tip: Bring something warm, as there is not much service close by.
HOW TO DO A PROPER POND SAUNA
We have spent enough mornings, evenings and slightly overenthusiastic gus sessions around Copenhagen to have made most of the rookie mistakes.
So here is the unofficial POND guide.
Not to sauna scientifically.
Just to sauna well.
WHEN TO GO
06.30: Before the city wakes up
Our favourite.
Go when Copenhagen is still completely dark.
Step into the heat while most people are asleep, get properly cold between rounds and emerge just as the streets and harbour start waking up.
Then coffee. Maybe a morning bun with cheese.
It is difficult to have a bad day afterwards.
16.30: The after-work reset
Close the laptop. Get on the bike. Go directly to the sauna.
An hour of heat, cold and very little conversation about work creates a remarkably effective dividing line between the working day and whatever comes next.
You still have the entire evening ahead of you and, importantly, time for a proper meal afterwards.
20.00: Late, but not too late
There is something particularly good about sauna after dark.
The city is quieter. The cold feels colder. The sauna feels warmer.
We like going around 20.00 rather than very late at night. It leaves a little time afterwards to cool down, hydrate and let the body settle before bed.
WHAT TO BRING
A proper towel
For drying yourself between dips and afterwards.
A small sitting towel
Your sauna neighbours will appreciate it. Some venues also require one.
Flip-flops
Particularly in winter. The ground outside the sauna can be brutally cold.
A drinking bottle
You are going to sweat. How much varies considerably between people and sessions, so forget trying to calculate it and simply arrive well hydrated and keep drinking during the breaks.
Electrolytes
Useful for longer or particularly sweaty sessions, especially if the sauna does not provide them. Water remains the important bit.
Swimwear
Obviously.
Urban saunas generally require swimwear, Copenhagen not being Finland just yet.
We prefer brief or short swimwear styles for sauna sessions. They carry less water out of the plunge than long, loose swimming trunks and leave less cold, wet fabric sitting against your legs when you return to the heat.
For the men, this is one of those occasions where a swim brief simply makes a lot of sense.
POND’S SAUNA TIPS
1. Arrive hydrated
Do not try to fix an entire day of not drinking water five minutes before the gus.
Drink properly beforehand, ideally beginning well before the session, and keep drinking water during the breaks.
2. Keep it down in the sauna
A gus is a pretty good place not to discuss your weekend plans at full volume.
Enjoy the heat. Enjoy the music. Talk during the breaks.
3. Start low or in the middle
Heat rises.
If you are new to gus, start on a lower or middle bench and see how your body reacts. You can always move up if you want more heat.
Moving down is not defeat.
It is literally what the benches are there for.
4. The first round often feels the hardest
Your first encounter with the heat can feel surprisingly intense.
Give yourself time to settle into the session, but do not force yourself through discomfort just because everyone else looks relaxed.
5. There is absolutely no shame in moving down
Middle bench.
Bottom bench.
Tiny stool on the floor.
All legitimate.
Nobody wins saunagus.
6. Leave if it feels like too much
This one is important.
If you feel unwell, excessively light-headed, nauseous or simply feel that something is not right, leave the sauna and cool down.
The gusmaster has seen it before.
7. Feeling dizzy? Sit or lie down safely
Do not try to style it out.
Get somewhere safe, sit or lie down, cool off and tell someone around you or a member of staff.
8. Shower before the cold plunge
Follow the hygiene rules of the sauna you are visiting and shower before entering communal plunge pools where required.
Your fellow dippers will thank you.
9. The cold plunge is not a competition
This may be the most important lesson we have learned from friends who stayed in significantly longer than they should have.
You do not get extra points for suffering.
Get in. Breathe. Enjoy the cold. Get out while you still feel in control.
Especially in winter, very cold water can affect you quickly, and cooling can continue after you leave the water.
Listen to your body.
10. Repeat only if it still feels good
Hot. Cold. Rest. Maybe again. The objective is not to complete a predetermined number of rounds. The objective is to leave feeling better than when you arrived.
For life by urban waters.
