What Is a Russian Banya? (And Where to Find One in the US)

A banya is a Russian bathhouse. You sit in a very hot room heated by a big stone oven, get whisked with a bundle of leafy birch or oak branches called a venik, cool off in cold water, and rest between rounds, often with tea. In the US you'll also hear "Russian bath" or "Russian and Turkish baths" for the same kind of place.

As of November 2026, our directory lists 19 bathhouses in 10 states that run a Russian-style hot room. They're listed below, with what each one offers for whisking and what a day pass costs.

What a banya is

The heart of a banya is the hot room, the parilka. In her review of Ethan Pollock's history of the Russian bathhouse in the New York Review of Books, Rachel Polonsky describes it as a wooden room where a stove heats a pile of stones. Once they're red-hot, water is thrown on them to raise steam. Afterward, bathers cool down by pouring icy water over their heads or rolling in the snow.

The tradition is old. The same review quotes the medieval Primary Chronicle, in which the Apostle Andrew says of the bathers he saw: "They make of the act not a mere washing but a veritable torment."

Some American banyas go back more than a century. The Russian & Turkish Baths in New York's East Village has been open since 1892, and the Chicago Bath House on Division Street since 1906.

Banya vs. Finnish sauna vs. steam room

All three are hot rooms, but the heat feels different. The Chicago Bath House explains its own room well: boulders "approximately the size of watermelons" are heated in a brick or granite oven, and water thrown on them turns to steam. The result, in its words, is "a much dryer heat than common steam rooms, but not as dry as traditional Finnish saunas."

The published numbers show the gap. World Spa in Brooklyn lists its Grand Banya at 176°F to 194°F and 60% humidity. Banya 5 in Seattle describes its Turkish steam room as a "moist 113 degree heat." Our listing for Archimedes Banya in San Francisco records its Russian room at 200°F.

For a longer comparison of dry and wet heat, see our sauna vs. steam room guide.

How a banya visit works

Each banya sets its own rules. For first-timers, the Archimedes Banya guide suggests:

• Keep your first stay in the hot room to 10 minutes or less.
• Plan on two or three rounds in the Russian room. That's usually enough.
• Rest between rounds. Archimedes calls the rest "an integral part of banya experience," and there's no rush to go back in.
• Drink tea, water or juice to replace what you sweat out.
• Skip the cold plunge if you have high blood pressure or a heart condition.

Archimedes also recommends a banya hat to help you adjust to the heat, and Lake Steam in Denver sells felted wool sauna hats. Our sauna hat guide covers what to buy.

Whisking and platza

A venik session done by an attendant is usually called a platza. Archimedes says a venik can be birch, oak, conifer or eucalyptus, soaked in warm water for 10 to 25 minutes first. The Chicago Bath House describes how it's done there: you lie on a sheet while an attendant scrubs you front and back with a birch broom or a bundle of oak twigs, then douses you with cold water. Its traditional platza takes 15 to 20 minutes.

Where venues post a price, platza costs $35 to $80: $35 for oak-leaf platza at Forest Hills Spa in Queens, $60 for 15 minutes at Wall Street Bath & Spa 88, $60 at Mermaid Spa, $50 at the Chicago Bath House, and $80 for a full or $50 for a half platza at Kelo Spa near Boston.

Ask before bringing your own branches. Banya in Everett, Washington, posts "No Outside Veniks Permitted" on its website, and our listing notes it sells them. Lake Steam sells veniki too, and our listing says you can bring your own if you clean up after yourself.

Banyas in the US

These are the 19 places in our directory whose own websites describe a Russian banya, a Russian hot room or platza, as of November 2026. Day passes come from each venue's website, checked October 15 to 18, 2026 (November 3 for Forest Hills Spa and Beach Banya). "See website" means the venue doesn't post a price we could confirm.

A few notes on that list. Everett's price depends on the time of day and whether you book ahead. Beach Banya, inside the Red Pelican bar in Hollywood, takes walk-ins only during public hours on three days a week, and its price is before tax and an 18% service charge. Bear Banya's website calls its parilka a Russian steam bath on one page and infrared on another, so ask what kind of heat it is before you book.

New York has the most, with six in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Washington has three, all around Puget Sound. Texas and Florida have two each.

What our data shows

Whisking is the norm. 17 of the 19 offer it in some form. Banya 5's website doesn't mention whisking, and our Marlboro Banya listing doesn't record it either way. Across the whole directory, 32 places are marked as allowing whisking. You can search for them here, and they include mobile saunas and Nordic-style spas as well as banyas.

Almost all have cold water. 18 of the 19 have a cold plunge pool or tub. The exception is Tacoma Banya: its website lists a tepid pool and no cold plunge, so don't count on ice water there. If cold water matters to you, our cold plunge temperature guide explains what the numbers mean.

The name alone can mislead. One listing called simply "Banya," in Birmingham, Michigan, is an infrared sauna and cold plunge studio, so we left it off this list.

Is a banya co-ed, and what do you wear?

Most US banyas are co-ed with swimsuits. 17 of the 19 have co-ed hours, and our listings mark 12 of those as swimsuit-required in co-ed areas. The Russian & Turkish Baths in New York says "You must be covered during co-ed hours," and Banya 5 requires swimwear, with no cotton shorts or underwear.

Some set aside single-gender or nude times. The New York baths are men only on Thursday afternoons and Sunday mornings, and Brooklyn Banya has men-only hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Kelo Spa near Boston has no co-ed hours: its schedule makes every day men only or women only, apart from private bookings on weekend evenings. Lake Steam also runs separate days for men and women and calls itself "a nude Russian sauna since 1927," though a swimsuit or a rented towel is fine. At Archimedes Banya, the banya floor is clothing optional after 6 p.m. daily and all day on Wednesdays and Fridays.

What to bring

• A swimsuit, unless you're going during a single-gender or clothing-optional time.
• Flip-flops, if your banya doesn't provide them.
• A felt hat, or plan to rent or buy one there.
• A water bottle (Banya 5 asks for non-glass).
• ID: the New York baths and Banya 5 are 18 and over, and Banya 5 asks for proof of age.

Some banyas include the basics with admission. The New York baths provide robes, towels, shorts and slippers, the Chicago Bath House provides robes, towels and slippers, and Banya 5 gives you two towels and flip-flops.

Before you go, check the hours, since many banyas change their rules by the day. Every banya above has a page in our directory listing its rooms and what we know about its rules, like the Chicago Bath House listing.

FAQ

What is a banya?

A banya is a Russian bathhouse. Its center is a hot room called a parilka, heated by a stone oven, where bathers steam, get whisked with a leafy venik, then cool off in cold water and rest between rounds.

How hot is a banya?

Hot. World Spa in Brooklyn lists its main banya at 176°F to 194°F with 60% humidity, and our listing for Archimedes Banya in San Francisco records 200°F for its Russian room.

What is a banya hat for?

It helps you handle the heat of the hot room. Archimedes Banya in San Francisco recommends wearing one, and Lake Steam in Denver sells felted wool sauna hats.

Is a banya co-ed?

Most are. 17 of the 19 banyas in our directory have co-ed hours, and our listings mark 12 of those as swimsuit-required in co-ed areas. Lake Steam in Denver and Kelo Spa near Boston have no co-ed hours: they run separate days for men and women.

What do you wear in a banya?

A swimsuit during co-ed hours, a felt hat in the hot room, and flip-flops. Some banyas, like the Russian & Turkish Baths in New York, provide robes, towels and slippers. Nudity is allowed only in certain areas or at certain times, like men-only hours or clothing-optional evenings.

How much does a banya cost?

Day passes at the US banyas that post prices run from $32 at Lake Steam in Denver to $89 for a walk-in at Kelo Spa near Boston, and most are $50 to $70. Where a platza price is posted, it's $35 to $80 extra.