Best Gay Saunas in Prague

Step out of Florenc metro on a grey autumn afternoon and Karlín is all rattling trams, wide pavements and pale nineteenth-century façades, the long boulevard of Sokolovská running east towards the river bend. Behind one of those doors, at number 44, the steam has been rising since 1992. Across town in Vršovice, a few minutes from the bars of Krymská, a smaller sauna keeps a quieter, neighbourhood rhythm. For the past three decades a visitor's Prague sauna night usually meant Babylonia, the big bathhouse in the Old Town; that era ended in summer 2026. What's left is honest and smaller: two men-only saunas, Sauna David and Sauna Bonbon, both local in feel and both worth knowing.

Legal in one line: sex between men has been legal in what is now Czechia since the early 1960s, with an equal age of consent of 15; registered partnership has existed since 2006, and an amendment in force since 1 January 2025 upgraded it into partnerství, with shared property, inheritance rights and adoption of a partner's child, but same-sex marriage and joint adoption are still not available. Gay saunas are legal private venues for adults.

Sauna David: Karlín's long-runner

Sauna David · Sokolovská 107/44, Karlín (Praha 8)

David is a club sauna for men only, 18 and over, and part of the appeal is that it doesn't feel like a big commercial bathhouse. misterb&b, which says it has been running since 1992 and was fully rebuilt in 2022, describes a warm, "home" atmosphere and a mostly mature crowd; Travel Gay calls it the longest-running gay sauna in Prague. Reviewers mostly put the regulars at 40-plus, with younger guests turning up too, and some quiet weeknights, so timing matters.

The heart of the place is the wine bar. The sauna pitches itself as a mix of relaxation and good Moravian wine, with draught beer, soft drinks and oven-baked pizza, and drinks go on your locker key, to be settled when you leave. Around it, on about 250 m² over two floors, are a Finnish sauna, a steam room and a whirlpool, plus dimly lit relaxation cabins, a video room and darkrooms. misterb&b says the sauna hosts bear and DJ events during Prague Pride week; a Saturday naked night has also been advertised, so check what's on before you go.

Hours and prices: the sauna's own website, gaysauna.cz, gives Sunday–Tuesday 11:00–22:00 and Wednesday–Saturday 11:00–24:00 (last entry 23:00), open daily including public holidays. At the time of writing, single entry with a locker and towel was around 450 Kč, or 350 Kč for 18- to 25-year-olds with ID, and there's a happy hour on weekdays from 15:00 to 16:00. Slippers are compulsory: bring your own or rent a pair at the desk. Payment is cash only. Phone: +420 739 231 515.

Getting there: Florenc metro (lines B and C) is the nearest station; Sokolovská is also on several tram lines.

Sauna Bonbon: small and local in Vršovice

Sauna Bonbon · Černomořská 645/6, Vršovice (Praha 10)

Bonbon is a small men's relaxation club (18+) in a residential street of Vršovice, south-east of the centre, near the Ruská tram stop. Inside there's a steam bath, a dry sauna and a whirlpool, private cabins, a TV lounge with cooling showers and a small bar, the only place where you can eat and drink. Reviewers consistently mention friendly staff, a cosy feel and a loyal crowd of local regulars; others have found evenings quiet and regulars slow to warm to newcomers, so go with open expectations.

Hours and prices: since September 2025 the sauna's website, saunabonbon.cz, has given daily 14:00–22:00, with last entry at 20:00, earlier than older listings suggest. Its price list for 2026 gives single entry at around 350 Kč, cash only. Every day has its offer: a naked party on Tuesdays and Thursdays (cheaper before 16:00), the "Stovka" bar discount on Wednesdays, a Friday happy hour from 16:00 to 17:00, a Junior Party on Saturdays for 18- to 25-year-olds and a partners' ticket for two on Sundays. Phone: +420 777 146 068.

Closed: Sauna Babylonia, Martinská 6 in the Old Town, open since 1998 and about 500 m², has closed permanently. LUI reported on 1 September 2026 that its website now carries only a short closure notice thanking customers; it had still been hosting foam and naked parties that summer. The operator gave no reason; unconfirmed reports say Prague 1, which owns the building, did not renew the lease. Some guides still list it as open. Sauna Labyrint (Pernerova, Karlín) closed in 2021, and older guides' Sauna Marco and Apollon in Vinohrady are long gone.

Sauna etiquette, the Czech way

Czechs take their saunas seriously. In an ordinary Czech sauna, at a pool or a wellness centre, you go in without swimwear, with just a towel or a sheet, you shower and dry off first, and you cool down with a cold shower or fresh air between rounds. The gay saunas follow the same basics, and David's visit rules spell them out:

• Shower before every round in the sauna, steam room or whirlpool, and use soap.
• Towel or bathrobe, no swimwear. Naked is fine; slippers are compulsory.
• No phones in the wet area, and filming is strictly banned. Leave your phone in the locker.
• No sex in the whirlpool, and no sauna, steam or whirlpool after you've been drinking. Staff can turn away anyone who arrives drunk or high.
• A "no" means no. A shake of the head or a hand moved away is enough; take it gracefully and move on. You can always say no yourself, walk away or leave a cabin or the darkroom.

Cash, ATMs and exchange

Czechia uses the koruna (CZK, Kč), not the euro, and both saunas take cash only, according to their own websites. David says there's an ATM next to the entrance, but it's simpler to withdraw on the way:

• Use an ATM attached to a bank branch. Standalone private machines such as Euronet tend to cost more.
• Skip the exchange booths along the tourist routes in the Old Town: they often advertise "0% commission" but give poor rates. Never change money with someone on the street.
• Always choose CZK. When an ATM or card terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, decline; the conversion rate is usually worse.

Make an evening of it

Karlín, around David: the old industrial district by the river has become one of Prague's livelier neighbourhoods. Prague's tourist board describes Křižíkova and Sokolovská as lined with cafés and bistros, Karlínské náměstí with its Saturday farmers' market by the Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius, and Forum Karlín, a former engineering works on Pernerova, now a concert hall. David opens late morning, so you can sweat in the afternoon and eat in Karlín. For dinner, do what Prague does: a pub where the beer keeps arriving until you put a beer mat on your glass, with smažený sýr (fried cheese with tartare sauce) or svíčková (beef in a creamy root-vegetable sauce with dumplings). Then take metro line C from Florenc two stops to Muzeum, a few steps from the gay pub U Rudolfa, or one more to I. P. Pavlova for Vinohrady.

Vršovice, around Bonbon: Bonbon closes early, so it's an afternoon sauna. Afterwards, Krymská street, within walking distance, has cafés and small bars to warm up in, and Vršovice borders Vinohrady, Prague's gay quarter, so the bars around Náměstí Míru and Vinohradská are a short tram ride or a walk away.

Cruise clubs: Prague's men-only cruise clubs are bars rather than saunas, with no steam or pools: Factory Club (Vinohradská 63) and Club Garage (Balbínova 3) in Vinohrady, and Drake's (Zborovská 50) in Smíchov. For their hours, and for The Saints, Bar 21, Termix and the rest of Vinohrady, see our Prague bars guide.

Keep it indoors. Some listings still point to cruising in parks. Sex in public places can be dealt with by the police as a public-order offence, and dark parks at night aren't where you want to be alone with a stranger. Use the saunas, the cruise clubs and the apps, and take a night tram or a Bolt or Uber home.

Practical tips

• Tickets: from 1 January 2026, PID charges 36 Kč for 30 minutes, 46 Kč for 90 minutes, 140 Kč for 24 hours and 340 Kč for 72 hours when bought in the PID Lítačka app; paper tickets cost more (39, 50, 150 and 350 Kč). Buy and activate the ticket before you board.
• Late nights: the metro stops around midnight; night trams then run through the night, with most lines meeting at Lazarská in the New Town. Check the Lítačka app for times. Bolt and Uber also operate.
• Apps: Grindr and Romeo are both used in Prague.
• Bring: flip-flops of your own if you'd rather not rent slippers, and your own condoms in case supplies run out.

Prague Pride

Prague Pride is held in August. The 16th edition ran from 3 to 9 August 2026 under the theme "Times Are Changing", with nearly 200 events. The parade was on Saturday 8 August: it set off from the lower end of Wenceslas Square, ran along Na Příkopě and Celetná, across Old Town Square and down Pařížská, then along the river and over Hlávkův Bridge to Štvanice island, where Pride Park moved from Letná for the first time. The festival website gives 2 to 8 August 2027 for the next edition; watch praguepride.com for the parade date.

A few words of Czech

• Ahoj – hi / bye. Díky – thanks. Na zdraví! – cheers!
• Vstupné – entry fee. Ceník – price list. Kolik to stojí? – how much is it?
• Otevírací doba – opening hours. Zavřeno – closed.
• Ručník – towel. Pantofle – slippers. Skříňka – locker.
• Pára – steam. Vířivka – hot tub. Sprcha – shower. Prostěradlo – sheet.
• Ne, díky – no, thanks.
• Hotovost – cash. Kartou? – by card?
• Partnerství – the legal partnership for same-sex couples.

At a glance

Frequently asked questions

Which gay saunas are open in Prague in 2026?

Two men-only saunas: Sauna David on Sokolovská in Karlín, near Florenc metro, and the smaller Sauna Bonbon in Vršovice, near the Ruská tram stop. Sauna Babylonia in the Old Town closed for good in summer 2026.

Is Sauna Babylonia in Prague closed?

Yes. LUI reported on 1 September 2026 that Babylonia's website now carries only a permanent closure notice thanking its customers. The operator has not given a reason.

What are Sauna David's opening hours and prices?

Its own website gives Sunday to Tuesday 11:00–22:00 and Wednesday to Saturday 11:00–24:00, with last entry at 23:00. Single entry was around 450 Kč at the time of writing, or 350 Kč for 18- to 25-year-olds, and payment is cash only.

What is Sauna Bonbon like?

A small neighbourhood sauna with a steam bath, a dry sauna, a whirlpool, private cabins and a bar, with a crowd of mostly local regulars. Its website gives daily hours of 14:00–22:00, last entry 20:00, and single entry around 350 Kč, cash only.

When is Prague Pride?

Every August. The 2026 festival ran from 3 to 9 August, and the parade ended at a new Pride Park on Štvanice island. The festival website gives 2 to 8 August 2027 for the next edition.

Part of the GayOut saunas series. See the full gay Prague guide for bars, hotels, restaurants and organisations.