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Gay Saunas in Catania: The Honest 2026 Guide

Last verified: October 2026 · Compiled from venue checks and local and international sources from 2025–2026 · Report a change

Catania is built from its volcano: churches and palazzi of black lava stone, Etna smoking quietly above the rooftops, the Liotru, a lava-stone elephant carrying an obelisk, standing guard in Piazza del Duomo, and the morning din of the Pescheria, the fish market behind the cathedral, where swordfish heads stare up from beds of ice. Breakfast is a granita with a warm brioche, lunch an arancino eaten standing up, and the evening passeggiata runs up and down Via Etnea. The gay sauna scene is small and close to the station: two men-only saunas a short walk apart. Terme di Achille is the steady, well-reviewed one; South Factory Club (SFC) is bigger, but recent visitors are split on it.

Legal in one line: Sex between men has been legal in Italy since 1890, and same-sex civil unions since 2016, though there is no full marriage or joint adoption, and no national hate-crime law covering sexual orientation. Gay saunas operate legally as private members' clubs, which is why you'll be asked for a membership card.

The card you'll need: ANDDOS, now ARCO

Italian gay saunas and cruise clubs are run as private associations, so entry is for members. Many guides, including some venue listings, still talk about the ANDDOS card; in 2026 the main network is ARCO, with its One Pass app, and Italian sources note that both names are still used loosely.

• You join in person at a club, with valid photo ID; it can't be done fully online.
• A standard card is valid for 365 days across ARCO's national network of clubs. Non-Italian citizens can take a Travel Card valid for 90 days.
• Fees are set by each club, and not every club issues every type of card. As a rough guide, a Milan sauna charged €17 a year for the national card in 2026.

In Catania, Terme di Achille and the cruise bar Codice Rosso are on ARCO's club list. SFC is not; GayOut's listing mentions the "usual ANDDOS card", so ask at the door which card it issues and whether it accepts one from elsewhere.

Terme di Achille: the reliable one by the station

Terme di Achille, at Via Tezzano 13, is a couple of minutes' walk from Catania Centrale station and has been running as a men-only gay sauna since 2005. It's on two floors and isn't large, but it's well kept. According to its own website and other listings, you'll find:

• a Finnish sauna, a Turkish bath and a hydromassage pool with chromotherapy;
• upstairs: a darkroom, a labyrinth, glory holes, relax cabins, a video room and a massage room;
• a lounge bar, a smoking area and air-conditioned rooms;
• a free buffet, and an apericena (aperitivo with food) on Sundays and public holidays.

Hours: its website and ARCO both give 14:00–22:00, every day. A visitor in 2024 found it already closed at about 20:25, so don't leave it too late.

Prices and card: no price list is published. In 2025, one visitor paid €15 on a weekday without a card and said the annual club card gives a discount; another paid €20. ARCO lists it as a member club where membership is required. Several visitors in 2025 and 2026 say it's cash only, and more than one reports their ID or passport being kept at reception until they left. Visitors say towels and flip-flops are provided.

What visitors say: reviews through 2025 and 2026 are mostly warm: clean, friendly staff, hot showers and pool, and a mixed-age crowd (one visitor put it at roughly early 30s to early 70s). It can be busy on Sunday afternoons and some weekday afternoons, and quiet at other times. Reception may speak only Italian. Two reviewers praise the in-house masseur. One April 2026 visitor complained about how they were treated at the door.

South Factory Club (SFC): bigger, but check first

South Factory Club, known locally as SFC, is on Via Fischetti, a quiet side street near the seaward end of Via San Giuliano. Most sources give number 10; GayOut's listing gives 12. It describes itself as one of the largest gay saunas in southern Italy:

• ground floor: a large hydromassage pool (said to hold about 20 men), a Finnish sauna and a Turkish bath;
• upstairs: private cabins, a video room, massage rooms, a labyrinth, darkrooms, a sling and glory-hole rooms;
• a bar, a smoking area and an outdoor courtyard;
• a naked party on Fridays, according to Travel Gay and misterb&b.

Hours: open daily from the afternoon, but listings disagree on times: 14:30–20:30, 14:45–21:30, 14:00–21:00, and longer hours elsewhere. Phone the club before you go: its website gives mobile 351 815 7808 and southfactoryclub@gmail.com.

Prices: a July 2025 review gave €12 Monday to Thursday and €15 Friday to Sunday. Older reviews mention €15.

Know before you go: SFC's reputation goes up and down with its management. In spring 2025, several reviewers praised a new manager and found it clean, warm and lively. From October 2025 to March 2026, though, visitors reported a cold pool, no heating, broken showers and very few customers, some leaving within minutes. A June 2026 visitor found everything hot and clean again. It seems to be still trading in 2026, but conditions vary, especially in winter.

A dry alternative: Codice Rosso

Codice Rosso, at Via Conte Ruggero 48, is a men-only cruising bar with cabins, darkrooms and slings, plus occasional theme nights. Travel Gay says it was founded in 2005 and describes it as Sicily's first cruising bar. ARCO gives its hours as Wednesday to Sunday from 21:00 to 02:00, and until 04:00 on Saturdays, closed Monday and Tuesday. It's an ARCO club, so the same card works. Combine it with a late-afternoon sauna for a full Catania night.

Name confusion: some guides and older GayOut records mention a "Sauna Zeus" in Catania. We found no venue trading under that name in 2026. The two saunas open today are Terme di Achille and SFC. A February 2026 reviewer even called Terme di Achille the only sauna left in the city, but SFC was still being reviewed by visitors in March and June 2026.

Keep it indoors. GayOut and other directories list outdoor cruising in Catania, including in Villa Bellini and on the dunes south of the city. Sex in a public place is illegal in Italy and can bring fines of thousands of euros, or criminal charges near places used by minors. The saunas and Codice Rosso are the safe, legal options. The streets around the central station are quiet and poorly lit late at night, so take a taxi rather than walking long distances alone.

A beach day: Marianelli

In summer, the best-known naturist beach in eastern Sicily is Marianelli, inside the Vendicari nature reserve near Noto, roughly 100 km south of Catania (well over an hour by car), then about a 20-minute walk from the parking area through the reserve. It's a long, wild, sandy beach with no services, and it's popular with naturists and gay men, especially at weekends. Note that naturism here is customary, not officially authorised: local media list it among Sicily's unofficial naturist beaches. Sunbathe naked if you like, be discreet, bring water and shade, and respect the reserve's rules. The same indoors-only advice applies to anything more.

A Catania afternoon

The saunas open in the early afternoon, so make a day of it. Start at the Pescheria behind Piazza del Duomo while the stalls are still shouting, then have pasta alla Norma, with aubergine and salted ricotta, for lunch. Walk up Via Etnea towards Villa Bellini, with Etna at the end of the street on a clear day, and take a granita with a warm brioche col tuppo before you head to the sauna: pistachio or almond are the classics, and Savia, on Via Etnea opposite Villa Bellini, is one of the city's best-known places to order one. Aperitivo starts in the bars around Piazza Bellini and the Teatro Massimo. Later, the streets around Castello Ursino are known for grilled horse meat. For a drink, Hasta Siempre, also known as Nievski, on the Scalinata Alessi steps, is the historic LGBTQ+-friendly meeting place.

Practical tips

• Cash and ID: bring euros in small notes and your passport or ID card. You'll need ID for the membership card, and Terme di Achille may hold it at reception.
• Getting there: Terme di Achille is right by Catania Centrale station, and SFC is a short walk away, roughly 500 metres according to the listed map coordinates. The Alibus from Fontanarossa airport stops at the station.
• Timing: both saunas are daytime and early-evening venues, and both close by about 21:00–22:00. Aim for roughly 16:00 to 19:00, or Sunday afternoon at Terme di Achille, rather than after dinner.
• Language: reception staff may speak only Italian, so a few words help (see below).
• Further afield: in Palermo, Maxximum Time, at Piazzetta San Giuliano 10 in the old town near the Teatro Massimo, is also an ARCO club, so a card from Catania works there too.
• Community: Arcigay Catania runs a busy calendar of events, and ARCO says its network offers free HIV and STI testing.

Catania Pride

Catania Pride 2026 ran from 24 to 27 June, under the theme "Diritti, libertà ed inclusione" (rights, freedom and inclusion). The parade was on Saturday 27 June, leaving Piazza Cavour, known locally as the Borgo, at 17:00 and marching down Via Etnea to Piazza Università. Catania's first public gay pride event was held in 1994 and its first Pride parade in 2000. The 2027 date hadn't been announced at the time of writing.

A few words of Italian

• Tessera – membership card. Ce l'ho / non ce l'ho – I have one / I don't have one.
• Ingresso – entry. Quanto costa? – how much is it?
• Solo contanti? – cash only?
• Asciugamano – towel. Ciabatte – flip-flops. Armadietto – locker.
• Bagno turco – steam room (Turkish bath). Idromassaggio – hydromassage pool.
• No, grazie – no, thanks. It works anywhere in a sauna, and you can always say no or leave.
• Granita e brioche – the Sicilian summer breakfast.
• Arancino – the fried rice ball. In Catania it's masculine, arancino; in Palermo it's arancina, and people care.
• Liotru – the lava elephant in Piazza del Duomo, the city's symbol.
• Mbare – mate, bro: Catanese slang you'll hear everywhere.

At a glance

Frequently asked questions

Is there a gay sauna in Catania?

Yes, two. Terme di Achille, at Via Tezzano 13, a couple of minutes' walk from Catania Centrale station, is a men-only sauna on two floors that has been running since 2005. South Factory Club (SFC), on Via Fischetti near the seaward end of Via San Giuliano, is a larger men-only sauna with a big hydromassage pool, but recent reviews are much more mixed.

Do I need an ANDDOS or ARCO card for the saunas in Catania?

Expect to be asked for one. Italian gay saunas are private members' clubs, and today the main network is ARCO, which many guides still call ANDDOS. Terme di Achille is an ARCO member club; visitors without a card in 2025 reported paying a higher entry price, with their ID held at reception. SFC is not on ARCO's club list, so ask at the door which card it issues. Cards are issued in person with photo ID, and non-Italians can get a 90-day Travel Card.

What are the opening hours and prices of the Catania saunas?

Terme di Achille's own website gives 14:00 to 22:00 every day. SFC opens daily from about 14:00–15:00, but listings disagree on closing times, from 20:30 to later in the evening. Visitors reported paying €15 on a weekday at Terme di Achille without a card, and up to €20; at SFC a 2025 review gave €12 Monday to Thursday and €15 Friday to Sunday. Bring cash and check before you go.

Is South Factory Club in Catania still open in 2026?

It appears to be, as visitors were still posting reviews in March and June 2026, but we could not confirm its current hours with the club. Reviews since late 2025 often mention a cold pool, missing heating and few customers, while others praise the staff and cleanliness. Call ahead, especially in winter.

When is Catania Pride?

In late June. Catania Pride 2026 ran from 24 to 27 June, with the parade on Saturday 27 June leaving Piazza Cavour (the Borgo) at 17:00 and marching down Via Etnea to Piazza Università. The 2027 date had not been announced at the time of writing.

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