Developed for those who want to step out of a steaming sauna and plunge straight into an ice bath, these therapies combine the Vikings’ approach to health with today’s travel habits.

One of the emerging trends in the travel world is “Viking wellness.” This experience, believed to be rooted in the health practices of Scandinavian people, makes use of the contrast created by sauna or thermal baths and ice baths. As part of the growing interest of Gen Z in wellness travel, the primary aim of this approach is to feel good and to heal.

Many recent studies suggest that regular sauna use may improve cardiovascular health and reduce stress levels; some research on ice baths—cold water immersion—indicates that the practice may have short-term positive effects on mood and circulation.

Viking wellness experiences, also known as contrast therapies, draw from traditions such as sauna use, winter sea swimming, and alternating between hot and cold water in Scandinavian countries like Iceland, Finland, and Norway, and are currently influencing travel preferences in a significant way. Interest in hotels and centers that have added these therapies to their offerings is also steadily increasing. Here are some we have selected for you:

Sant Roch, Paris

Opened in Paris in recent weeks and boasting the largest sauna in France, Sant Roch transforms cycles of heat and cold into a purifying, ritualistic, and even slightly seductive experience. The main attraction of this unusual wellness center is contrast therapy; the body moves between intense heat and freezing cold until it surrenders to a trance-like calm. While pores open in the sauna, they are immediately closed again by plunging into icy pools. All of this is done to promote renewal, healing, and a sense of vitality. In this two-story urban sanctuary, in addition to a massive sauna and five cold plunge pools cooled between 3°C and 8°C, breathwork sessions, sound therapy, and meditation sessions are also offered.