Are children allowed in public saunas in Switzerland?

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There isn't any national law in Switzerland about this, though it's possible that a canton might have its own laws on the matter. Otherwise, it's entirely up to the sauna itself. Rules I've seen include:

  • No restrictions at all.
  • Restrictions from a certain very low age, e.g. 2+ or 3+, with parent/guardian.
  • 14+, 16+, 18+, etc.
  • Children only allowed at certain times or on certain days.

You'll have to check the web site of the sauna itself and/or call them to verify.

In my experience, any restrictions appear to be based not on health/safety or state of (un)dress, but rather on the desire of their adult clientele for a peaceful, quiet environment and their opinion about whether that atmosphere will still exist in the presence of children. I've seen children as young as four or five years old in saunas (with parental supervision, of course).

Indeed, some weeks ago I even saw a family with a practically newborn baby in a sauna area in Switzerland. They didn't take the baby into the actual saunas themselves, but the mother and grandmother took turns watching the baby and visiting the saunas.

All of the above will be the same in Germany and Austria, by the way.

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