Choosing a bathhouse in St Petersburg does not start with the rating. It starts with who you are going with. In a public banya men and women bathe separately, and there are exactly three ways that is arranged — getting them mixed up is an expensive mistake.
The commonest error is not walking through the wrong door. It is that some bathhouses have no separate sections at all — they have men's days and women's days.
Three formats, not two
Sections running side by side. The usual arrangement: the men's and women's sections are open at the same time, you arrive together, part at the entrance and meet again in the buffet. That is how Yamskiye, Moskovskiye, Bani na Yaroslavskom and "Bani" work.
Men's and women's days. One shared section that takes different visitors on different days. This is how the Kruglye Bani operate. Turn up on the wrong day and you turn straight round again, whatever the rating says. Check the schedule; this is not optional.
A lyux or private section. The only way for a mixed group to bathe together: you rent the room outright and it is your party inside. Mytninskiye have a lyux for four to ten people, Bani na Yaroslavskom have private sections, and "Banya" has lyux and semi-lyux rooms.
Where to go for what
For wood-fired steam — Mytninskiye. One of the oldest public bathhouses in the city, strict about the wood-fired tradition. The general hall is segregated; there is a cool pool, a bar and besoms on sale.
For the classic — Yamskiye. Also among the oldest: Russian steam room, hammam, cool pool, both sections plus rooms for groups. Professional steaming and massage are available.
For the Soviet atmosphere — "Bani". A public bathhouse of exactly that vintage: three men's sections and one women's, each with an ice plunge pool, a big communal table, a television and draught beer or kvass. You may bring your own drinks. There is a back yard where people step out to cool off in a towel.
For the building — Bani na Yaroslavskom. The complex occupies a listed architectural monument. Several men's and women's sections, private rooms, a restaurant with a terrace. The higher classes add a separate changing room, pool, hammam, sauna and professional steam masters.
For an open-air pool — Kruglye or Bateninskiye. At Kruglye it is the signature feature; Bateninskiye have an outdoor pool with a waterfall and an air volcano, plus an ice plunge.
For odd hours — "Banya". Open around the clock: Russian steam room, Finnish sauna, hammam, cold pool and plunge.
The sections are not always equal
Nobody usually writes this down, but the difference shows. At Moskovskiye Bani the men's section has a wood-fired steam room, a hammam and two pools, indoor and outdoor, plus an ice plunge. The women's has a steam room, a hammam, a jacuzzi and a cold plunge. On paper both exist; in practice the contents differ.
The same goes for numbers: at "Bani" there are three men's sections to one women's. If you are going as a group and the facilities matter, check what is actually in your section rather than trusting the complex's general description.
What to bring
A sheet, slippers, a felt hat. Sheets and slippers are provided or sold almost everywhere, but your own are more comfortable. The hat is not decorative: without it your head overheats before your body does.
A besom. Easier bought on site — many bathhouses sell them, and a fresh one beats a dry one you have carried across town and still have to soak.
Three to four hours. Sessions alternate with rest; anything under three hours is not worth the trip.
Weekday mornings are nearly empty. Friday evening and the weekend are the busiest everywhere.
If this is your first banya and your questions are about the ritual rather than the choice — how to enter, how long to sit, what actually happens — that is covered separately in our guide for first-timers.
Men's and women's day schedules, section opening hours and prices are set and changed by each bathhouse. The lists above come from Yandex Maps collections as of August 2026 — an algorithm maintains them, and a bathhouse missing from a list is not proof that it has no such section. Call ahead or check the individual site before you go, particularly where separate days apply.
The short answer
Going alone or with friends of your own sex: Yamskiye for the classic, Mytninskiye for wood-fired steam, "Bani" for the atmosphere. Going as a mixed group: a lyux or private section, nothing else. And either way, check whether your chosen bathhouse runs on men's and women's days.
