Russian & Turkish Baths

SaunaTimes

This will always be the first bathhouse I ever visited, back in the ’90s, and I think most people would agree that it’s the OG NYC bathhouse. Unlike so many of the newer spots, this one isn’t trying to be fancy. It’s the closest you’ll get in the city to an old-world Eastern European banya. And I won’t judge you if you finish with a vodka shot, or a Baltika, or whatever else they’re pouring; there’s an eclectic crystal shop called Crystals Garden, a plant store that still feels like the New York I moved to, a Japanese sticker-and-stamp store called Nico Neco Zakkaya, a great bakery called From Lucie, and a string of quirky little food spots in between.

Good heat knows no borders