Sauna in Porto: the Thermal Circuit at Mirra Spa

The sauna at Mirra is the Finnish sauna of a day spa in Porto city centre, and it is part of a thermal circuit, next to the steam room and the cold shower. It is a mixed, shared sauna, entered in swimwear and a robe, to sweat, cool down and repeat at your own pace for ninety minutes. We are near Trindade metro station. You book the circuit, not the sauna alone: dry heat, steam and cold work together, and that is how we offer them.

Why take your sauna in Porto at Mirra

The circuit. A sauna on its own is a hot room. A thermal circuit is a sequence: dry heat in the sauna, a cold shower, the wet heat of the steam room, another shower, rest, and again. It is the alternation that makes the body respond, not the temperature of any one room.

The time. Ninety minutes is enough for three full rounds of the circuit, with real rest between them. The visit includes robe, slippers, locker, shower and tea after your treatment, and the tea at the end is part of the treatment: it is when the body finishes cooling down.

The place. The Baixa, Porto’s downtown, near Trindade metro station. Opening hours: Every day, 9am–10pm. Arrive 10 minutes early to change without hurrying. There is no exit time to the minute: the circuit ends when the ninety minutes end, and not before.

Clear rules. A mixed, shared sauna, in swimwear, with a limited number of people at a time. Silence inside the sauna and the steam room. A member of staff nearby for anything you need. It is a spa: you come in to sweat, and that is all that happens here.

How the thermal circuit works

Sauna

Go in after a warm shower, with dry skin, sitting or lying on your towel. Eight to twelve minutes on the first round is plenty; later, if you feel like it, stay longer. It is a Finnish dry-heat sauna with an essential oil diffuser, almost always eucalyptus. Leave before you feel light-headed, not after.

Shower and cold

On the way out, a cold shower, feet first, until the skin stops burning. It is the part nobody looks forward to and everybody is glad to have done. Rest ten minutes in the lounge, with water, before the next round.

Steam room

The steam room is the wet version of heat: lower temperature, saturated steam, skin streaming within two minutes. Ten to fifteen minutes, then another shower. Many people prefer to finish here, because the steam leaves the skin soft and the breathing easier.

Rest and repeat

Rest, tea or water, and another round if the body asks for it. Two or three rounds fit into ninety minutes. If you have a massage booked afterwards, stop twenty minutes before: you reach the table warm and calm, which is the best state for it.

Benefits

Studies associate regular Finnish sauna use, in a group of middle-aged Finnish men followed for years, with lower cardiovascular mortality; it is a statistical association, not a demonstrated cause.¹ A 2018 review speaks of a possible link between regular sauna bathing and a lower risk of vascular disease, including high blood pressure.² That is what the science says, and we tell you no more: no detox, no weight loss, no treatment of any illness. The rest is what you feel on the way out: skin washed from the inside, heavy sleep that night, and Porto’s cold bothering you less.

Afterwards

Drink more water than you feel like. Do not drive straight away if you feel soft; sit another ten minutes. Avoid alcohol for the next few hours. If you took the sauna before a massage, tell the therapist where you have come from: she adjusts the oil and the pressure to a body that is already warm.

The steam room page explains the wet half of the circuit. To add a massage, the relaxation massage is the natural choice after heat, and the body scrub the one most asked for in the steam. The full thermal circuit, with prices, has its own page, and it can be a gift voucher.

1. Laukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen JA. Association between sauna bathing and fatal cardiovascular and all-cause mortality events. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015;175(4):542-548. PMID 25705824.
2. Laukkanen JA, Laukkanen T, Kunutsor SK. Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2018;93(8):1111-1121. PMID 30077204.