Wellness doesn't need an app, a tracking device or a ten-step morning routine. From Norwegian sauna sanctuaries and historic Budapest bathhouses to floating Arctic spas and coastal Croatian retreats, these European wellness escapes prove that the best way to relax is often the simplest.

What happens when a beauty treatment feels more like being temporarily removed from real life? We visit Pelegrims’ Canterbury flagship to experience Winemakers Rest, a 90-minute ritual of therapeutic massage, fragrance, breathwork and vinotherapy designed to make taking pause feel positively transcendent.

A few years ago, the idea of spending an evening moving between breathwork, sauna and ice baths with a room full of strangers might have felt unlikely at best. London in 2026 is proving that saunas are no longer the preserve of wellness hotels and spas, but very much a part of everyday city living. Here’s the best of the bunch.

After having spent a glorious afternoon in the warm embrace of Banya No. 1 in Hoxton –  London’s first (and best) Russian bathhouse and spa – I’m a thorough convert to its vigorous and intense interpretation of relaxation and wellness, and I’m already planning my return. 

Every now and then, you come across a business which begs the question: why has nobody thought of this before? Frankly, it’s the kind of question that suggests the business idea is a very good one… and Dripdash is, without doubt, a very good business idea indeed.