Cosimawellenbad, Munich: Sauna, Waves and How a Visit Works
Cosimawellenbad in Munich-Bogenhausen pairs a wave pool with a daily sauna, a women-only Monday and an outdoor warm-water pool. Here is how a visit works.
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The Cosimawellenbad is a Munich indoor pool in Bogenhausen whose main attraction is a wave machine, and it keeps a sauna that runs alongside the bathing day. You buy pool entry and sauna entry separately, so you decide before you arrive whether you are swimming, sweating or both. The address is Cosimastraße 5, a short walk from the Arabellapark transport interchange.
Treat it as a neighbourhood Stadtwerke bath with a sauna inside, not a dedicated sauna house. That shapes everything: the wave timetable sets the rhythm of the building, families dominate the pool deck, and the sauna is one room in a busy complex rather than a sequence of hot rooms. If you want the sweating to be the whole point of the trip, read this as a fair-weather option and pair it with a proper sauna visit elsewhere in the city.
What the Cosimawellenbad is
The building opened in 1980 and was gutted and rebuilt between 2014 and 2017, with new pool and wave technology installed at that time. Since that renovation the Stadtwerke München present it as one of the most modern indoor pools in the city, and the wave machine is the reason people come. Expect a large wave basin at the centre, a very big children's paddling pool, and a separate outdoor pool with warm water.
The sauna sits inside the pool complex and shares its opening day with the baths, which tells you what kind of sauna it is: a convenient add-on for bathers, not a destination in its own right. There is no garden and no lake plunge. You get a hot room, showers, and a pool deck a few steps away, which for many visitors is exactly the point.
Where it sits in Munich's sauna scene
Munich has two very different kinds of sauna: the big historic bathhouses and the Stadtwerke pools that tuck a sauna into a swimming complex. The Cosimawellenbad belongs firmly to the second category, and the wave pool, not the sauna, is the headline. That is worth knowing before you pay, because a sauna ticket here buys one hot room and a swim, not an evening of Aufguss ceremonies.
If your priority is the ritual side of German bathing, with a large sauna landscape and long opening hours, the city's historic bathhouses serve that better. Müller'sches Volksbad is the classic name for that kind of visit, and our guide to Müller'sches Volksbad covers how the rooms and sessions there work. The Cosimawellenbad is the relaxed, family-friendly counterpoint.
The sauna
The sauna is open daily and runs from 9.00 until 23.00, opening later in the morning than the pool itself. Mondays are women-only, while the rest of the week is mixed. For a mixed group planning a Monday visit, that means splitting up: the women can sauna, the men cannot, so pick another day if the sauna is the reason for coming.
Where the Finnish tradition is the reference point, the room follows the usual German pool-sauna conventions: you shower before entering, sit on a towel, and expect textile-free bathing inside the sauna itself while swimwear stays in the pool area. Finns usually stay 5 to 15 minutes per round and cool off between rounds, and that rhythm works well here because the pool deck is right outside. For the background to those customs, read our guide to the Finnish sauna.
There is no cold lake or sea plunge on the doorstep, so cooling happens in the showers or in the pool. Bring a large towel to sit on and a second to dry off, since pool saunas rarely hand out seat covers. The sauna is a single room, so on a busy weekend afternoon you may wait for a space rather than walk straight in.
The wave pool and the rest of the bathing area
Waves run in timed blocks rather than all day. In the published schedule the machine switches on every hour for a quarter of an hour, and the pool is closed to lap swimming while the waves roll; outside those blocks an extendable wall turns the basin into a swimmer's lane and an area used for aqua classes. Check the timetable for your day before planning laps, because a wave block will interrupt them.
The children's paddling pool covers 120 square metres, which the local press describes as the largest in any Munich city bath. That detail explains the atmosphere: this is a family pool first, and the noise level follows. Adults without children should aim for weekday mornings rather than weekend afternoons.
The outdoor pool
Outside the main building there is a second pool kept at 34 degrees, fitted with nozzles for sitting in the warm water. In cool weather this is the more appealing place to be, and it gives the Cosimawellenbad a genuine cold-month draw that a pure summer lido lacks. Bring something to wear between the building and the outdoor basin, because the walk is open to the air.
How a visit works
Arrive, buy your ticket at the desk, and change in the communal changing rooms before showering. Bring your own towel, soap and flip-flops; the pool supplies water, not kit. Do not wear swimwear into the sauna itself, and shower off the chlorine from the pool before you go back into the hot room.
Move between the sauna and the pools as you like: one hot round, a cool shower, a spell in the wave basin, then back. The one practical constraint is the wave timetable, which pulls crowds to the pool edge at set times. Build your sauna rounds around those blocks rather than fighting them.
Prices and booking
Pool entry and sauna entry are priced separately, so a sauna session does not automatically include the wave pool or the other way round. At the reopening in 2017 the published rates were 4.80 euros for an adult pool ticket, 3.50 euros for a child and 18.50 euros for the sauna, which tells you that the sauna was then the pricier half of the visit. Current rates appear on the Stadtwerke München site, since these figures date from that reopening.
Walk-in is the normal route for a city pool, and the Stadtwerke München publishes tariffs and any seasonal offers on its own site, which is where the current numbers live.
Opening hours
After the 2017 reopening the pool was open daily from 7.30 to 23.00, with the sauna running daily from 9.00 to 23.00 and Monday reserved for women. Those hours show the shape of the place: an early swim is possible, a late sauna is possible, and the sauna starts after the pool does. Treat the schedule as historic and read the current timetable from the Stadtwerke München (SWM), which runs the Cosimawellenbad, before a special trip.
The building has had unscheduled closures. A leak in the wave basin forced the whole bath shut in late November 2025, with a reopening announced for 20 December after weld repairs and a full clean, and the Finnish sauna was out of service during that period. Similar leaks caused short shutdowns in September 2025 and in 2022, and water escaped into the technical floor just 24 days after the 2017 reopening. Check Stadtwerke München's notices if you are travelling specifically for the waves.
What to expect in practice
Weekends and school holidays bring the heaviest traffic, and the friction points are predictable: a scramble for poolside space at wave time and pressure on the changing rooms when a block ends. The wave basin is loud by design, so a quiet sauna round is not on offer during peak hours. Weekday mornings are the calmest window for anyone going chiefly to sweat.
The sauna is small relative to the pool, which means a full bath does not automatically mean a full sauna, but it does mean queues at popular times. If a single hot room with a pool attached will not satisfy you, plan the Cosimawellenbad as one part of a wider sauna itinerary in the city.
Getting there
Two approaches work. Take the U4 to Arabellapark and walk, or use StadtBus 185 or 187 to the same stop; alternatively ride Tram 16 or StadtBus 154, 183 or 184 to Cosimabad, which lands you on the other side of the bath. The U-Bahn route is the faster one from the city centre, while the tram is useful if you are coming from along its line.
Trade-offs and alternatives
The honest trade-off is that the Cosimawellenbad is a family pool with a sauna attached, not a sauna destination. Waves, children and changing-room queues come as part of the ticket, and the sauna itself is one room rather than a suite of hot and cold experiences. If you want a sauna evening with atmosphere and several rooms, the city has better answers.
Michaelibad is the other big Stadtwerke option in the east of the city, with a broader bathing and sauna setup, and our guide to Michaelibad sets out what a visit there involves. Dantebad Munich is another Stadtwerke site worth comparing, especially if an outdoor pool matters to you. Read our Dantebad guide before deciding, and treat the Cosimawellenbad as the choice for families and wave fans.
On safety: drink water before and after sauna rounds, skip alcohol beforehand, leave the hot room if you feel unwell, and speak to a doctor first if you have a heart condition or are pregnant. That is standard bathing caution, nothing more.
Plan Your Visit
The Cosimawellenbad works best when you want a swim with waves, a warm outdoor pool and a straightforward sauna in one afternoon. Buy the tickets you actually need, go on a weekday morning if quiet matters, and avoid Monday for mixed groups because the sauna is women-only. Read the venue's own site once for current hours and tariffs before you travel.
If the sauna is the main event rather than a bonus, compare it with the city's dedicated options before committing. The wave machine is the reason this bath exists, and the sauna is the pleasant extra.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Cosimawellenbad have a sauna?
Yes. A sauna operates inside the pool complex with its own ticket, separate from pool entry. It runs daily and opens later in the morning than the pool. Mondays are women-only; the rest of the week is mixed, and the room follows the usual German pool-sauna convention of showering first, sitting on a towel and no swimwear inside the hot room.
When are the waves on at the Cosimawellenbad?
Waves run in blocks rather than continuously, with each block lasting a quarter of an hour and the schedule varying by weekday, weekend and holiday. Outside those blocks the basin is divided into a lap-swimming lane and an aqua area. The timetable is published for each date, so read it before planning laps.
Is there a women-only sauna day in Munich?
At the Cosimawellenbad, Monday is the women-only sauna day, while the remaining days are mixed. Mixed groups should pick another day if the sauna is the reason for the visit, since men cannot use the sauna on Mondays. Other Munich baths set their own rules, so check each venue separately if you are planning a sauna tour.
How much does the sauna at the Cosimawellenbad cost?
Sauna entry is sold separately from pool entry, so expect two possible tickets rather than one combined price. Rates were published at the 2017 reopening and have been adjusted since. Current tariffs are listed by Stadtwerke München on its own site, which is the figure to rely on when budgeting.
How do I get to the Cosimawellenbad by public transport?
Take the U4 to Arabellapark and walk to Cosimastraße 5, or ride StadtBus 185 or 187 to the same stop. From the other side, Tram 16 and StadtBus 154, 183 or 184 stop at Cosimabad. The U-Bahn is the quicker approach from the centre, and the tram suits anyone coming from along its line.
Is the Cosimawellenbad good for families?
Yes. The wave basin is the main attraction, the children's paddling pool is the largest of any Munich city bath, and the outdoor pool stays warm in cooler weather. The trade-offs are noise at wave times, crowds at weekends and school holidays, and pressure on the changing rooms. Weekday mornings are calmer for adults without children.
Can the Cosimawellenbad close at short notice?
It can. A leak in the wave basin shut the whole bath in late November 2025, with a reopening announced for 20 December after weld repairs and a full clean, and the Finnish sauna was out of service in that period. Similar leaks caused short closures in September 2025 and in 2022. Check the operator's notices before a special trip.
Sources
Sauna notes for your next trip
Optional updates to our sauna guides.
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