In the heart of the 1st arrondissement, Sant Roch brings Paris into the grammar of the contrast therapy. Spanning 400 square meters, the Canadian agency Futurstudio has designed a contemporary sanctuary where the largest sauna in France is complemented by five ice pools.
Inaugurated on March 2, 2026, at 4-8 rue Saint-Roch, opposite the Tuileries Garden, Sant Roch offers a contemporary interpretation of an ancient ritual: the alternation of hot and cold, now known as contrast therapy . Spread over two levels, the establishment houses the largest sauna in France, featuring 60 square meters of wooden slats heated to between 80 and 90 degrees Celsius, as well as five pools maintained between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius. Aromatherapy, lighting effects, and immersive sounds transform the sauna cabin into a sensory experience, designed for a gradual increase in temperature over 15 to 20 minutes, followed by a short, intense plunge into the cold.
The design was entrusted to Futurstudio, a Canadian agency based in Toronto, already responsible for the Othership saunas in New York, whose group sessions have popularized the practice across the Atlantic. For Sant Roch, wood predominates, in light slats on the walls and benches of the sauna, creating a contemporary and serene materiality. The inspiration is twofold: the Roman baths of Lutetia, whose remains can still be seen in Paris, and the banyas of Eastern Europe, where collective ritual structures social interaction.
Behind the project are the Parisian couple Chloé and Jules Bouscatel, already the founders of Monday Sports Club, a group encompassing around twenty Parisian locations for boxing (Punch), Pilates (Riise), and indoor cycling (Dynamo). With Sant Roch, the founders are shifting their focus from fitness to longevity and overall well-being, a rapidly growing sector in the industry. The ritual can be experienced independently or with guidance: the self-guided option allows participants to create their own 75-minute circuit, while the one-hour guided session involves a group experience of alternating hot and cold zones before 15 minutes of free access.
The concept of contrast therapy , still relatively uncommon in France, is based on documented effects. Heat promotes relaxation and supports the cardiovascular system; cold stimulates mental clarity, metabolism, and recovery. Its proponents, however, prefer to describe it as a return to ancient practices, from the communal baths of antiquity to Japanese sentos or North African hammams, where the social function took precedence over individual performance.
Beyond the ritual, Sant Roch aims to create a space. At a time when alcohol consumption is declining among young urbanites, the collective practice seeks to replace the shared drink. Phones are left in the cloakroom, the session takes place in swimsuits, and the mixed spaces encourage gentle sociability, mingling beginners and regulars. At 45 euros per session, the establishment targets an urban clientele seeking a different relationship with the body, outside the conventions of the traditional spa.
Seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 22 p.m., the sanctuary offers the capital a break halfway between care, sport and leisure, in a typology unprecedented on this scale.
