The design and performance of a simple fluorescence cell for laser-spectrometric studies of metal vapors at elevated temperatures (T =1000 K) are described. The cell is operated with Na as a radiator in a heat bath of noble gas perturbers. The gas temperature and metal vapor density in the fluorescence zone are obtained using a variant of a well-known light-scattering technique. For operation with sodium we achieved an optically thin vapor at gas temperatures between 700 and 1000 K.