Szechenyi Bath - Szechenyi furdo, Budapest

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Budapest has many excellent thermal baths, but few are housed in such fine buildings as the Széchenyi Baths. The neo-Baroque building was constructed in 1913, and houses the largest medicinal baths in Europe. These baths, and Széchenyi in particular, are so important to Hungarians that it gets its own Metro station, in the middle of the park.

Behind the amazing entrance, and through the ornately painted hallway, you enter the huge bathing area.

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Perhaps the most popular swimming and bathing area in the city being opened all year round. The water supply of the bath is provided by St. István spring, from a depth of 1256 metres. The spring with its temperature of 77 °C is one of Europe's warmest springs.

The in-door complex offers five mixed curative baths, four women's pools and three men's pools. A complete medical team is also on hand for advice and therapy.
The open-air swimming pool with a temperature of 27 °C is huge, and there is a wide range of activities on offer, e.g. underwater gymnastics.
The fancy bath (32-34 °C ) includes a sweeping-corridor.
The banks of the sitting pool (38 °C) are featuring many interesting services, such as neck shower, water beam back massage, underwater effervescence production.
The roof is for sun-seekers and offers men's, women's and mixed nude sunbathing.

Széchenyi bath's significance is not merely on the basis of its medicinal water, the sculptures and glass mosaics decorating the building are creations of Hungary's most considerable artists.

Prices: http://www.spasbudapest.com/furdo.php?idx=14&menu=10

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I went in January the coldest time of year when it gets dark really early and to be honest it really added to the pleasure. We went in the out door pools and by night it gives thermal baths a whole new feel. Steam rises from the hot water and you can see dark silhouettes bobbing around disappearing into the 'fog'. You have to run from one pool to the other as you are dressed in nothing put your swim wear. Taking some kind of flip flops is a great idea.

There are several on door pools as well as saunas and steam rooms which are fun to explore even if you can't bear the heat for long. We had lots of fun in the colour and aroma saunas!

In the winter you have to get there before seven when they stop admitting people.

The swimming pools are mixed but the changing rooms separate. If you don't want to get changed in front of other people you can also hire a cabin. It costs 2600ft for a normal ticket but if you come out before 2 hours you get 400ft back.

The Szechenyi baths are one of the most expensive in Budapest but also far prettier than most therefore I recommend splashing out to splash around in these wonderful baths located in Varosliget (the city park). The yellow building that surrounds the pool adds to the magical atmosphere.

If your feet are frozen from sight seeing then what better way to warm up again!!! The baths, of course, are great any time of year, but in the summer I am sure a cold water pool would be more refreshing. There are two out door pools, one very hot and the other tepid. The ones inside range in temperature and also have medicinal properties.

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Visiting a thermal bath while in Budapest is as compulsory as visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Szechenyi bath is huge with 9 pools and 3 of them are outdoors. It is well frequented and the earlier you get there the better (they open at 6 am!). Lunch can also be had there and is not expensive at all. Ex. a pint costs 480 Forints. Of the 3 outdoor baths there is one Olympic pool for those who want to swim, one with 24-25 degrees which have some artificial currents and the last one is thermal with 37-38 degrees. The hot one is the most popular and is where people tend to stay the longest some playing chess others reading a book. The entrance cost is 5600 forints (there is a reduction with the Budapest card) and you can stay as long as you want.

Remember to take a towel, some slippers and some sun screen if you go during summer as the water reflects the sun and could rapidly cause burns.

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In the middle of the city park , behind the Heroes square there is the famous szechenyi thermal bath.

The building is a very beautiful Neo Baroque style that was built on 1913.

Szechenyi bath is the largest bath in Europe and the water is from 2 thermal springs.

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This is the largest bath complex in Europe. I has numerous pools outside with varying temps of water and looks like you are in a palace courtyard. There are also small pools inside with hotter water, the hotest I saw was 38 degrees Celcius. Some of the waters also have medicinal qualities, supposedly. There is a steam room whish is between 45-55 degrees Celcius and some dry saunas on the bottom floor of the pool complex. Dont forget to bring your towel and shower shoes. I forgot sandals and was walking around bare foot and got some weird looks. They also have massage available. I got one for 30 minutes and paid 4000 HUF. They have some by the pool, but its hot and loud so I went upstairs in the hall with the lockers and cabins and got one in a cooler room with nice music and a more relaxing atmosphere. The price to get in was 2400 HUF for access to the pools with a locker, and 2800 for a small closet like thing they call a cabin. You are issued a credit card like thing and you use it to get into the bathing complex and for access to the lockers- you find one with the key in it and take put the card in the back of the locker lock in slot and then you can take the key. you take the card when you leave and put it into the exit stall and you are printed a receipt. If you leave within 2 hours you get back 400 HUF, and if you leave within 3 hours you get back 200 HUF. Take the receipt to the casheir to get your money back. It located in the park behind heros square in a bright yellow building, across from a circus.

Just back from a week in Budapest and must recommend these baths. My top tip though is take your own towel!! It says you can hire them but these are not towels they are bed sheets (and no fun to try and dry long hair with!) Also take some flip flops as the tiled floors of the indoor pools complex are not ideal to walk around on barefoot.
Wepaid FUH 5 200 for two of us, which was entry to all pools and a changing cabin, but you do get some money back if you stay less than the time you pay for (no idea how this works though) .The indoor pools have a bit of the feel of an old mental institute - and there are some shocking sights - people obviously hoping for cures from the water!! We wandered through loads of indoor pool rooms until quite by accident found the door to the outside complex!! Its great out there though. The end pool is about 38 C and so relaxing just floating around in it. My fave though was the circular pool in the bigger end pool - it drags you round really fast - and sends you spiraling into every one else!! :-)

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-->the outer pools, the most famous and enchanting part of the whole complex. In this part of the Széchenyi baths you can find different kinds of pools, some of them is not really hot, so in march when I was there I could barely stay inside 2 minutes. Here there is a swimming pool, in the middle, while both on the two sides you find two pools with hot water. In the one you see on the main pic you can find the famous chess players (see local costum clip). This is in fact the hottest water.
To be noticed the fancy architecture of this place. All is painted in yellow, you can find some nice loggias, statues and fountains as well. It was damn cold and each time I came out from the water, the first thing that I wanted is to go inside again as quick as I could.
But once you`re in the hot water, you feel like you were in Paradise.
This bath is a REAL MUST for every tourist who visits Budapest!

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After entering the bath-complex you will find various rooms (some of them is closed due to renovation) with smaller-bigger pools. The water temperature is different in every pool. The hottest one (see on the main image of the tip) is 38 degree centigrades hot. I liked this pool the most, it was simply sensational! So calm and relaxing! I stayed here for almost 30 minutes and than I had my way towards...-->

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

If you are in Budapest, this is one spot not to be missed!!

If you wonder what the people of Budapest are doing in the winter season, you have to come to one of the hot baths, called "Györgifürdö". If you can perfectly pronounce it, you are a step closer to the enjoyment it is, to dip yourself into the hot water on a cold winter evening. Beside the enjoyment of taking a hot bath people come here for chatting with there closest friends.

Here at the Szechenyi Baths are three outdoor pools. The two at the ends are for floating in the hot water with 36 and 38 degrees, the famous chess players can be found in the hotter bath. The central one is for swimming, although the people do it with a slow and calm attitude. Obviously it is for relaxation and not for breaking world records.