Thermal baths of Budapest, Budapest

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Budapest is fortunate to have some of the world's finest
Turkish baths. Not only do the baths boast original
Ottoman architecture (consisting of wonderful
octagonal pools, cupolas and colored glass windows)
but offer a unique - and sometimes hedonistic - bathing
experience. And while some, such as the Széchenyi
Gyógyfürdõ are more recent, cheap entry prices and
expert masseurs - who happily rearrange your limbs
and muscles in ways that you thought (up until now)
were impossible - are common to all!

Széchenyi Fürdo is the biggest in thermal bath in Europe. It's build in 1909, and rebuilt in 1927. The thermal water of Szechenyi Bath containing sodium, calcium, magnesium and sulphates, which is good to cure rheumatical diseases. Strange to see a public bath in a majestic building like this. It looks like a castle.

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The lobby of the Széchenyi baths is quite spectacular. It`s a not really big but richly decorated cupola room. To be noticed the nice mosaics on the cupola and also a very strange statue wich I really don`t know, what represents.
You can buy your ticket here. If you don`t have any paper released by the social insurance, you must pay the entire entrance fee wich is about 2200-2400 HUF (8,70-9,50 EUR). But if you abbandon the facility in less than 3 hours, a machine at the exit gives you back a percentage of the admittance fee.
Of course you must pay an extra charge for the other services like for example the different kinds of massages.

Gelert baths are the oldest and most famous baths. The temperature of the water is roughly 44ºc. They have MANY different kinds of pools and activities. Including a private bath just for two, the communal swimming pool or thermal mineral bath!

Men and Women used to be separated. When I went a couple of years ago this had changed. Be careful, this still may to be true for other thermal baths in Budapest.

Another point to remember is that you must wear a swimming hat in the pools! If you don't want to wear the pastic bag type thing they give you: bring your own.

You can find many others:

All over the city, but mostly in central areas. Look for details at the homepage of Budapest Medicinal Spas & Thermal Springs Co.

P.S. Remember if you forget your swim suit you can hire them from the Gelert pools! You have to put a deposit down which you get back upon returning the swim suit.

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The history of this thermal bath goes back to 1550. It was built by the order of Turkish Sokullu Mehmet Pasa. It is a typical Turkish bath with the octogonal dome. It has been renovated in 2006 and now the interiors look much better than before. The main pool is surrounded by smaller pools having different water temperatures. There is also sauna and steam bath available. My favorite part is the resting room with the comfortable coaches. After spending some time in the pools and sauna, you feel really light and can even fall asleep there.

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Gellert Baths, Kiraly Baths, Rudas Baths, and Szechenyi Baths are some of the most famous Turkish baths in the city. These pools typically offer a large main pool, plus numerous smaller pools with varying temperatures along with talented masseuses. The Gellert Baths are located in the famous Gellert Hotel at the bottom of Gellert Hill near the Cave Church and are open to hotel guests as well as the general public. Kiraly Baths date back to 1570 and sport a gay clientèle. Rudas Baths are located at Döbrentei tér and are the oldest baths in the city. Szechenyi Baths, in City Park, are perhaps the busiest baths in the city and claim a variety of patrons from old men to young children.

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Recently renovated (in part), Széchenyi is the largest medicinal bath complex in Europe. And what an experience - right from first sight, as you arrive at this magnificently over-the-top wedding cake of a building with its ornate excesses, domes etc.

It's a fantastic experience. There's three outdoor pools in the courtyard (wonderful backdrop of the bath-house), one of which is thermal (and heated) but where's there's also fountains to swim under, moving water corridors, chess boards in the pool (all celebrating the curative aspects of water) - and then there's the medicinal baths themselves - saunas of different temps, steam rooms, plunge pools etc... They can smell a bit strong (sulphur) at times, and the extreme wet/damp has got to the infrastructure making them look a bit neglected etc, (but then with all that water and damp...) but the key point of such baths is not the state of the ceiling - the water is changed, the medicinal rooms are cleaned etc.

It's a highlight of a trip to Budapest - and it's also cheap and throughout its extensive opening times, is mixed for male and female use. Open 6am - 7pm, Monday-Sunday (May-September - closes at 5pm at weekends the rest of the year).

And we were certainly glad of the heated outdoor pool - in spite of the sunshine, it was freezing and its Easter in April. A few minutes after these photos were taken it began to snow!! It was a wonderful moment - sitting in the heated pool with snowflakes melting all around you.

Part of City Park, it can be reached by the metro at Hõsök tere (and a short walk across the square and park) or the baths' metro itself - Széchneyi fürdõ

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The Széchenyi Fürdő is the biggest thermal complex, not only in Hungary but in Europe.
Originally it wasn`t so big. It was constructed between 1909 and 1913. It soon became so popular that it needed to be expanded. The newer parts of the thermal facility were constructed in 1927, in the same, neobaroque style like the older parts. The thermal water of Szechenyi Bath containing sodium, calcium-magnesium-hydrocarbonate and sulphates, with significant fluoride and metaboric acid contents, is ideal to cure rheumatical diseases.