The 5 Best Thermal Baths to Visit in Budapest

Széchenyi Thermal Baths

Housed in a Neo-Baroque palace in Budapest’s City Park, Széchenyi is the largest of Budapest’s hot spring baths. Built in 1913, this sprawling site is home to 15 indoor pools and three huge outdoor pools of varying temperatures. Consult a map to make the most of your time at the baths as the maze-like complex can be a little tricky to navigate.

Inside you’ll find saunas, steam rooms, aqua fitness equipment, whirlpools and jets, and outside you can relax in pools heated to 33 C (91 F) and 38 C (100 F) or swim laps in the main pool. The thermal water is high in calcium, magnesium, and hydrogen carbonate and is said to ease joint pain and arthritis and improve blood circulation.

Széchenyi is open year-round, and locals play chess on floating boards at the edge of the pool come rain, shine or snow. A Sparty, (a spa party) featuring DJs, laser shows, and film screenings, is held most Saturday nights until 3 a.m. 

Gellért Baths

With its mosaic walls and floors, stained glass windows and Roman-style columns, Gellért Baths is Budapest’s most beautiful bathing destination. Opened in 1918, this Art Nouveau complex features indoor and outdoor baths fed by thermal springs from the nearby Gellért Hill. The temperature of the pools ranges from 26 C (79 F) to 40 C (104 F), and you’ll also find dry and steam saunas, treatment rooms for medicinal massages, a carbonic acid bathtub (for cardiovascular issues and high blood pressure), and small thermal baths that can be booked privately by couples. The modern outdoor pool features a wave machine, and there’s a large terrace for soaking up the rays in the summer months. 

Rudas Baths

This Turkish-style bathing complex dates to the 16th century when Budapest was under Ottoman rule. The central octagonal pool sits under an atmospheric dome and there’s a modern rooftop pool overlooking the Danube upstairs. The baths are open until 3 a.m. every Friday and Saturday for night bathing and water temperatures range from 11 C (52 F) to 42 C (108 F). There’s a dedicated physiotherapy section for all sorts of thermal treatments, and, in the main hall, you can drink healing waters from the Hungaria, Attila, and Juventus springs.

Lukács Baths

While the Lukács Baths opened in the 1880s, it’s said that the site’s thermal springs date back to the 12th century. The baths are popular with locals and those seeking treatment for various ailments. Facilities include an infrared sauna, a steam bath, a Himalayan salt wall (to ease respiratory problems), and a weight bath (to treat spinal injuries). You can book a number of massages, reflexology sessions and medicinal treatments.

Császár Baths (Veli Bej Bath)

Built under Ottoman rule in the 16th century, this Turkish bathhouse was one of the most beautiful thermal centers of its time. You can still see some of the original stonework around its large octagonal thermal pool. There are smaller pools to relax in, all of varying temperatures, and there’s a Jacuzzi, a hydrotherapy bathtub, and a wellness section for steam baths, saunas, and massage treatments. The building is home to both a hotel and a hospital for treatments based around water therapy.