With more than 100 geothermal springs coursing below the city and being home to more than a dozen thermal baths, Budapest has earned its title as the “City of Spas.”
There are thousands of springs in Hungary alone, thanks to its geological location on a thin part of the Earth’s crust. Budapest is particularly abundant in these thermal waters, where each spring in the capital carries a distinct mineral profile said to treat various health concerns. Taking the waters in Budapest is not something left behind in the past, as some doctors will still prescribe patients balneological cures at the baths. But you don’t need a doctor’s note to enjoy the Budapest bath experience, so we’ve narrowed down the best ones to add to your travel itinerary.
The Széchenyi Baths reside in City Park between the Zoo and Vajdahunyad Castle. This large complex painted in canary yellow, adorned with ionic colonnades and statues of nymphs and dolphin-riding youths is the most iconic on Budapest’s bath scene. The outdoor section, famed for stock photos of old men playing chess in the steaming water, has three pools–the aforementioned thermal pool heated to 38℃, a 50 metre-long swimming pool, and a 30-34℃ activity pool complete with bubbles and fountain sprays. Indoors you’ll find a collection of pools and saunas. If you feel fancy, add the DaySpalm package to use the luxury spa area in the palm house on the rooftop.
Over on the Buda side of the river at the southern base of Gellért Hill, you’ll find the Gellért Baths at the back of the (now-closed-for-renovation) Gellért Hotel. Although this complex is smaller than the Széchenyi, it rivals its beauty, especially the art nouveau part of the thermal baths. The most spectacular are found in the former men’s bath (today, all the baths are unisex), where Zsolnay tiles adorn the curved walls in several shades of turquoise and cerulean, accented with mosaics, fountains, cherub statues, and colourful friezes. The main indoor pool is enclosed by a colonnade of twisted Secessionist columns, while the outdoor swimming pool gets choppy in the summer when the 1920s wave machine fires up on the hour. The thermal water comes directly from under Gellért Hill and is warmed up to a cocktail of varying temperatures, so take some time to try out all the pools (there are eight thermal water pools ranging from 19℃ to 38℃).
The Rudas Baths are minutes away from the Gellért Baths and get their water from the Juventus spring under Gellért Hill. Here, you’ll find a 16th-century Turkish bath, a 19th-century swimming pool, and the modern spa and wellness complex inside the bathing complex. The Ottoman bath is the most spectacular, with its domed cupola and an octagonal pool flanked by small plunge pools at varying temperatures. On weekdays, this part of the bath is single-sex (it’s co-ed on the weekends), as these days, the baths are open for nude (more or less, you have to wear a loincloth) bathing. The swimming pool resembles something you’d find in a Roman villa, while the highlight of the modern part is the rooftop jacuzzi with views over the Danube.
Let’s head up to the northern part of Buda to the Lukács Baths. These baths are nestled inside a hospital complex resembling something from a Thomas Mann novel with neo-classical details and Central European romanticism. The thermal baths inside echo a Roman spa with Doric columns and statues of bathing women, while the outdoor part is split into two courtyards. Enclosed in one section, you’ll find the activity pools with swirling whirlpools and bubbling waters, while the other courtyard houses the two swimming pools. There is also a collonaded drinking hall at the entrance where you can imbibe the calcium-rich water as a drinking cure for intestinal or gallbladder problems.
The Veli Bej Bath is hidden inside a rheumatological hospital behind the Lukács Baths. Like the Rudas, this is also a Turkish bath dating back to the Ottoman occupation, only this bath is lesser-known and less crowded. It’s perhaps the smallest on the list and is clustered around the original 16th-century domed Turkish bath, with an octagonal pool surrounded by salmon-hued arched columns. There are also four pools of varying temperatures, with individual pools at each corner of the room enclosed in a small domed chamber. There is a modern section attached to the Turkish bath with a small swimming pool and a Kneipp pool, and there is also a selection of saunas in the courtyard between the cafe and the Turkish bath.
