Best Spas and Thermal Baths in Budapest

One of the best things about visiting a city like Budapest with a long and rich history is immersing yourself in the city's culture. Fortunately, becoming immersed in a significant part of history is what Budapest is all about.

The city sits on top of 120 natural hot springs, making its geographic location ideal for thermal baths, with most located in the Buda side of the city. If you plan to visit Budapest or any destination in Hungary, you may want to make time for this unique, relaxing, and fun past-time.

Why Visit a Spa or Thermal Bath

Thermal Baths are man-made destinations that are built around natural springs, which are abundant in many countries in Europe. . A generally accepted definition of a thermal spring is one that brings water, often combined with therapeutic minerals, to the service at a temperature that is usually 6.5 °C (11.7 °F) or more above the local average air temperature. The heated water can be therapeutic for body aches and pains. Because heated water can hold the dissolved solids of many minerals, it is believed by many that these additional minerals provide some added medicinal value.

Many baths pair their thermal waters with offerings of spa resources like massage services, saunas, cold pools, and healthy drink and snack bars to provide the maximum therapeutic benefit. Be sure to check each thermal bath's website for any last-minute changes on hours of operation or guidelines for usage. Be sure to follow the rules of each bath that you visit, including wearing proper swimwear, possible head coverings, and observing any behavioral policies. Many spas may require an attitude of quiet reverence, depending on the time of day you attend.

What Makes Budapest a Sought-after Thermal Bath Destination?

The city of Budapest is uniquely located above an area active with natural thermal spring water activity. This is perhaps one of the reasons the Romans settled in this area and developed a system to harness the thermal springs in Budapest for therapeutic purposes. When visiting this beautiful, historic city, put a visit to a Budapest spa and thermal springs high on your To-Do list. There are 19 different spas in Budapest, each with its own personality and unique offerings. Here are some of the best, and what to consider when choosing which one to visit.

Learn the Local Bath Customs

Some thermal baths are more frequented by locals, which might mean smaller crowds. However, the other side of that benefit could be fewer signs in English, so adhering to the bath guidelines might be more difficult. Whatever bath you choose, try checking into it as much ahead of time as possible. Check with your host on local protocols at different thermal bathhouses. At the very least, you'll want to know the hours of the bath, and hours for single-sex or coed bathing, based on your preferences, and the dress code. The latter concerns whether swimsuits and swimming caps are required, and what changing rooms are available. Generally speaking, a swimsuit, towel, and flip-flops are a good idea to bring along.

If you schedule services at a Budapest spa during your visit to a thermal spa, plan to bring along the same items you would have after similar services at home. Have a comb or hair tie if you need one and wear loose clothing to put on after your massage or other spa services. Ask your host about appropriate tipping policies at the spa you have chosen.

It is also helpful to know the atmosphere for the different pools within the thermal baths. Keep in mind that many indoor pools showcase amazing Turkish architecture with a lot of tiling on the walls. This means that even quiet voices can echo. Outdoor pools are often more casual, but make sure you choose the right one. Some facilities have pools dedicated to swimming, while others are ideal for just hanging out and playing a game of chess. A few thermal baths host evening hours, which are a combination of bathing and nightclubbing experiences. Here are a few of the best spas Budapest has to offer.

The Gellért Baths

The Gellért Baths feature beautiful Roman architecture, tile mosaics, and stained-glass work with touches of Art Nouveau design that make it a breath-taking choice for a thermal bath visit. There are several services available through the Gellért Spa, along with a wave pool in one of the outdoor pools and a large patio area for sunbathing in the summer.

Number of Pools: 10

Coed or Single-sex Bathing: Coed, including some small thermal baths available by private booking for couples.

Spa Services Available: dry and steam saunas, medicinal massages, a carbonic acid bathtub

Conditions their Minerals Benefit: Cardiovascular issues and high blood pressure, degenerative joint illnesses, joint inflammations, disk problems, and lack of calcium in the bones.

Rudas Bath

Originally built in the 16th century, Rudas Baths retains many elements found in early Turkish baths, like a dome and octagonal pool. There is also a rooftop pool that offers bathers an amazing view of the city and the Danube river. There is an area in the main hall where you can drink the water from various springs.

Number of Pools: 7

Coed or single-sex bathing: Both are available on different days of the week, so check their schedule.

Spa Services available: One swimming pool, and six therapeutic pools

Conditions their Minerals Benefit: Degenerative joint illnesses, joint inflammations, disk problems, and lack of calcium in the bones.

Bathing at a thermal bath or visiting a Budapest spa is a unique experience. Your visit can consist of a simple soak with your travel mates in hot water to relax your muscles after a long flight. It can be a fantastic way to combat jet lag. You may also wish for a more proactive experience, using a variety of baths with different water temperatures to detox your skin. Maybe you experience some health issues listed above and would like to see for yourself if mineral bathing can bring you some relief. Whatever you hope to accomplish, the selection of Budapest baths surely has an experience that will work for you.

If you want to experience a thermal bath for medicinal purposes, check with your physician before going to Budapest to make sure a thermal bath is advised. Your physician may even be able to point you in the direction of the best minerals for your thermal bath soak.

There is a reason that Budapest is known as the “City of Spas”. Its ideal location and the history of thermal baths in the region make it a bucket-list destination for anyone wanting to engage in this relaxing and one-of-a-kind experience.

Széchenyi Bath

This thermal spa is located in a beautiful neo-Baroque palace in the Budapest City Park located in the Pest section of Budapest. Construction began in the late 1800s and the facility opened in June 1913. That first year, over 200,000 bathers used the facility. The most recent remodeling of the Szechenyi Spa was completed in 2009. It has numerous indoor and outdoor pools. Some are medicinal, but there are also swimming pools, activity pools, and shallow sitting pools. The indoor pools are of varying temperatures, between 18 and 38 °C (64 to 100 °F).

Number of Pools: 18

Coed or Single-sex Bathing: Coed

Spa Services Available: Outdoor swimming pool, massage treatments, sauna and steam rooms, a Finnish sauna for two with an adjacent cold pool, and a snack bar for guests.

Conditions Their Minerals Benefit: Sulfate, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, fluoride acid, and meta boric acid, believed to help with conditions such as degenerative joint illnesses, and joint inflammation.

The Király Baths

While the Király Baths are not as lavish in appearance as many of the Hungarian thermal baths in the city, it is a favorite with locals and provides a very traditional bathing experience. During the Ottoman Empire, this thermal bath during the second half of the sixteenth century. The bath and its neighborhood have since become part of the consolidated city of Budapest. Its architecture still contains key characteristics of a Turkish bath, typified by a Turkish-style dome and octagonal pool.

Number of Pools: 4

Coed or Single-sex Bathing: Coed

Spa Services Available: Swimming pools, adventure pools, saunas, steam baths, and massage treatments

Conditions their Minerals Benefit: Degenerative joint illnesses, joint inflammations, disk problems, and lack of calcium in the bones.

Lukács Bath

The Lukács Bath has the coolest (temperature-wise) swimming pools for a Budapest spa. The outdoor men’s swimming pool stays at a temperature of 22 °C (71 °F). The area known as sauna world contains five saunas, an ice cooling pool, an igloo, and a heated roman bench. There are several plaques placed around the exterior walls from previous bathers expressing their appreciation for the waters' healing powers.

Number of Pools: 5

Coed or single-sex bathing: Coed, but some of their pools are single-sex pools

Spa Services available: Three outdoor swimming pools, a steam room, saunas, a Himalayan salt wall (for those with respiratory problems), and a weight bath, which can help those with spinal injuries

Conditions their Minerals Benefit: Gastrointestinal ailments, like hyperacidity, or gallbladder problems, nephritis, kidney stones, degenerative joint illnesses, chronic and sub-acute joint inflammations, vertebral disk problems, neuralgia, and lack of calcium in the bones.

Veli Bej Baths

The Veli Bej Baths are not only the oldest of the baths built by the Ottomans but are also believed by many to be the most beautiful in Budapest. They feature four small domed buildings around a central cupola. The original building has survived since 1686. In 1806, the bath expanded on the original Turkish buildings, and the last updates were made in 2011.

Number of Pools: 5

Coed or single-sex bathing: Coed, but some of their pools are single-sex pools on different weekdays

Spa Services available: Two steam chambers, Jacuzzi, Finnish and infra saunas, massage showers, a walking pool, swimming pool, and massage services

Conditions their Minerals Benefit: Degenerative disorders of the spinal columns and joints, chronic arthritis, neuralgia, calcium deficiency in bones