Széchenyi Thermal Bath
City Park & Heroes' Square4.2(66,332)out of 5 on Google
♨︎ 18–40°C18 pools
Closes at 20:00
♨️ The city's signature
Thermal baths in Budapest
Budapest sits on more than a hundred thermal springs, and has done its bathing in public since the Ottomans built the first domed baths in the sixteenth century. Every bath here, from the Neo-Baroque palace in the City Park to the small Turkish ones under Gellért Hill — with water temperatures, opening hours and what to bring.
36 places
Pesterzsébeti Jódos-Sós Gyógy- és Strandfürdő
Pesterzsébet4.4(6,593)out of 5 on Google
Closes at 20:00
MOM Swimming Pool and Sports Center
Hegyvidék & Normafa4.4(3,641)out of 5 on Google
Open · until 22:00
Király Thermal Bath
Buda Hills & Rózsadomb4.4(2,774)out of 5 on Google
BVSC Laky Karoly Swimming Pool
City Park & Heroes' Square4.5(1,927)out of 5 on Google
Open · until 21:00
SPARTY - Széchenyi Bath Party
City Park & Heroes' Square4.5(1,842)out of 5 on Google
Closed · Saturday from 21:30
Dandár Thermal Baths
Ferencváros & the Great Market Hall4.3(1,317)out of 5 on Google
Open · until 22:00
How to choose one
The baths are not interchangeable, and picking the wrong one for what you want is the most common mistake visitors make.
Széchenyi is the one on the postcards: an enormous Neo-Baroque complex in the City Park with three outdoor pools that stay warm through the winter. It is also the busiest by a wide margin. Go early, or go in the cold — snow above a 38°C pool is the single best thing this city does.
Gellért is the architectural one. The Art Nouveau interior with its glazed Zsolnay tiling is worth the ticket even if you never get in the water.
Rudas keeps the original Ottoman octagonal pool under a domed roof, and adds a rooftop pool with a view straight down the Danube. Check which days are mixed and which are single-sex before you go — that schedule is genuinely a trap for first-timers.
Király, Veli Bej and Lukács are the quiet ones. Fewer facilities, far fewer people, and much more like what a bath here is for locals: somewhere you go on a Tuesday.
What to bring
A swimsuit is required everywhere. Take a towel and flip-flops — rentals exist but cost more than they should. Lap pools require a swimming cap. Most baths sell all of these at the entrance at tourist prices, so packing them is the cheapest decision you will make all day.
A note on prices
Ticket prices change by day of week, by time of day, and by whether you want a private cabin instead of a locker. Rather than print a number that will be wrong within a season, each bath's own page links to its official site — check there, or book ahead if you are going at a weekend.
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Frequently asked
Which Budapest bath is best for a first visit?
Széchenyi, if you want the full picture-postcard experience and do not mind crowds. Gellért, if you care more about the architecture than the water. Rudas, if you want the Ottoman bath and the rooftop view.
Do I need to book a thermal bath in advance?
Not usually on a weekday. At weekends and over the winter holidays the queue at the main baths is real, and a pre-booked entry walks past it.
Are the baths mixed or separated by sex?
Most are mixed. A few of the historic Turkish baths still run single-sex days for part of the week — check the individual bath's page before you plan around it.
Can children go to the thermal baths?
At the lidos and the larger complexes, yes, and several have dedicated children's pools. The hot thermal pools have age limits, because sitting in 38–40°C water is not suitable for small children.