Bathing in soothing warm waters can be found in cultures across the world. Hungary, despite being landlocked and not filled with volcanoes, is chockfull of thousands of underground hot springs. Conquerers over the years have built beautiful buildings over the springs to enjoy their thermal qualities.

Below is a list of 5 of the best thermal bath houses in Budapest. Make sure you add at least one to your next Budapest itinerary!

Bath House Etiquette and Hacks

1. Bring a bathing suit. If you can swing it, bring your own towel, flip flops, or even a robe if you are feeling fancy. Do not under any circumstances get finagled into buying any of the bath house ‘basic packages’, which comes with a disposable towel, rope, flip flops, and a bit of shampoo. It’s very overpriced and you can just buy the entrance fee on it’s own and rent a real towel or other item you are missing separately.
2. Always have a bit of cash on hand for deposits for rentals (like towels).
3. Try to either bring something to eat or plan to eat before you go, because though some of the bath houses sell food, it can be very overpriced.
4. Go early! The bathhouses can get very crowded, but they open early too so you can beat the crowds if you wake up in time!
5. Before you get soaking, take a little tour of the facilities. Some of these bath houses are enormous and if you don’t plan out where you will be going you might miss something!

Top thermal baths in Budapest

5. Lukacs Baths

Lukacs baths is an enormous complex with a little bit of everything from traditional turkish to modern swimming (including an ‘adventure’ pool with jets). They also have amazing and affordable spa treatments. I enjoyed a leg massage which was great after walking around the city all day. Be careful to remember where you put your belongings as this maze-like bathhouse can be a little confusing!

4. Gellert Spa

Gellert spa is located in the beautiful and historic Gellert Hotel, on the Buda side of the river very close to the beautiful green Szabadság Híd bridge. It’s a large, maze-like complex with both enormous indoor and outdoor pool areas. The Art Nouveau design and mosaics are nothing short of incredible. I personally felt like Gellert was lacking on the thermal springs (the main focus are the beautiful large swimming pools) but it just depends what you are looking for. This is a great place to kill a few hours sunbathing. Their outdoor pool also turns into a wavepool every hour!

3. Szechenyi Baths

Szechenyi is the bath house that most people recognize from pictures on social media. It’s a beautiful yellow complex and offers the most pool variety. There are about 20 different pools of varying temperatures and mineral contents. There is also a large swimming pool, ‘adventure’ pool (jets and other fun things), and a large outdoor hot pool. This is the kind of bath house where you would want to lounge and sunbathe for hours, as they provide lounge chairs and a snack bar, daring you to stay all day! Do note that because this is one of the more ‘famous’ bath houses, it gets incredibly crowded, so going early in the morning is recommended. Szechenyi is the furthest from the city center on this list, but is part of the beautiful Varosliget city park which boasts a castle and the famous Hosok Tere (Heroe’s Square).

2. Veli Bej Spa

Toting the title of Budapest’s ‘oldest’ thermal bath, Veli Bej is located inside of a hospital (and is used by patients to cure all kinds of ailments!). It is a beautiful modern facility surrounding a traditional Turkish bath. There are 5 different kinds of thermal baths, a number of interesting saunas including infrared, and different temperature steam rooms with beautiful mosaic. This hot spring is great if you want a mix of modern and ancient. Check the facility hours before going, as they are open unusual hours.

1. Rudas Thermal Baths

Of all the bath houses in Budapest, this one is my favorite because of it’s diversity of bathing opportunities. There is a gorgeous turkish style hot spring area, with 5 different pools in a dark but enchanting domed bathing hall. They have buckets of cold water you can pull over your head to cool off between dips, a beautiful modern hot spring area with views of the city, a rooftop bar and hot tub, a large swimming pool, multiple saunas (think Finnish style), and finally – a great restaurant! This bath house sits right on the Danube River and so there are great views. They are open late on weekends too for more of a party scene. I recommend going in the early evening to take advantage of the turkish springs which close early, and then staying on for dinner and drinks as you watch the sunset from the rooftop hot tub.