In the 2nd Century the thermal waters of Budapest were enjoyed by the Romans, but it was only during the Turkish occupation of Hungary in the 16th century that the bath culture really started flourishing. Today, there are 15 public thermal baths in Budapest, not counting the private thermal spas established in some luxury hotels, such as the Ramada Plaza, Thermal Hotel Margitsziget and the Corinthia Royal, which have their own spas.
Budapest has held the title "City of Spas" since 1934, as it has more thermal and medicinal water springs than any other capital city in the world. There are 118 springs in Budapest, providing over 70 million litres of thermal water a day. The temperature of the waters is between 21 and 78 Celsius.
The Hotel Gellért
Built in wonderful Art Nouveau-style and opened in 1918, the impressive Gellért hotel shares the building with the world-famous Gellért Spa, which is accessible for free.
The Duna Restaurant on the gallery level offers not only a gorgeous view over the Danube and the city crossed by the Liberty Bridge, but also well-known gourmet cuisine, prepared by executive chef Tamás Boross and his experienced team. The Sörözõ Brasserie is the Gellért's casual restaurant for those who want to combine a relaxed atmosphere with first-class Hungarian and International cuisine.
In the 12th century, the Knights of the Order of Saint John engaged in curing the sick and settled in the area occupied today by the Lukács Bath. They were followed by the Orders of Rhodos and Malta, who built their monastery baths as well. The bath operated through the period of the Turkish occupation, but the energy of the springs was used primarily for grinding wheat and the production of gunpowder. After the reoccupation of Buda, the bath became the property of the Treasury.
The “drinking cure” hall of the Bath was built in 1937. The first department to ensure complex thermal bath facilities (daytime hospital) was established in 1979 in Budapest, in the Lukács Thermal Bath and in 1999, the open-air pools of the swimming pool section were modernised. In the course of this, the so-called mud-pond, hardly used before, was replaced by a new design of pool, equipped with a whirling corridor, underwater effervescence, neck shower, water beam back massage - hidden in the seating banks, whirlpool, geysers, effervescent bed and many other facilities unfamiliar before this time. The two swimming pools of differing temperatures in the other courtyard of the Bath were also rebuilt with water-filtering and circulation devices.
1023 Frankel Leó út 25 District 2. Budapest
Rudas Thermal Bath
The Turkish bath was built during the 16th century during the period of the Turkish occupation. Below the 10 metre diameter dome, supported by 8 pillars, there is an octagonal pool. The thermal bath has been visited from 1936 exclusively by men. The swimming pool, operating as a therapeutic swimming facility with a sauna, was built in 1896.
1013 Döbrentei tér 9 District 1. Budapest
Széchenyi Thermal Bath
The Széchenyi Thermal Bath is one of the largest spa complexes in Europe. It is also the first thermal bath of Pest, owing its existence to Vilmos Zsigmondy, a mining engineer. On his initiative, successful deep borings had been performed in the City Park, 1868-1878, where later, in 1881 an "Artesian bath" was in operation. This however soon became seen as outdated and the baths as we know them were built in 1913.
1146 Állatkerti körút. 11 District 14. Budapest
Dagály Thermal Bath
This Bath first opened in 1948 and later, in 1956 along with others, was expanded with a 50 mtr swimming pool. The water at that time was provided by a well bored in 1944, which finally secured the efficient use of the thermal waters found under the bed of the Danube. In 1970, the water of the Széchenyi Thermal Bath was directed to Dagály Bath, thus raising it to the status of a thermal baths. Dagály has provided a full range of medical services to its guests ever since.
1138 Népfürdő utca 36 District 13. Budapest
Dandár Thermal Bath
The architectural plan for the public bath in Dandár street was prepared by Ferenc K. Császár. The Bath was commissioned in 1930, and then transformed in 1936. During World War II the Bath was only slightly damaged so it could be opened as soon as 1945. Originally, the Bath operated as a sanitary bath. In 1978, however, following a thorough reconstruction, it was put in operation as a thermal bath.
1095 Dandár utca 5 District 9. Budapest.
Gellért Thermal Bath
We find records about the "miraculous" springs spurting up on the territory of the Bath from as early a date as the 15th century. These springs were later favoured by the Turks, as they were larger and hotter than the Buda baths of the period. In the 17th century, the site was named Sárosfürdő (Mud bath) because of the fine spring silt that was pushed up together with the spring water that settled at the bottom of the pools.
1118 Kelenhegyi út 4 District 11. Budapest
Király Thermal Bath
The construction of this Bath was begun by Arslan, the Pasha of Buda in 1565 and was completed by his successor, Sokoli Mustafa. The Király Thermal Bath had no direct natural hot water source, nor has it any today - the Turks built the Bath far from the springs to ensure the opportunity for bathing even in the case of an eventual siege, within the walls of the Castle.
1027 Fő utca 84 District 2. Budapest
Other destinations include
The spa town of Hévíz is nestled on the worlds second-largest thermal lake, is open all year – the mineral rich water rarely drops below 26ºC in temperature. The thermal centres at Kehidakustány and Zalakaros are also open whatever the season, and are suitable for the whole family.
Parents can indulge in treatments while the children splash about in the ‘fun bath’. Zalakaros is recommended for the relief of arthritis thanks to a combination of medicinal baths and generations of expertise.
All these thermal complexes are well provided with spa hotels offering ‘wellness’ packages, and you will also find such hotels at Siófok, Balatonfüred, Bük and Tapolca – the latter perched above a deep cave, the humid air from which has long been known to alleviate asthma.
North and West of Lake Balaton there are many spa resorts, the oldest and most famous is at Hévíz, five miles from Keszthely. Featuring Europe's largest thermal lake, the world's second largest, the first spa here was opened in 1795. With a temperature that rarely goes below 85-90 degrees, regardless of the season, Héviz has such voluminous springs feeding it that the entire lake replenishes itself every 24 hours. The therapeutic power of the minerals in Lake Héviz is so strong that it is recommended to limit your soaking to 20 minutes. An enclosed causeway leads to the centre of the lake where you will find a palacsinta (crepe) bar, massage, float rental and other services. The area has many places to stay, so you can choose from a deluxe spa hotel close to the lake, to one of the many apartments or houses that may be rented. While some spas, such as Hévíz or Sárvár are close to castles and vineyards, others like Bük Spa are located in areas packed with active vacation opportunities like golf or horseback riding.
