Budapest’s 9 Best Spas

From the Ottoman Turkish baths of Buda and the outdoor pools of Széchenyi to the restored Royal Spa and the hotel spas of Pest: nine Budapest spas, what each does best and what to book, every detail checked on the bath’s or hotel’s own website.

Budapest bathes on a grand scale. Hot springs rise beneath the city, and their water reaches you in very different rooms: under a 16th-century Ottoman dome at the foot of Gellért Hill, in the steaming courtyard of a bath palace in City Park, in a garden bath near Margaret Bridge, and in the pool halls and new spas of the grand hotels on the Pest side.

The traditions come in layers. The Ottoman baths keep their octagonal pools, domes and steam. The bath palaces of the early 20th century added outdoor pools that steam through the winter, sauna worlds and medical pools. The hotel spas bring Hungarian moor mud, mud from Lake Hévíz and thermal-inspired skincare into the treatment room.

We chose nine and checked every detail on each bath’s or hotel’s own website. Four are public thermal baths, best for long, sociable soaks; five are hotel spas, quieter and better for a treatment. Two famous names are missing because they are closed: the Gellért and the Király baths. Each entry tells you who it suits and what to book.

At a glance

1. Széchenyi Thermal Bath · City Park · Bath palace · Outdoor thermal pools in front of the 1913 building

2. Rudas Baths · Buda · Ottoman Turkish bath · Six pools under a dome, and a rooftop pool over the Danube

3. Lukács Baths · Buda · Historic thermal bath · A courtyard of marble tablets of thanks, and a Sauna World

4. Veli Bej Bath · Buda · Ottoman bath · An octagonal pool and four bathing niches, kept by the Brothers Hospitallers

5. Royal Spa · Erzsébetváros · Historic hotel spa · A restored pool hall dating back to 1886

6. The Spa at Four Seasons · Lipótváros · Hotel spa · An infinity-edge pool and Hungarian moor mud

7. Anantara Spa · Erzsébetváros · Hotel spa · Mud from Lake Hévíz and a softly lit pool

8. AWAY Spa · Andrássy út · Contemporary hotel spa · A tiled pool under vaulted ceilings

9. Kempinski The Spa · Inner City · Hotel day spa · A pool looking out over Erzsébet Park

1. Széchenyi Thermal Bath

Best for: The classic Budapest day: outdoor thermal pools in front of a bath palace, in any season.

The setting: The bath stands at Állatkerti körút 9–11 in City Park. It was completed in 1913 to plans by Győző Czigler, the first thermal bath on the Pest side, made possible by the deep drilling of the mining engineer Vilmos Zsigmondy; the outdoor section followed in 1927. The bath describes itself as one of the largest spa complexes in Europe.

Heat, water and treatments: Outside are three pools: the thermal pool at 36–38°C, a 50-metre swimming pool at 26–28°C and a leisure pool at 32–34°C. Indoors are medical pools at 28–40°C and plunge pools at 18°C and 40°C. The saunas run from aroma saunas at 50–55°C to the Vulkano (70–80°C) and the Dante and Phoenix saunas (80–90°C), with a salt-inhalation steam room and a salt chamber at 35–40°C.

What to book: The Private Spa: eight Superior and five Deluxe private rooms, each booked with four hours in the bath; the Deluxe and Superior Collections add a 45-minute aroma massage for two. Since 1 August 2025 the bath does not admit children under 14.

2. Rudas Baths

Best for: An Ottoman dome by day, the rooftop pool and the Danube by night.

The setting: At Döbrentei tér 9, at the foot of Gellért Hill, the heart of Rudas is the Turkish bath that the bath itself calls 450 years old: an octagonal pool under a hemispherical dome, ringed by columns, with light falling through coloured glass in the dome. The bath says 21 hot springs rise beneath it.

Heat, water and treatments: The Turkish bath has six thermal pools at 16, 28, 30, 33, 36 and 42°C, with 20 minutes the recommended stay. Up on the roof, the panorama pool (36°C) looks across the Danube and the city. The wellness area adds pools at 11, 32, 36 and 42°C with neck showers, the sauna world has two Finnish saunas (60–70°C and 90–100°C), an aroma sauna, a steam cabin and a salt cabin, and there is a 20.5-metre swimming pool at 29°C.

What to book: The Rudas Water Ritual, a massage that mixes vigorous Swedish strokes with thermal-water jets and pourings, using a handmade soap made from the water of the bath’s Juventus spring; it is booked on the spot. Or come for Night above the city, mixed bathing on Friday and Saturday nights from 10pm to 3am, with a cocktail bar on the roof.

3. Lukács Baths

Best for: Bathing as Budapest does: medicinal pools, a garden courtyard and a slower pace.

The setting: At Frankel Leó út 25–29, near the Buda end of Margaret Bridge, Lukács traces its story to the 12th-century Knights of St John, who cared for the sick here. In 1884 a new owner began the spa hotel and hydrotherapy department; guests who left cured set marble tablets of thanks into the courtyard wall, and the drinking hall followed in 1937.

Heat, water and treatments: The covered thermal section has three medicinal pools at 32, 36 and 40°C. Outside, the adventure pool (33–35°C), open all year, has bubble beds, neck showers and a lazy river, beside two swimming pools at 22°C and 26°C, a 20°C plunge pool and a Kneipp pool. The Finnish sauna (80–90°C), steam rooms and a herbal sauna come with the basic ticket.

What to book: A ticket that includes the Sauna World, with a salt-crystal sauna, an aroma steam room, an infrared sauna, a naturist sauna and a tepidarium; sauna programmes run on Tuesdays and at weekends. The Sauna World is a swimsuit-free zone.

4. Veli Bej Bath

Best for: An Ottoman bath with room to breathe, away from the tour groups.

The setting: Veli Bej belongs to the Brothers Hospitallers and sits beside their Buda hospital at Árpád fejedelem útja 7. The order calls it Budapest’s largest and most beautiful Turkish bath.

Heat, water and treatments: The Turkish bath has five pools: the octagonal central pool at 36–38°C and four smaller pools of different temperatures in four bathing niches around it. The bath explains that the spring water flows through so quickly that the central pool renews itself without chemicals.

Two steam baths scented with essential oils, massage showers with an ice machine, a Finnish sauna, an infrared sauna, a jacuzzi, a Kneipp walk and a swimming pool complete it.

What to book: A massage (relaxing, refreshing or sports), done with natural olive oil. Ask for a time at the till when you arrive: the bath takes no advance bookings for massages, and they are paid in cash. Children under 14 are not admitted.

An Ottoman dome, a bath palace in the snow, a pool hall from 1886: Budapest bathes on a grand scale.

5. Royal Spa at Corinthia Budapest

Best for: A 19th-century pool hall with all the comfort of a grand hotel.

The setting: The Royal Spa is on the ground floor of the Corinthia, Erzsébet körút 43–49. Its story goes back to 1886, and it has been restored to its original splendour: a pool hall under a coloured-glass ceiling, with wrought-iron balconies and tiled walls, in more than 1,000 square metres.

Heat, water and treatments: A 15-metre swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a Finnish sauna, a salt sauna, a steam room, an experience shower and relaxation areas.

What to book: One of the ESPA facials or body treatments on the spa’s menu. Outside guests are welcome but should contact the spa first. Children under 16 may use the facilities from 9am to 3pm, and treatments are for over-16s only.

6. The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace

Best for: Hungarian ingredients and a calm pool, beside the Chain Bridge.

The setting: Inside the Art Nouveau Gresham Palace on Széchenyi István tér, facing the Chain Bridge. The spa is intimate: five treatment rooms, one of them for couples, and a relaxation room.

Heat, water and treatments: A 12-metre indoor infinity-edge pool with a whirlpool beside it, plus steam rooms and saunas. The menu runs to 26 treatments.

What to book: Touch of the Earth, a body treatment made with lavender, grapeseed oil, salt and Omorovicza’s Hungarian Moor Mud; or the Hungarian Moor Mud Therapy. Outside guests can use the pool and spa when they book a treatment of at least 60 minutes.

7. Anantara Spa at Anantara New York Palace

Best for: Thai-style warmth and Hungarian mud, a few steps from the New York Café.

The setting: The spa in the New York Palace, Erzsébet körút 9–11, covers 500 square metres and feels like a warm cocoon, with a cave-like run of wet facilities, a tea lounge and a corner of three hanging chairs.

Heat, water and treatments: A heated 15-metre relaxation pool, softly lit; a Finnish sauna for six; an aromatherapy steam room and a rainforest shower. There are five massage rooms, among them a couples’ room with its own jacuzzi and a Thai massage room.

What to book: Hungarian Mud Therapy (90 minutes): an exfoliation, warm mud from the thermal lake of Hévíz on the back, and a back massage. The Anantara Signature Journey (90 minutes) pairs a foot ritual, a full-body massage and an express facial. Book facility use ahead at weekends.

8. AWAY Spa at W Budapest

Best for: A modern spa that borrows from the bath-house, on Andrássy út.

The setting: At W Budapest, Andrássy út 25, you reach the spa through a maze of mirrors. Its centre is the WET area: a pool dressed in traditional tiles and earthy tones under vaulted ceilings, a nod to Budapest’s bath culture.

Heat, water and treatments: An aromatherapy steam room at 45°C and a Finnish sauna at 80°C. A weekly programme in the WET area brings mindfulness sessions, yoga and sound baths.

What to book: The mineral treatments made with Omorovicza and inspired by Hungary’s thermal baths; the spa’s other facials and massages use Comfort Zone. Open daily, 8am–8pm.

9. Kempinski The Spa Budapest

Best for: A light, quiet swim and sauna in the middle of the city.

The setting: In the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus on Erzsébet tér, the redesigned spa covers 525 square metres. Its windows look over the trees of Erzsébet Park and the Ferris wheel, and natural light fills the pool area.

Heat, water and treatments: A heated pool (7 × 5 metres, 27°C) with counter-current jets and a neck massage stream, and a choice of heat: a tepidarium, a steam room, a Finnish sauna and a bio sauna. Teas and green apples wait by the pool.

What to book: The Day Spa: three hours in the pool and saunas, open to non-residents with advance booking and prepayment. Treatments draw on seaweeds, sea salts and oils, in four treatment rooms. The saunas, steam room and gym are for over-16s.

Our advice

Our advice: buy bath tickets online (Széchenyi sells them up to 180 days ahead) and go early in the morning or in the evening. Bring a swimsuit, flip-flops and a towel; a swimming cap is compulsory in the Rudas swimming pool. Children under 14 are not admitted at Széchenyi, Rudas, Lukács or Veli Bej, while the hotel spas set family hours of their own.

At Rudas the Turkish bath is for women only on Tuesdays and men only on Wednesdays, and the Lukács Sauna World is swimsuit-free. In the hottest thermal pools, keep to the 20 minutes the baths recommend. The Gellért Baths have been closed since 1 October 2025, with reopening expected in 2028, and the Király Bath is closed until further notice.