Széchenyi Thermal Bath

The Széchenyi Thermal Bath is the best-known of Budapest's spas and one of the largest bath complexes in Europe. Designed by Győző Czigler in a Neo-Baroque style, it opened in City Park in 1913 and was extended to its present size in 1927. The yellow facades, domes and statues surround three large outdoor pools, and inside are many smaller thermal pools, saunas and steam rooms. The water comes from deep hot springs drilled in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it emerges at more than 70°C before being cooled for bathing.

The outdoor pools are the main attraction. The warm pools are open year-round, and bathing in steaming water on a cold winter day, with snow on the balustrades, is a memorable Budapest experience. In summer the courtyard is lively and busy. The middle outdoor pool is a lap pool, where swimming caps are required. Indoors, temperatures range from cool plunge pools to hot thermal pools, and a series of saunas and steam rooms lead off the corridors. Older locals still come to play chess on floating boards in the outdoor pool, a scene that has become a symbol of the bath.

Bring your own swimwear, towel and slippers: daily tickets do not include them and the bath does not rent them, although a shop on site sells some items. Slippers are required. You can choose a small locker or a private changing cabin, which is more convenient for couples or if you carry luggage. Note that children under 14 have not been admitted since 1 August 2025, except with a medical certificate approved in advance; families with young children should consider Palatinus or another bath instead.

The standard opening hours are 07:00 to 20:00 from Monday to Thursday, 07:00 to 22:00 on Friday and 08:00 to 20:00 at weekends, though some services keep shorter hours. Weekday mornings are the quietest time to visit. On Saturday nights from February to December the bath hosts Sparty, an electronic music party with separate tickets, when normal daytime services are not available. Allow at least two to three hours, drink plenty of water and limit long soaks in the hottest pools.

The entrance is opposite the zoo inside City Park. Széchenyi fürdő station on the yellow metro line M1 is right outside, and Heroes' Square and the Museum of Fine Arts are about ten minutes' walk away.