One of my personal favorites in Budapest is the Széchenyi Fürdő, also known as Széchenyi Thermal Bath or the City Park bath. It is not only one of my personal favorites, but the favorite of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people, and every year there are several million people coming to this complex located in the City Park of Budapest, next to the State Cirucs, the Zoo and other great activities. That is also why we listed the City Park in it self as the number one of our list Budapest best – the best five of Budapest.
Before arriving to Budapest you might wonder which thermal bath to visit, and many consider whether to visit Gellért Fürdő or Széchenyi Fürdő. If you have the same question, read the following article written by Budapest Guide: Gellért Bath or Széchenyi bath: Where to go?
Széchenyi Fürdő has two main entrances for guests arriving. Personally, I usually use the one facing the State Circus, but if you arrive from the Vajdahunyad Castle you can use the entrance facing that direction instead. Széchenyi Fürdő (Fürdő, a Hungarian word meaning bath in English) is open from 6.00 in the morning until 22.00 at night and the entrance is just a bit under 4000 HUF. On national holidays, during Christmas, Easter and on January 1st the thermal bath keeps open most of the time, so on days when few Budapest activities open and available, the Széchenyi Fürdő is normally a good option.
The thermal bath has three large outdoor pools. The warmest of the pools has a temperature of 37 or 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) and a depth of 115cm. It has the same temperature throughout the entire year. On the inside of the bath complex there are lots of pools (appx. 15) with different temperatures, but these are smaller pools, but still very enjoyable. There are also sauna’s on the inside of the complex, and if you would like some sort of treatment there are several options available at Széchenyi Fürdő. Upon arrival, you can, for example, order an aroma relax massage, a pedicure or a SPA detoxification. Some other treatments are available in the bath, but these are the most popular treatments.
The thermal water contains lots of minerals; calcium, magnesium, hydro-carbonate (also containing sodium and sulphate, with a significant content in fluoride and metaboric acid). Thus the pools are very healthy, so it is recommended for people with:
- egenerative joint diseases
- chronic and sub-acute arthritis
- orthopedic and post-accident treatments
Sounds good, doesn’t it? People coming to Budapest with small children are sometimes skeptical to the Széchenyi Fürdő, fearing that their children will be bored while there. That is not at all true. Children loves the Széchenyi therml bath, and I have often met parents visiting the thermal bath several times while in Budapest, on the request of their children.
Szechenyi SPA information
Address: Állatkerti körút 9-11
Telephone: +36 1 363-3210
Opening times: 6.00-22.00 (except from Christmas eve and New Years eve)
