Széchenyi Thermal Bath
Széchenyi opened in City Park in 1913 to plans by Győző Czigler, and its water comes from the Saint Stephen Well, drilled in 1938. Three outdoor pools sit in the courtyard, people play chess in the 36 to 38 °C one, and bathing runs late on Friday evenings.
Getting in
- Public transport
- M1 metro to Széchenyi fürdő
- Address
- Állatkerti krt. 9-11, 1146 Budapest
- Crowds
- high. Busiest on weekend afternoons; weekday mornings are calm
- Also here
- Sauna ritual, Massage, Swimming lanes
Entry, hours and rules
- Entry
- Daily ticket with locker usage, weekdays (Monday to Thursday)HUF 13,200about €36
- Daily ticket with locker usage, Fridays and weekendsHUF 14,800about €40
- Daily ticket with locker usage, holidays and peak seasonHUF 15,800about €43
- Hours
- Mon07:00-20:00
- Tue07:00-20:00
- Wed07:00-20:00
- Thu07:00-20:00
- Fri07:00-22:00
- Sat08:00-20:00
- Sun08:00-20:00
- Swimwear and rules
- Swimwear made for swimming only: no street clothes, leggings or underwear in the pools. Swim cap required in the lap pool.
- Minimum age
- 14 and over.
- Tickets
- Day ticket, no time slot
- Official site
- szechenyibath.hu
- Facilities
- Outdoor poolIndoor poolSaunaSteam roomLockersChanging roomsCafé
About Széchenyi Thermal Bath
Before the bath there was a borehole: the mining engineer Vilmos Zsigmondy drilled the first well deep under City Park, and a temporary Artesian bath was running here by 1881. The building grew in 1927 with public bathing halls for men and women and an outdoor section, and in the mid-1960s came another thermal section for bathing in swimsuits. The water carries calcium, magnesium and hydrogen carbonate with sulphate, fluoride and metaboric acid, about 1,775 mg of dissolved minerals in every litre. A separate drinking well serves the drinking cure, which the bath suggests for some stomach, kidney and gall-bladder complaints.