Széchenyi Thermal Bath

I had heard that this place was a must-visit, but unfortunately, it was a major disappointment. It’s best to buy tickets in advance, as the baths are usually very crowded, especially on weekends. A full-day ticket costs 33 euros for an adult. We arrived on Sunday around 9:30 a.m., and there were already a lot of people. The building itself is impressive in size and architecture, with a beautiful main entrance and hall. However, for some reason, we were directed to enter through the back with our tickets. This area was very plain and made it immediately clear how old and poorly maintained the building is. What shocked me most was that the changing area is in the basement without any private space for changing, except for the restroom. If you want a private changing room, you have to pay extra. The smell there was also unpleasant. The baths have one side with warm water at 28°C, then a pool, and on the other side, cooler water. The overall condition left a lot to be desired—I would have appreciated more cleanliness and better upkeep. We stayed for two hours and left, unfortunately feeling extremely disappointed.

It was an interesting experience but nothing amazing like it's played out to be. Did spring for the upgraded private room and a massage with the entrance into the springs. The massage was the oddest, least relaxing massage I've ever done. Pinching and pulling up my skin, barely pressing for any sort of release of muscle tension. The private room was good, had complimentary drinks, and enjoyed the fact that I didn't need to worry about my items. The pools were warm and seemed like a variety of different temperatures. Some water pressure places to sit under or against to relieve muscles. Definitely, purchase tickets ahead of time and go earlier. Overall, I think this is more a tourist trap and that there are other better thermal baths.

We visited Széchenyi Thermal Bath on a weekday morning, arriving around 10 am. Even at this time, the queue to enter was long, so I highly recommend purchasing your tickets in advance, which allowed us to skip the line. Make sure to bring flip-flops, a water bottle, towels, and a swimming cap. While these items can be purchased or rented on-site, they come at a higher cost. The architecture is stunning, with a historic charm, although parts of the bath feel a bit dated, and the upkeep could be improved. A tip for added security—book a private cabin. We initially opted for lockers, but after hearing that items had been stolen from lockers, we rented a private cabin for 1,000 HUF, which felt much safer. Two people can share one cabin, and you can keep your belongings there for the duration of your stay. While we enjoyed the variety of hot and cold plunge pools, steam rooms, and saunas, a few areas were closed for construction. It’s best to arrive as soon as the baths open, as it became increasingly crowded over time. There’s also a restaurant and bar on-site, although we didn’t get a chance to try them. Overall, Széchenyi offers a great experience, especially if you’re prepared and visit early.

The outdoor pool has circle loop of water that very fun. The indoor pools has various temperatures for choosing and has sauna and stream. There are locker rooms for keeping stuffs but no places for changing clothes. You need to change clothes in locker room with other people, not private. Toilet is quite poor and creepy.

Slightly elevated YMCA outdoor pool. The lockers, showers, and sauna was on par, and even dips below what you'd expect in a local gym or swimming pool. Of course, if the price was that of a local swimming pool there would be no complaints, but at close to 45 euros for simple entry, expectations were set higher. The outdoor pool is quite nice, but at that price, I'd recommend a higher tier outdoor spa. There are add-ons to elevate your general experience, but the price to value seems quite low. That being said, the food was not overpriced compared to other restaurants. Unless this is a must-do on your list for the sake of hitting the classic spots in Budapest, I'd recommend investing your money in more unique, valuable experiences. If you must go, I'd recommend watching the sunset from the pool , which could be a unique experience.

Great place, very big with many options of different pools. The big pool is outdoors and it was nice because it was sunny outside but in the morning it was still cold. You can bring towels from home or to buy there. There is also massages:)

Széchenyi Thermal Bath was stunning and the architecture really adds to the experience. The architecture alone would make it worth visiting! The main outdoor pools are spacious and are the perfect temperature. Inside, there’s a range of pools and saunas with different temperatures. You can rent towels, swimsuits, and flip-flops. They also offer locker rentals so you can keep your belongings safe. Everything was clean and well-organised, and it was easy to navigate for such a big place. Definitely recommend booking tickets ahead, bringing your own towel, swimsuit and flip flops.

Nice place to visit, but read my review for all the details. We bought our tickets for the same day we went, Sunday afternoon, and we did not wait in the queue to enter. There was a small queue for buying tickets at the entrance. They give you a bracelet which is used to enter and to open your locker. The main pool water was hot, but quite busy, towards the evening there was a bit more space for swimming. There is written that slippers are mandatory. There is another pool with swimming lanes, the water was cold, and you must wear a swimming hat to use it. Few smaller indoor pools as well, the water was not that hot. We have been told that there are quite a few saunas (there is one where you can get naked). We have only tried one. There is a shop where you can buy all you need, towel, swimming hat, bath robe, slippers, swimsuits, cosmetics, souvenirs, etc You are not allowed to take your drinks in the pool, we have kept them on the side of the pool. The only negative experience was at the end. Everyone needs to leave the pool at 19:40, the lifeguards are telling you to leave so we rushed to the showers. The cleaners made us feel really bad when they started talking about us (I understand Hungarian) when we have not been ready and out of the changing room by 20:00, which was not totally our fault. The ladies were rude, arguing and questioning us why we were not ready in 20 min and stood next to us until we rushed to dress up. They have left us with a bad feeling after our nice day in the bath, which could have been avoided and it was unnecessary as we were not totally the last ones. When I started talking with them in Hungarian they got even more upset. As a suggestion to management, would be to make an announcement around 7pm regarding the closing time of the pool and by what time we need to leave the building. This would help the first time visitors to know what they were supposed to do and when or at the cashier to remind us about these before we entered, instead of having a bunch of ladies to argue and feel kicked out of the place, in a rush with wet hair when it was cold outside. I got sick because of this. It would also be nice to speak with your staff to be kinder with the guests, we really tried to be fast to get out but they were annoying and slowed us down by constantly lecturing us. So dear future visitors, enjoy your time but learn from our experience. 🏊🏻‍♂️👙🩳

I had heard that this place was a must-visit, but unfortunately, it was a major disappointment. It’s best to buy tickets in advance, as the baths are usually very crowded, especially on weekends. A full-day ticket costs 33 euros for an adult. We arrived on Sunday around 9:30 a.m., and there were already a lot of people. The building itself is impressive in size and architecture, with a beautiful main entrance and hall. However, for some reason, we were directed to enter through the back with our tickets. This area was very plain and made it immediately clear how old and poorly maintained the building is. What shocked me most was that the changing area is in the basement without any private space for changing, except for the restroom. If you want a private changing room, you have to pay extra. The smell there was also unpleasant. The baths have one side with warm water at 28°C, then a pool, and on the other side, cooler water. The overall condition left a lot to be desired—I would have appreciated more cleanliness and better upkeep. We stayed for two hours and left, unfortunately feeling extremely disappointed.

It was an interesting experience but nothing amazing like it's played out to be. Did spring for the upgraded private room and a massage with the entrance into the springs. The massage was the oddest, least relaxing massage I've ever done. Pinching and pulling up my skin, barely pressing for any sort of release of muscle tension. The private room was good, had complimentary drinks, and enjoyed the fact that I didn't need to worry about my items. The pools were warm and seemed like a variety of different temperatures. Some water pressure places to sit under or against to relieve muscles. Definitely, purchase tickets ahead of time and go earlier. Overall, I think this is more a tourist trap and that there are other better thermal baths.

We visited Széchenyi Thermal Bath on a weekday morning, arriving around 10 am. Even at this time, the queue to enter was long, so I highly recommend purchasing your tickets in advance, which allowed us to skip the line. Make sure to bring flip-flops, a water bottle, towels, and a swimming cap. While these items can be purchased or rented on-site, they come at a higher cost. The architecture is stunning, with a historic charm, although parts of the bath feel a bit dated, and the upkeep could be improved. A tip for added security—book a private cabin. We initially opted for lockers, but after hearing that items had been stolen from lockers, we rented a private cabin for 1,000 HUF, which felt much safer. Two people can share one cabin, and you can keep your belongings there for the duration of your stay. While we enjoyed the variety of hot and cold plunge pools, steam rooms, and saunas, a few areas were closed for construction. It’s best to arrive as soon as the baths open, as it became increasingly crowded over time. There’s also a restaurant and bar on-site, although we didn’t get a chance to try them. Overall, Széchenyi offers a great experience, especially if you’re prepared and visit early.

The outdoor pool has circle loop of water that very fun. The indoor pools has various temperatures for choosing and has sauna and stream. There are locker rooms for keeping stuffs but no places for changing clothes. You need to change clothes in locker room with other people, not private. Toilet is quite poor and creepy.

Slightly elevated YMCA outdoor pool. The lockers, showers, and sauna was on par, and even dips below what you'd expect in a local gym or swimming pool. Of course, if the price was that of a local swimming pool there would be no complaints, but at close to 45 euros for simple entry, expectations were set higher. The outdoor pool is quite nice, but at that price, I'd recommend a higher tier outdoor spa. There are add-ons to elevate your general experience, but the price to value seems quite low. That being said, the food was not overpriced compared to other restaurants. Unless this is a must-do on your list for the sake of hitting the classic spots in Budapest, I'd recommend investing your money in more unique, valuable experiences. If you must go, I'd recommend watching the sunset from the pool , which could be a unique experience.

Great place, very big with many options of different pools. The big pool is outdoors and it was nice because it was sunny outside but in the morning it was still cold. You can bring towels from home or to buy there. There is also massages:)

Széchenyi Thermal Bath was stunning and the architecture really adds to the experience. The architecture alone would make it worth visiting! The main outdoor pools are spacious and are the perfect temperature. Inside, there’s a range of pools and saunas with different temperatures. You can rent towels, swimsuits, and flip-flops. They also offer locker rentals so you can keep your belongings safe. Everything was clean and well-organised, and it was easy to navigate for such a big place. Definitely recommend booking tickets ahead, bringing your own towel, swimsuit and flip flops.

Nice place to visit, but read my review for all the details. We bought our tickets for the same day we went, Sunday afternoon, and we did not wait in the queue to enter. There was a small queue for buying tickets at the entrance. They give you a bracelet which is used to enter and to open your locker. The main pool water was hot, but quite busy, towards the evening there was a bit more space for swimming. There is written that slippers are mandatory. There is another pool with swimming lanes, the water was cold, and you must wear a swimming hat to use it. Few smaller indoor pools as well, the water was not that hot. We have been told that there are quite a few saunas (there is one where you can get naked). We have only tried one. There is a shop where you can buy all you need, towel, swimming hat, bath robe, slippers, swimsuits, cosmetics, souvenirs, etc You are not allowed to take your drinks in the pool, we have kept them on the side of the pool. The only negative experience was at the end. Everyone needs to leave the pool at 19:40, the lifeguards are telling you to leave so we rushed to the showers. The cleaners made us feel really bad when they started talking about us (I understand Hungarian) when we have not been ready and out of the changing room by 20:00, which was not totally our fault. The ladies were rude, arguing and questioning us why we were not ready in 20 min and stood next to us until we rushed to dress up. They have left us with a bad feeling after our nice day in the bath, which could have been avoided and it was unnecessary as we were not totally the last ones. When I started talking with them in Hungarian they got even more upset. As a suggestion to management, would be to make an announcement around 7pm regarding the closing time of the pool and by what time we need to leave the building. This would help the first time visitors to know what they were supposed to do and when or at the cashier to remind us about these before we entered, instead of having a bunch of ladies to argue and feel kicked out of the place, in a rush with wet hair when it was cold outside. I got sick because of this. It would also be nice to speak with your staff to be kinder with the guests, we really tried to be fast to get out but they were annoying and slowed us down by constantly lecturing us. So dear future visitors, enjoy your time but learn from our experience. 🏊🏻‍♂️👙🩳