Syéchenyi Thermal Baths are the most iconic and most touristy option of Budapest’s famous baths.
It’s a huge complex offering eighteen pool, three of which are outside, and easily accessible from city center via the M1 Metro to the Syéchenyi Fürdő station which drops visitors immediately outside the baths.
There are a few check in areas- we mistakenly went to the much nicer Spa Entrance first. We were redirected to the (still pretty nice), Bath Entrance, where we were easily able to check in for our spa day.
We’d been advised to book in advance, but there wasn’t much of a line when we arrived- maybe we just timed it well!
Upon checking in guests receive an RFID wristband that allows them to access a locker of their choosing- just follow the instructions, it’s pretty easy! These wristbands should stay on for the duration of the visit, so mind those tan lines!
I found the locker rooms to be a little grungy, being mostly underground, but they get the job done. Locker rooms are divided by gender so most people elect to change in the small nooks with the lockers, but there are private bathrooms and even showers!
Also of note is the bathing suit dryer, which allows you to comfortable pack out your swimsuit without dripping all over everything.
The most popular (and largest!) pools are located directly outside the main building, surrounded by the bright yellow Romanesque architecture. Loungers are strewn about the patio, though you’d have to be quick or lucky to snag one.
There are smaller lockers to store your phone here, which was really convenient!
To one side of this open space is the outdoor thermal pool, which has an average temperature of 36-38C and is relatively shallow at 1.3m. This pool was my favorite, and where I spent the most time.
The central pool is a swimming pool, where guests take laps. You are required to wear a swimming cap here- and yes they do take this very seriously!
The swimming pool is flanked on the opposite side, which is popular due to its fountains and small whirlpool! This pool was a little too milky for me to be comfortable in, but I braved the waters for the whirlpool, which was objectively very very fun.
Past these three pools, another building houses a selection of plunge pools and saunas. Being much smaller, it was harder to ignore the veritable human soup that made up these pools, and it was too hot for me to enjoy the saunas so I admittedly chickened out and headed back out to the outdoor thermal pool.
Food and drink (including alcohol!) is available for purchase here, but seating was few and far between.
Beware the Fröccs- those Hungarian wine spritzers are super strong, especially when you’ve been sweating in the sun all day.
Make sure to hydrate!
Too busy for you? Check out my post on the much quieter Gellért Baths here.
From nearly every angle in the Syéchenyi courtyards, the BallonFly hot air balloon was visible going up and down in the distance.
This entertained me for hours- and I was especially entertained by how no one else seemed to care about it.
Listen, I’ve never seen one of these before, and I could not figure out how it kept going up and down like that. Frankly, I still don’t understand it, but you best believe we went to go check it out as soon as we finished at the baths.
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