Of the two thermal baths we visited on our trip to Budapest, the Gellért Baths were my favorite.
Tragically, these are closed for renovations until 2028, but I found that even the (apparently) unrenovated baths to be lovely!
This particular complex was designed in the style of Art Nouveau in 1912, but its “magical healing waters” have been referenced since the Middle Ages!
Located across the Danube from Liberty Bridge, these baths are easily accessed via the M4 Metro, stopping at Szent Gellért tér-Műegyetem (which I incidentally found to be really cute).
Right off the bat, this venue was much quieter than the famous Syéchenyi Thermal Baths. The lobby was huge and grand with mosaic flooring and Roman columns. Visitors are provided with an RFID wristband to access a locker.
The locker rooms were fairly maze-like as they circled around the pools, but they were clean and open. The drawback is that there was a lot more traffic passing through the lockers, and they’re co-ed so guests may opt to change in the private bathrooms. The ladies room was pretty nice!
Some of the pools were closed off for renovations (which should have clued me into their pending closure), so the available pools were limited to two exterior, and two interior pools out of the ten total options.
The largest and my favorite of the pools is the outdoor wave pool. No waves were running on my visit- apparently the mechanism that runs the waves is nearly 100 years old and was frequently non functioning. Hopefully this will be fixed during this renovation period, but in the meantime I’d justified the name to myself by reasoning that it was the most rowdy pool- one where you were allowed to make waves!
This pool starts out shallow and gets deeper, with the lovely Gellért Hotel as its backdrop.
Next to the wave pool is the much smaller and much warmer Adventure Pool, which was nice to relax in with its shallow waters and underwater seating.
Gellért Bath’s indoor swimming pool is probably its most famous attribute. The full sized swimming pool is completely enclosed, surrounded by roman columns and capped off with a glass roof. This pool requires swimming caps, so make sure to pack one if you’re looking to swim in this iconic location.
There is also a small thermal pool located in this area that did not require a cap- so that’s where I spent some time soaking!
Typically there are also massage rooms, steam rooms and a sauna located on either side of this pool, but these were closed during my visit.
Looking over it all, the sun terrace offers seating (with umbrellas!) to relax and enjoy the outdoor weather between swims. Drinks and food are also available for purchase in this area. There’s nothing better than a nice spritz after a day in the sun!
Keep an eye out for the re-opening date of this bath- it’s definitely worth the visit!
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