Budapest thermal baths: which are open and the Rudas schedule

"Hungary is a land-locked country (…) but it's also home to an amazing thermal bath scene, where you can luxuriate in hot waters for hour after hour."

Benjamin Norris, Bristol, May 2018

A week after a beach trip to Portugal, copywriter Benjamin Norris flew to Budapest with the Tampa Stripes Hint of Mint in his bag. In his review for Sanwin Beachwear he describes lying in "the medieval Turkish baths on the side of the river Danube": the Rudas Turkish bath, on the Buda bank. He is one of the ambassadors of Sanwin Beachwear.

The bath is still there. The rules have changed. Today they are spread over the websites of the individual baths, in English and in Hungarian. Here they are side by side, each with a link to its source.

Which Budapest thermal baths are open?

Of the well-known baths, Széchenyi, Rudas and Lukács are open, the big baths of the city, plus the small Veli Bej. Gellért is closed until 2028, and Király and Rác have been closed for years. Smaller baths such as Dandár are open too: see the table and the paragraph below it.

Széchenyi, Rudas and Lukács belong to Budapest Spas, the operator of the city baths. The current house rules of Budapest Spas, valid from 1 August 2025, cover seven baths including these three, with an annex for each bath. Veli Bej belongs to the Order of the Brothers of Mercy and is not on that list. Palatinus, Paskál, Pesterzsébet and Csillaghegy, also run by Budapest Spas, are open too, and children under 14 can go in there, according to the Budapest Spas notice on the age limit.

When can you go to the Rudas Turkish bath together?

On Monday, Thursday and Friday from 11:00, and all day on Saturday and Sunday. On those three weekdays the Turkish bath is men only until 10:45. Tuesday is women only all day, Wednesday men only all day.

On the men's and women's days you do not wear swimwear in the Turkish bath: the Rudas annex to the house rules (in Hungarian) says you cover yourself with two aprons. Going together, you wear swimwear and the rules below apply.

What has changed since 2025?

Two things: Gellért is closed, and since 1 August 2025 children under 14 are no longer admitted to Széchenyi. At Rudas that limit has applied since April 2022.

On its own website Gellért says: "The bath is closed from october 1, 2025. Planned reopening in 2028."

Budapest Spas explains the age limit in a notice of its own: a government decree of 2023 bans children under 14 from medicinal baths and from water above 35 degrees. Rudas and Dandár have refused them since April 2022. Széchenyi first let children into the outdoor pools, but that turned out to be unenforceable: since 1 August 2025 they may not enter the baths at all. According to Budapest Spas the same rule applies to Lukács.

An exception is possible only with a certificate from a rheumatologist or orthopaedist. According to the Széchenyi FAQ you send it for approval 24 hours before your visit. Travelling with children? Budapest Spas welcomes them all year round at Palatinus, Paskál, Pesterzsébet and Csillaghegy.

What do you wear in the thermal baths?

Only clothing made for swimming. Széchenyi puts it like this in its FAQ: "Only swimwear that has been specially designed for swimming purposes and is made of thin, colorfast material (…) is permitted in the swimming pools."

So jeans, gym shorts, leggings and underwear stay out of the water; the bath explicitly lists swim shorts and board shorts as allowed. Outside the water you wear flip-flops, and you shower before and after the bath: that is in the hygiene rules of Budapest Spas.

Do you need a swim cap in the thermal baths?

Only in the lap pool. In the thermal pools and the leisure pools you do not need a cap. Széchenyi: "Wearing cap is obligatory only in our swimming pool, otherwise known as lap pool." Rudas says the same about its own lap pool.

If you want to swim lengths, bring your own swim cap. A hat or a towel on your head does not count: "The swimming cap cannot be replaced by other objects or items of clothing placed on the head."

How hot is the water in the thermal baths?

Up to 42 degrees Celsius, in the Turkish bath at Rudas. The lap pools are the coolest, so you can actually swim. Per bath, as the baths state it themselves:

Do not stay too long in the hottest water. For the medicinal indoor pool Széchenyi gives a bathing time of 20 minutes. If you would rather go into cold water, see our guide to quick-dry swim trunks for what a short does once it is wet.

What do you bring to a thermal bath?

Swimwear, flip-flops and a towel, and a swim cap for the lap pool. With a day ticket at Széchenyi you get no towel, bathrobe, flip-flops or swim cap. The bath's shop sells some of it, not in every size, and nothing can be rented. So bring everything yourself.

• A swim short made for swimming.
• Flip-flops for everywhere outside the water. Not in the sauna: they are forbidden there.
• A towel to sit on in the sauna: bare skin or swimwear must not touch the bench.
• A swim cap, only if you want to swim lengths.
• A second short and a bag: the wet one goes in the bag, and you put on a dry one for the way back.

A locker at Széchenyi is small: a backpack fits. Arriving with a suitcase? Take a cabin; you keep it all day, and for two people one cabin is usually enough.

Budapest thermal baths: frequently asked questions

Going to Széchenyi on a busy day? Buy online, because online tickets get in first. Tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded afterwards. The answers about Széchenyi come from the bath's own FAQ.

What does thermal water do to your swim shorts?

It leaves minerals behind in the fabric. This is what a litre of Széchenyi water contains, according to the bath itself:

If that dries in your short, it stays in. So rinse it under the shower straight after the bath, before it goes in the bag. At home, follow the care instructions: 30 °C on the hand wash programme, with a delicate detergent, and not in the dryer. Do not wring it out; let it drip dry. That is the care advice we give for every Tampa.

The fabric of the Tampa swim shorts is tested in chlorine, salt water and UV light. Mineral water is not on that list, which is why rinsing is not a superfluous step.

Dry for the way back

Tampa Solid Presidential Blue

Norris's model in a restrained dark blue, the short in the lead photo. It is made of quick-dry peach polyester, with a tailored fit, a zip, buckles with the Sanwin logo and a back pocket with a zip. Rinse it under the bath's shower, let it drip and put it in the bag; with the second short from your packing list you walk out into the November cold dry.

Giving someone a weekend in Budapest? Put it in with the tickets. The size is the waist in inches, and the Tampa runs small: if in doubt, take the larger one, and the swim trunks size chart shows every size in cm. If it does not fit, the recipient picks a different size within 100 days, as long as the short has not been in the water and the tags are still on. The Tampa comes with a 5 year warranty.

Tampa Solid Presidential Bluedark blue, with zip and buckles

How exchanging for another size works is explained under returns and exchanges. Prefer another model? Discover all men's swim shorts from Sanwin Beachwear.