Gellért Baths

The Gellért Baths are the most beautiful thermal baths in Budapest, and they know it. Built between 1912 and 1918 in the Secession Art Nouveau style, the complex is attached to the Gellért Hotel and features soaring stained-glass windows, mosaic floors, carved marble columns, and Zsolnay ceramic details that make the whole place feel less like a bathhouse and more like a palace where you happen to be allowed to swim.

The healing waters at this site have been documented since the thirteenth century, and the Ottoman Turks built their own baths here during their 150-year occupation. The current building was the vision of architects Artúr Sebestyén, Ármin Hegedüs, and Izidor Sterk, who wanted to create a bathhouse worthy of the thermal springs emerging from Gellért Hill. The water is rich in calcium, magnesium, and fluoride, and it reaches the surface at temperatures around 47 degrees Celsius.

The building took direct damage during World War II — the ornate Art Nouveau women's thermal bath was bombed, destroying the Zsolnay pyrogranite facade and the wooden dressing rooms. Restoration has been ongoing ever since, and in October 2025 the baths closed for a major refurbishment with a planned reopening in 2028. If they have reopened by the time you visit, the experience will likely be extraordinary.

The outdoor wave pool, added in the 1920s, was one of the first artificial wave pools in Europe and remains a beloved summer destination. Inside, the main pool under its vaulted glass ceiling is one of the most photographed indoor pools in the world. Even if you cannot swim here during renovation, the exterior of the Gellért Hotel and the statue of St. Gellért directly above are worth the walk.