Naked Truth About Gellert Baths in Budapest Hungary

When it comes to beautiful places, Europe seems to have it covered, and it’s done it pretty well. Budapest’s Art Nouveau, with its crazy beautiful (and soooo gorgeous) Gellert Baths is no exception but surprisingly, it still goes undetected by many tourist radars. Today I’m going to tell you about some of the best thermal baths in Budapest, the famous Gellert baths and why a trip up there will leave you flabbergasted.

It is one of the highlights of Budapest and if you are looking for some unique and special things to do in Budapest, this is a place to note down add to your Budapest travel guide. In one sentence, they are the most exquisite thermal baths in the City of Spa and if hold on tight. Once you’re done with reading, below is the video from our trip to Gellert baths in Budapest that in Hungary may be more known as Gellert gyogyfurdo.

Although it might be hard to imagine it right now since you’re not at the place, you need to trust me on this one. The chances are, you have never bathed in such extravagance before. Despite everyone revering Szechenyi baths, there is certain element of classiness visibly noticeable in the interior of Gellert baths.

You can easily get confused with the entrance to the Gellert baths. If you wanted to up your game and make it into a full pampering experience, book yourself into a renowned Hotel Gellert Spa, officially known as Danubius Hotel Gellért. I totally recommend visiting it even if you are purely interested in the spa facilities, the interior reflects the art nouveau which has been well maintained and kept practically intact for decades, adding to the already delightful spa experience.

By all means, once you walk through the hallway, got changed and entered the main thermal pool area, you will instantly understand this is a long-awaited and totally quintessential part of your Budapest travel package.

It wasn’t until we started reviewing various guides and videos from Budapest until we realised what a gem remains almost unrevealed to the rest of Europe. Maybe it’s for the better, and since you are here, you may be visiting it hopefully still before people start switching from Szechenyi to Gellert baths.

The entire place is magical, one, because most thermal baths have medicinal properties, two, the art nouveau omnipresent within the building very much reminds you and allows you to drift your thoughts onto how in the past, Gellert thermal baths would once be frequented by the country leaders and influential aristocrats using it as a courtyard for socialising as well as tranquil their troubled minds before big decision making affecting entire economies.

And today, Gellert baths seems like a perfect spot for a date if you fancy a bit of pampering! There’s more to Budapest Spas than Szechenyi (you can check out our video here). In my own, very subjective eyes, Gellert Baths unconditionally deserves a title of The Spa Palace. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, steer towards art or simply love the elegance and class at its best.

These royal-style baths will be the icing on your ‘Budapest trip’ cake so you’d better eat it up and not leave room for any doubts whether to order it in the first place. By all means, you will be asking for a second helping.

In our case, it all goes back to our time in Japan. We were so spoilt for choice during our few months of travelling around this wonderfully unique, culturally rich land that it was pretty difficult to match the Japanese spa experience.

I must admit that this brought the bar even higher but… we were so wrong. Jackpot, the unassuming Gellert Spa seemed to be the winner and the forthcoming favourite when started searching for a place in Europe that would meet us in terms of distance from London and the total experience.

If anything, Gellert unanimously exceeded our expectations and we chose this place to celebrate Kevin’s birthday. And we could not have picked a better place for this special occasion. I wish we had discovered it a lot sooner!

How to get to Gellert Baths in Budapest?

But more importantly, how do you get to the full of splendour Gellert Baths in Budapest?

Gellert Baths are on the Gellert Hill on the Buda side of Budapest which may seem a bit of a walk if you’re staying in the Pest but it’s not impossible. You can always take public transport or do what we did, walk up there! It helped that our place was in quite a central location on the Pest side and this is where I would recommend you to stay, even if you may want to do a lot of sightseeing on the Buda side.

If you end up choosing the lazier option and decide to take public transport instead, you can catch tram 47 or 49 from Deak Ferenc or tram 19 from Margaret Bridge.

When you get to the top, you will almost immediately stop at the hill for some of the best panoramic views of Pest from Buda side. We ended up stopping a few times on the way to and back from Gellert Baths. At night, make sure to walk along the Chain Bridge as it is one of the most iconic and charming locations of Budapest.

Before you get to Gellert Baths, stop at Gellert Hill

Little did we know at the time that… the statue of Saint Gerard or Gellert (statue), happens to be the patron and ultimately the person behind the name Gellert Hill and Gellert Hotel. Back in 11^th century, he travelled from Venice to share Christianity.

The pagan Hungarians didn’t approve of his mission which ended up badly for him. Saint Gerard was shamefully put a barrel and was thrown off that very same hill, being the reason why it was name after his name. The legend has it that Gerard now watches Budapest over from up here.

Inside Gellert Baths in Budapest, Hungary

Main hall of Gellert Baths

Gellert Baths is a state-of-the-art spa and no matter how far you go, West of East of the globe, you’ll hardly find rivalry for. As soon as we walked inside the building, it felt like we’d stepped through a time wormhole. It felt like the time stopped there for almost a century. I’m a huge fan of art nouveau style and totally love roaring 20’s. No surprise that once greeted by the old-fashioned glam in the Gatsby style, Kevin and I we were loving it!

Just as in Szechenyi thermal baths which we vlogged about as well, there were flirtatious and sensual goddess statues all around. Dazzling crystals and scarlet red curtains felt a little like the vintage style cinema on the pastel yellow walls.

Inside the Main Pool Area of Gellert Baths

And then we spotted the artistic stained-glass windows in the roof of the dome. This of course, was only a prelude to what we were about to see because the baths were even more lavishly decorated and totally worth every single minute we spend inside the pools.

Before you get there, though, the way to the cabins isn’t exactly straightforward; it’s a rather unimpressive, grey maze with a few beautiful pictures of the spa itself, probably to build up your expectations. Although you may disagree with me on that, but I felt like they could do more with this part as it looked what you’d imagine 1950s underworld tunnels would be like.

Although Szechenyi baths’ forte is by far the outdoor pool area, for Gellert thermal baths is it undeniably the indoor pools, making it very intimate and perfect for an ideal, undisturbed soak with your second half. Unlike Szechenyi, you will hardly see any large groups of lads with drinks, it is just not one of those places and I’m really hopeful Gellert Baths will keep it this way too.

I was mesmerised by the mosaic blue and pastel green tiles, cherub fountains with chubby-cheeks and azure blue water. Not to mention that most of the thermal spas are kept at a perfect temperature, over 30 degrees Celsius. There was one that felt to cold to enter which had 16 degrees Celsius (or 20?) by the entrance to the pool and both Kevin and I simply did not attempt dipping in deeper than a few seconds at most!

Be prepared that although you may initially be thinking of spending no more than 2 hours, this can easily turn into an entire afternoon, especially if the weather outside does not seem to be very welcoming!

Entrance tickets for Gellert Baths in Budapest Hungary

Whether you live in the US, Western Europe or Asia, you will find the price of the tickets for Gellert Baths in Budapest reasonably priced. It costs 5,500 Forint during the weekends with a cabin and Gellert baths opening hours are 6am-8pm every day.  

It’s a little bit more expensive than Szechenyi thermal baths but it also feels more elegant. With the azure blue tiles, quieter ambience and plenty of massage rooms, Gellert spa has got a more relaxing vibe and that’s the whole point.

If you are coming to Budapest with your date with an intention of visiting spectacular places, partly because you to impress your other half, this will totally blow-her or his-mind. When it comes to pampering experience, Gellert has virtually no rivals. Well, unless you’re on top of the mountains somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the Swiss Alps in winter but even this is questionable.

After visiting Gellert baths, we also revaluated our thoughts on the ancient roman Baths in Bath, England. Partly because of the gorgeous interior which is just so pretty to look at! Now my target is to visit Sandunovsky Banya, which I came across some time a few months ago. It’s based in Russia and since we’ve never been before, we’ve bookmarked it as a spa to see some time in the future.

Geothermal properties of Gellert Baths in Budapest Hungary

Unlike some other spa you might find everywhere else in the world, the water pumped to Gellert baths has been recognised by their visitors for centuries and that’s because of the special medicinal properties. These healing waters have been known in the area since 13^th century, by the Turks, monks and monarchs and recently they have been also visited by people from all over the world.

The waters are Rich in minerals, these “Magical healing springs” cure asthma, improve circulation and most importantly relax your body and mind. There are about 10 swimming rooms to choose from, some treatment rooms and sauna, making it a really lovely place to find your zen and disconnect from it all.

Gellert’s geothermal pools are much prettier on the inside than on the outside. Or maybe that’s because when we went there, it was much colder and not much happening outside. Outdoor wave pools and plunge pools seemed way too cold in April!

But the best part about Gellert thermal spa was the combination of the beautiful, artistic interior with spaciousness. When we visited in April, the indoor and outdoor pools weren’t overcrowded and we had plenty of space, unlike in Szechenyi.

We did not do any massage simply because we knew we would want to extend our stay in these stunning spa pools but if you did think about it, I’d recommend booking it in advance, at least a day before to avoid disappointment on the day.

Anyway, that’s just something to bear in mind. It’s a no-no for wild stag does, this is not the type of place in case you were in two minds but I am almost 100% sure that anyone with an intention of getting smashed has booked themselves in for a Sparty night at Szechenyi spa instead!

Combine Gellert Baths with a lavish castle dinner in Budapest

This is just a suggestion and since we were celebrating Kevin’s birthday, going out for a dinner that will match our experience at Gellert thermal spa. Since Budapest is often compared to the Paris of the East, we top our evening off in a fairy-tale castle, you can find out more about in the video below!

Maybe not so much locked in the tower of the white-walled, neogothic castle which happens to be one of the most scenic things to see in Budapest, but we were guided through the entrance and welcomed by the musicians. After all, dining by the moonlight felt like turning into a prince and princess for an evening. It was just a perfect way to end the day after a relaxed soak in the Gellert baths.

Final words on Gellert Baths in Budapest

Gellert thermal baths are going to blow your mind if you’re into aesthetics, art and pomp. The interior itself is beautiful and should be a valid reason to visit, even if you’re not planning to bathe inside. And although Szechenyi may be winning here when it comes to the wildest thermal baths in the whole of Budapest, Gellert baths are by far the best thermal baths in Budapest in winter, making it a very discerning and sumptuous experience.