Budapest Spas Are Increasingly Popular

Széchenyi Spa, Budapest

Almost all the units of the capital city-owned spa management company (BGYH) increased their guest numbers last year. The seasonal beaches and those with several outdoor pools saw the biggest increases, writes Termál Online showing the busiest spas of 2024.

In terms of visitors, Széchenyi Spa came out on top last year with nearly 1.4 million guests. The other spas did not even come close, with the second-ranked Gellért Spa having a significantly lower number of guests (420,000).

Gellért Spa. Photo: Wikipedia

Five baths of the capital’s spa management company recorded between 300,000 and 400,000 guests in 2024, including the Lukács Spa (382,000), the Paskál Spa (359,000), the Palatinus Beach (337,000), the Csillaghegy Beach Spa (320,000) and the Rudas Spa (311,000).

Palatinus Beach. Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd

The Pesterzsébet Spa was not far from the 300,000 mark, as it welcomed 284,000 guests last year. The Dandár Spa, that is much smaller than the above-mentioned thermal spas, had 55,000 guests in 2024. BGYH’s two seasonal beaches, the Római (Roman) Spa and the Pünkösdfürdő Spa, welcomed 67,000 and 37,000 guests respectively.

In percentage terms, the most significant increase in guest numbers of 30 percent was recorded by the Római Spa.

This can be attributed to the much more favorable summer weather compared to previous years.

Discounts could lead to a further increase in visitor numbers this year.

New discounts will soon be introduced for Budapest residents. Following a decision by the Budapest General Assembly, students living in Budapest will be able to visit the historic spas – such as Gellért, Széchenyi, Rudas and Lukács – once a month with a 50 percent discount, while they can visit the other Budapest spas and beaches once a week at half price. In addition, they will receive an even greater discount of 80 percent in the two hours before closing time, reports Magyar Nemzet.

Not only students, but all Budapest residents will receive half-price discounts at the capital’s spas in the first two hours of the morning and the last two hours of the evening as of summer.

Also from this summer, popular spas will be open on a daily rotation until 10:00 p.m. instead of closing at 7:00 p.m.

In addition, online appointment booking will be introduced in the large spas to avoid long queues and offer greater convenience to those who plan in advance. The Rudas Spa will start offering this service from May.

Ticket Prices at Spas Kept Under Control