Gellert Bath, Budapest | Timings, Entry Fee, How to Reach

GELLERT BATH, Budapest Overview

Located on the foot of the Gellért hill, Gellért Bath has roman marble tiles and large lion heads sprinkling water. It offers swimming pools, thermal pools, and saunas and is worth a look. Many movies have been shot at Gellért Bath Spa, like the Bluebeard, I Spy, Evita etc.

There are various pools with different tempaeratures and one can dip in their choice of water to spend a whole day indoor, amidst gothic tiles or outdoor, relaxing in water beneath the Budapest sky. The balconies have intricate tiles creating a mosaic and marble flooring. This place won’t give feelings any less than a Turkish royal heir to the visitor. This spa is situated on the Danube river at the liberty bridge. It is advised to purchase tickets online on a pre-booking basis to avoid the long standing queues. The indoor pools are open all year round but the outdoor pools are a seasonal attraction depending upon the weather (generally May- October). If one visits the roman gothic style country Budapest and doesn’t experience the warm saunas or the hot tubs then their trip can be titled as incomplete.

The spa inside the Gellért hotel offers a wide range of massage services that will squeeze out the stress of one’s body. Some of the most relaxing massages are: - Aroma massages (which are available in various oils like yasmine, rose, velvetier etc.), Thermal massages, thai massages and much more. All of the massages cost around 45-75 Euros each alongwith entry ticket, massage session of 20/45 min, and sauna depending upon the combination of package chosen.

HISTORY

This beauty was built in an art-nouveau style around early 20th century providing medicinal treatments via hot springs but, was destroyed in World War II. It was rebuilt later with the same amount of magnificence. The outdoor pools were added later on. Only once in history this bath has been in a situation renovation due to a pipe burst in 2008. After the 2008 case, this bath was built in a way more conservative manner. No matter what struggles this bath and spa have gone through, they have successfully been able to retain its ancient yet royal splendor. The wave pool and bubble bath have been added between 1927-1934. Today the premises include saunas, plunge pools, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, Finnish sauna with massages etc.

There are quite logical reasons why Budapest was titled as “The Spa City” in 1934. Budapest receives about 70 million litres of warm springs measuring 21-78 Celsius from 118 different natural thermal springs.

HOTELS NEARBY

The Gellért spa and bath are situated in an ancient hotel which holds huge value in the history of Budapest. The hotel might be quite costly comparing to other bed ‘n’ breakfast places in the city but its worth every penny. While one’s stay there one can experience rich Hungarian culture along with a mix of Turkish architecture too. This hotel consists of 234 rooms and is 4 star rated accommodation. Majority of the room face the Danube river and cost a bit more than others. All the hotel guests get a 30% discount for the thermal baths in the spa.

FOOD NEARBY

Food is a bliss in Gellért . One can find some of the best eateries can be found here. Traditional Hungarian food in a comfortable ambience can be found at places like busalo juhasz where soups and salads are a recommended delicacy. This restaurant might cost around 6000 HUF without alcohol which is quite decent for the quality of food they serve. Places with beautiful ambience and try-worthy food are Pagony garden restaurant but it is open only in spring to autumn seasons when the flora of Budapest is at its best.

ATTRACTIONS TO SEE AROUND

If we start mentioning each and every attraction near Gellért , it will take a decade but to name a few, while one’s luxurious stay and spa at Gellért one can visit the liberty bridge which is at a few metre’s walk away. Other places include the Citadel, Petofi bridge, Gellért hill, Gellért square and much more.

KNOW MORE...

1.      The art nouveau style of this ancient built bath has been a very picturesque location for many ad serials, magazine shoots and movies. Richard Burton stayed here for the film “Bluebird” and gifted his wife a Taj Mahal shaped diamond worth $8.8 million.

2.      Majority of the workers of this hotel and spa were prisoners from the Russian war.

3.      Before a luxurious hotel and spa, this property was a quite famous hospital and a medical bath area which had to be demolished for constructing the liberty bridge.

4.      The building portrays beautiful Zsolnay ceramics which are world famous and very rarely found.

How to Reach

The Gellért bath and spa are situated inside the Gellért hotel so the way to reach here is quite commutable. The green metro line numbered M4 which stops at Gellért shop and is a walking distance to the spa from there. Tram line 47 and 49 stop at almost the same place and are near to the attraction. One can also take a taxi from the hotel directly but that would lack adventure and hamper exploration, moreover, it is costlier than any other mode of transport.