Budapest Thermal Baths 2026: Ticket Prices, Opening Hours and Which to Visit (Széchenyi, Rudas, Lukács)

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Three of Budapest's best-known thermal baths can be visited in 2026: Széchenyi, Rudas and Lukács. Gellért has been closed since 1 October 2025 and Király is closed for an indefinite period, so leave both off your plan. Széchenyi has the outdoor pools and a 50 m lap pool. Rudas has a Turkish bath with single-gender days and a Danube-view pool. Lukács has an outdoor leisure pool with a lazy river and lower ticket prices on its list than the other two. Prices below are in forints (Ft), exactly as each bath lists them.

Which baths are open in 2026

Gellért's own website says that during the renovation it suggests visiting Széchenyi instead. Its opening-hours page shows no tickets or hours to plan around, so this guide does not cover it. Király's page (in Hungarian) says only that the bath is closed indefinitely.

Opening hours

Rules that apply at all three: the cash desks close one hour before closing time, and you must leave the pool areas 20 minutes before closing. On Széchenyi's page, last entry is one hour before closing.

Holidays and peak periods follow weekend hours and higher prices. Széchenyi's opening-hours page lists 18 December 2026 to 6 January 2027 as peak season, with opening at 08:00. It also says the bath is open until 20:00 on 25 December 2026 and 1 January 2027.

Széchenyi (Széchenyi Thermal Bath)

What is there. Three outdoor pools: the thermal pool P1 (36-38 °C, the one with the chess players), the 50 m swimming pool P2 (26-28 °C) and the leisure pool P3 (32-34 °C). Inside there are thermal and steam areas with pools from 18 °C to 40 °C, and ten saunas and steam rooms, including the Volcano, Dante and Phoenix saunas. Széchenyi's page says sauna rituals are free every weekday; ask about appointments on site.

Prices. These come from Széchenyi's 2026 price list:

• Fast Track: you use the Spa (steam) entrance and skip the line. Morning tickets must be used by 11 am, and afternoon tickets after 3 pm. Both let you stay until closing, and the last entry is one hour before closing.
• Good morning Budapest: sold only on the spot, Monday to Friday, 7 am to 9 am, and you must be in by 9 am. It is not available online, at weekends or on holidays. The ticket is valid all day. Széchenyi's 2026 price list lists a private changing room at 1 000 Ft; the FAQ says this charge is per person with the Good morning ticket.
• Extras: a cabin (private changing room) is 1 000 Ft and a safe is 1 100 Ft on the same list. A locker fits a backpack; the FAQ says cabins hold suitcases. Private Spa, Dayspalm, massages and Thalasso packages have their own prices on the list.
• Saturday nights: Sparty, a bath party with electronic music, runs on Saturdays from February to December. Daytime services are not available during it, and its tickets are sold on its own site.

Széchenyi's "available services" page shows the lap pool P2 closed for maintenance on 5-16 October 2026, so check that page before you go if you plan to swim laps.

Rudas (Rudas Thermal Bath)

What is there. The Turkish bath has six thermal pools between 16 and 42 °C. The panorama pool is 36 °C with a view of the Danube. The swimming pool is 29 °C and 20.5 m long, and a swim cap is mandatory. The wellness area has pools at 11, 32, 36 and 42 °C, and there is a sauna world plus saunas in the Turkish bath and swimming-pool areas. Rudas' available-services page says the 28 °C Turkish-bath pool is currently run as a 20 °C cold plunge, and that the Turkish-bath showers are out of order from 21 September to 4 October 2026.

Turkish bath schedule. The Turkish bath is not co-ed on weekdays until late morning. The schedule from Rudas' hours page and the operator's news:

The pages' text does not make clear which gender uses which single-gender morning, and the hours page also has the exact night-bathing grid (22:00-03:00 on two nights), so check it for your date. The price page names Friday and Saturday for the night ticket.

The operator's news of 6 November 2025 says Rudas took over the longer evening opening from Gellért, and that Rudas complex and Turkish bath tickets rose by 1 000 Ft from January 2026.

Prices. These come from Rudas' 2026 price list:

• Turkish-bath-only or wellness-only day ticket: 8 000 Ft, valid on Mondays and Thursdays, and on Fridays only until 10:45.
• Night ticket (Fridays and Saturdays): 15 000 Ft. Rudas says night-bathing tickets are available only online.
• Cabin ticket 1 000 Ft; safe 1 100 Ft.
• Cash is accepted only in Hungarian forint.

Lukács (Lukács Thermal Bath)

What is there. Indoors there are three thermal medical pools (32, 36 and 40 °C), a medical fitness pool and an underwater traction pool. Outdoors, the leisure pool (33-35 °C) has bubble beds, neck showers and a lazy river. There is also a 20 °C plunge pool, a Kneipp pool and two swimming pools (22 and 26 °C). Saunas are a dry steam room, a steam room and a Finnish sauna.

Prices. These come from Lukács' 2026 price list:

Every entry ticket includes a changing cabin and a locker, and a safe is 1 100 Ft. The price page does not say what proof the senior and student ticket needs. The operator's November 2025 news says Lukács has become busier and advises arriving in the morning, because in the afternoon entry without queuing is not guaranteed.

Which should you choose

• You want outdoor pools and a lap pool: Széchenyi has three outdoor pools, including a 50 m swimming pool.
• You want a Turkish bath, or a bath after dark: Rudas. It has the Turkish bath with single-gender days, the Danube-view panorama pool, and Monday wellness hours to 22:00. It also has the Friday and Saturday night ticket.
• You want a Turkish bath with a partner: go to Rudas after 11:00 on Monday, Thursday or Friday, or any time on Saturday or Sunday, when it is co-ed in swimwear.
• You want a lazy river or the lower ticket prices on the lists: Lukács. Go on a Tuesday for hours to 22:00, and in the morning to avoid the queues the operator warns about.
• You want to skip the queue at Széchenyi: choose its Fast Track ticket (online only).
• You are travelling with a child under 14: Rudas and Lukács do not admit children under 14; Széchenyi allows them only with a specialist's medical certificate sent for approval 24 hours before the visit. Széchenyi's FAQ points families to Csillaghegy, Paskál and Palatinus instead.
• You are on a short trip and want the transport pass to do double duty: see the Budapest Card section below, as it includes entry to Lukács.

The official pages do not rank the baths by how crowded they are, so this guide does not either.

Rules and what to bring

• Age: Széchenyi has not admitted children under 14 since 1 August 2025. The only exception is a specialist's medical certificate, sent 24 hours ahead. Rudas and Lukács also state on their pages that children under 14 cannot visit.
• Accessibility: Rudas says the bath is currently not accessible to people with disabilities.
• Swimwear: Széchenyi's FAQ allows only proper swimwear in the pools. Jeans, sports bras, leggings and underwear are not allowed. Nude bathing is not allowed in the steam-bath pools.
• Slippers and caps: at Széchenyi, slippers are mandatory in the bath but not in the pools. A swim cap is required only in its swimming pool. At Rudas, a swim cap is mandatory in the swimming pool.
• Saunas at Széchenyi: put a textile between your skin or swimwear and the bench. No phones or other electronic devices, and no razors anywhere in the bathing area.
• Towels and swimwear: Széchenyi and Lukács say rental is not available, and Rudas' price list mentions none. All three sell items in their shops. Széchenyi's, Rudas' and Lukács' 2026 price lists all give the same figures: towel 6 900 Ft, bathrobe 12 600 Ft, swimsuit 6 300 Ft, swim cap 2 100 Ft and slippers 4 200 Ft. At Széchenyi not all sizes are in stock.
• Food: Széchenyi lets you bring food and drink from home, but no alcohol.

Buying tickets, paying and the Budapest Card

Széchenyi. You can buy online up to 180 days ahead. The price is the same online and on the spot, but online tickets get priority when the bath is full. Online tickets cannot be changed or refunded. They are non-personal, so you can pass them to someone else. A QR code is not enough to get in: exchange it for a wristband at the entrance, and have it downloaded before you arrive. On the spot, the self-service machines at the bath entrance (opposite the Circus) take cards only. Cash goes to the steam-entrance ticket offices, and euros are not accepted.

Rudas sells tickets online and accepts only forint in cash. Lukács sells its complex ticket online only and accepts SZÉP cards. Shops and restaurants inside Lukács take a top-up card or a bank card, not cash. The Rudas and Lukács pages do not state a refund policy.

Student tickets. Széchenyi's student discount needs a Hungarian monthly pass from Budapest Go and a student card proving that your school is in Budapest; if your school is abroad, you must also have an address card confirming your Budapest address. It is sold online under "Budapest Go diákbelépők" and not on the spot. Lukács lists its own senior and student ticket (above).

Budapest Card. BKK's price list shows 24 hours at 17 990 Ft, 48 hours at 23 990 Ft, 72 hours at 29 990 Ft and 96 hours at 38 990 Ft. There are also a 72-hour FLEXI at 27 990 Ft and a 72-hour PLUS at 39 990 Ft. BKK says the card includes free public transport and free entry to the Szent Lukács Thermal Bath, plus discounts of 10-25% at several other baths.

• Széchenyi: the discount is 20%, valid only on site and only for the standard ticket with locker. It does not apply to Fast Track, Good morning, Private Spa or Dayspalm tickets. Use the steam entrance near underground line 1.
• Rudas and Lukács: both price lists say the Budapest Card is accepted for daily tickets, and Lukács adds "with locker". The pages do not state a discount figure.

Getting there

Széchenyi has no car park, only paid street parking nearby.

BKK's price list shows these fares:

A BKK single ticket is valid for one one-way trip. Transfers are not allowed, except between metro lines in one direction, and the trip must finish within 80 minutes, or 120 minutes on night services. Validate a paper ticket before entering the metro's paid area; on other services, validate it when boarding or by departure at the latest. It is not valid on the 100E Airport Express.

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