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Gellért Baths
Gellért is worth paying for once it reopens, as long as you want the grand indoor setting and not just a cheap soak. For now it is a free exterior stop only, because the baths are closed for renovation.
Gellért Baths is the grand Art Nouveau bath complex next to the old Gellért Hotel on the Buda side of Liberty Bridge. It opened in 1918, and when it is running, it suits people who come for the tiled halls and a quiet thermal soak more than for the loudest bath party in the city.
Worth it for
- Travelers who care about Art Nouveau interiors and a historic bath atmosphere
- People who want one calmer named bath instead of the bigger Széchenyi scene
You can skip if
- You are visiting before the planned 2028 reopening and want to bathe today
- You mainly want the cheapest thermal bath in Budapest
What travelers flag about Gellért Baths
We weighed recent Budapest traveler opinion on the Gellert Baths against the provider reviews. These are the themes that came up again and again.
- Closed for a long renovationReported by many
The big thing to know: Gellert, long the most beautiful of the baths, is shut for a major renovation, with the official site listing a closure from late 2025 and a planned reopening around 2028. Regulars keep having to tell people this, so do not build a bathing day around it, and be wary of any ticket page still selling entry.
- Go to Szechenyi or Rudas insteadReported by several
Until it reopens, the standard swap is Szechenyi for the grand outdoor pools or Rudas for the historic Turkish bath and rooftop Danube tub. You can still admire Gellert's Art Nouveau exterior by Liberty Bridge for free while you are on that side of the river.
Sourced from recent traveler discussions, not provider reviews. We only flag what several visitors independently reported, and the bars show how widely each point came up.
No ticket needed for Gellért Baths
Do not book a bath ticket here right now. Gellért is closed for renovation, so treat it as a beautiful exterior stop by Liberty Bridge and save your paid spa time for another Budapest bath that is actually open.
Which ticket should you buy?
What It Is
Gellért is one of Budapest's named baths, in the same breath as Széchenyi and Rudas. You do not go for anything new or clever. You go for the building itself: tiled indoor pools, arched halls, warm thermal basins, and a seasonal outdoor pool tucked under Gellért Hill.
Right now the bath is shut for a big renovation. The official bath site lists the closure date as 2025-10-01 and a planned reopening in 2028, so if you see a ticket page for the old bath, check it hard before you hand over any money.
Is It Worth Paying For
When it is open, yes, with a couple of caveats. Gellért earns its ticket if the room matters to you as much as the water. If all you want is hot water and a fast sauna, you can do that cheaper elsewhere.
Because the name carries weight, third-party ticket pages can dress up a plain bath entry as some kind of occasion, and that is where people overpay. Before the closure, a basic entry with a locker or cabin was the honest pick. Towels, slippers, robes, and the rest did not come bundled in unless the specific package spelled it out.
Gellért vs Széchenyi vs Rudas
Go to Széchenyi for the big outdoor pools, the noise, and the postcard Budapest bath scene. It is bigger, louder, and tied up with the whole bath-party thing, which is either the point or exactly what you want to avoid.
Go to Rudas for the Ottoman bath feel and that rooftop hot tub looking out over the Danube. Go to Gellért, once it reopens, for the best-looking interior of the three and a kind of faded grand-hotel spa mood. No single one of them wins. They are three takes on the same Budapest habit, and which you pick says more about your mood that day than about quality.
Free Exterior And Practical Tradeoffs
The outside is worth a look even if you never go in, especially if you are already walking Liberty Bridge or heading up Gellért Hill. From the street you get the scale of the place, but the interior pool halls were always the real reason to pay.
Crowds piled up later in the day, on weekends, and through high season. Swimwear was normal in the pools, with a swim cap required if you wanted to do laps in the swimming pool, though not for an ordinary thermal soak. Bring your own towel and waterproof slippers unless the reopened rules clearly tell you otherwise.
Gellért Baths: FAQs
No. The official Gellért Bath site says it has been closed since 2025-10-01 for renovation, with reopening planned for 2028.
The current Gellért bath and hotel complex opened in 1918. The construction is usually dated to 1912 to 1918.
Yes. Gellért has been a mixed bath in modern use, so you need normal swimwear. A swim cap was required in the swimming pool if you wanted to swim laps, but not in the regular thermal pools.
Do not count on it. Before closure, standard tickets were built around locker or cabin use, and towels, robes, slippers, and the like were charged separately unless a package clearly threw them in.
Depends what you are after. Gellért wins on Art Nouveau interiors and a calmer historic feel. Széchenyi wins on size, outdoor energy, and the classic big Budapest bath photo.
No. A normal Gellért visit has no show attached to it, so treat it as a bath entry rather than a timed performance. If some special event turns up after reopening, check it directly before you book.
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