ℹ️ Short answer: Gellért Baths are closed. They shut on 1 October 2025, and as of September 2026 the official site gives 2028 as the planned reopening. The renovation loan still needs government approval, so that date could slip. Book Rudas Bath instead: it’s a 10-minute walk away, and a weekday ticket costs 12,000 HUF (about €33). For outdoor pools, book Széchenyi. Gellért Baths are closed, and they’ll stay closed for years, not weeks. The official notice now reads, in full, that the bath has been closed since 1 October 2025 with a planned reopening in 2028. Plenty of guides still describe Gellért as open. This one covers what’s actually happening, why the date may move, and which open bath gets you closest to what Gellért was.
ℹ️ Short answer: Go to Széchenyi for your first bath (13,200 HUF, about €36, Monday–Thursday) and Rudas for atmosphere, the rooftop pool and night bathing (12,000 HUF on weekdays). Lukács (7,000 HUF) and Veli Bej (from 5,700 HUF) are the calmer, cheaper local choices. Travelling with children under 14? Only Palatinus Strand will let them in. Gellért is closed until 2028 and Király is closed indefinitely. Budapest sits on more than a hundred thermal springs, and choosing between the best thermal baths in Budapest mostly comes down to three questions: how much atmosphere you want, what time of day you’re going, and whether you have children under 14 with you. The last one rules out almost every bath in the city, a rule that older guides haven’t caught up with.
ℹ️ Short answer: A Széchenyi Baths day ticket with a locker costs 13,200 HUF (about €36) Monday–Thursday and 14,800 HUF (about €41) Friday–Sunday. The online-only fast track adds 2,000 HUF. Go before 9:00 on a weekday for the cheaper “Good Morning” ticket (10,500 HUF, about €29) and the emptiest pools. Book online if your date is fixed, or through a reseller with free cancellation if it isn’t. Children under 14 are not admitted. Széchenyi Baths keep their main outdoor pool at 36–38 °C all year. That’s the whole appeal, and in January it’s also why half of Budapest seems to be in it with you. The soak itself is easy. The part people get wrong is the ticket: which one, where to buy it, and whether paying extra to skip the queue makes sense.
