Gellert Hill and Thermal Bath, Budapest

No visit to Budapest is complete until you’ve been to one of the city’s famed natural thermal baths. Lucky for us, the Gellert Thermal Bath was within walking distance from our accommodation, just on the Buda side of the Liberty bridge, at the foot of Gellert Hill. No better way to soothe our tired feet from hours of walking on end.

We had previously gone for a run up Gellert Hill to see the city from up the top. It is definitely worth the climb. We did, however, get weird stares from the people getting off the tour bus at the top.

Today was all about relaxation. The Gellert Bath is architecturally stunning. It is actually a Turkish bath built between 1912-1918 which was damaged in WWII and subsequently rebuilt. According to literature from the 13th century, the warm spring water has healing powers stemming from its rich minerals content. This bath, and other baths in Budapest, are used to treat degenerative joint illnesses as well as many other ailments.

The hot baths range from 35-40 degC. As we learnt, it is more than just warm. The thermal baths are decorated beautifully with mosaic tiles to give you the feel that you’ve gone back centuries in time. It was very therapeutic indeed, if you don’t think too much about the little black floaties in the water. Don’t ask too many questions.

This thermal bath is unique as it has a wave pool. Yes, one of the outdoor pools turns into a wave pool for a few minutes every hour, much to the delight of squealing patrons such as ourselves. We thought we would spend only a couple of hours here before getting bored, but we surprised ourselves. You can easily spend an entire day going in and out of the all the different pools plus relaxing by the poolside.Read more