It feels great to freshen up at one of these baths after a morning full of delicious food that we will hopefully consume together in one of my markettours. If you’d like to read more about it you can do it here or you can book the experience here.
In this compilation of Budapest’s baths I collected some of the secret baths. They are lesser known and less touristy. There is a bath from the Turkish-Ottoman era and there is a fairly new resort. If you have enough time to venture out a bit to the unknown and spend a nice relaxing day a little out of the way this list is for you.
Veli bej
This one is my personal favorite. Veli Bej is a Turkish bath built at the same time as Rudas, commissioned by the same guy named Sokullu Mustafa Pasha. He was onto something as archaeologists found evidence of a nearby Roman bath as well. Attila the Hun had been camping out there as well. There was a bath already here when King Matthias reigned roughly a 100 years before the Pasha commissioned it. Long after the Turks left the city, Earl István Marczibányi donated the reconstructed building to the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God in 1806.
History wasn’t too kind to the building. Renovations and a hospital that was built almost on it took their toll. In 2000 the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God decided to restore it to its former glory. They didn’t mean the formal glory of 200 years ago but the one of 400 years ago. They have been operating it ever since. The bath is the city’s biggest Turkish bath with 5 pools and best kept secret. So much so that even locals don’t really know about it.
Open 7 days a week, Saturday and Sunday 6 AM to 12 PM, and from Monday to Sunday from 3 PM to 9 PM prices are between only 5000-5500 HUF (13-14 EUR).
(12-13 EUR). http://www.irgalmasrend.hu/site/velibej/sprachen/en
Dandár bath
It’s one of the first baths that was opened for the sole purpose of bathing – in the meaning of getting clean. You see, way back then there were no bathrooms in every apartment. It might have had one place on every floor where they had running water but a lot of times there wasn’t a bathroom per say. So in the late 1920s the city started to build bathhouses also known as sanitary baths, and Dandár was one of the first ones. At first the water was brought by cars from Széchenyi bath. In 1978, when the building was being renovated, a new well was dug nearby, specifically for this bath. Now it has 3 pools, all of them are operated with thermal water. The temperatures range between 20-36°C (68-97°F).
Opening hours from 9 AM to 7 PM, for 3600-3700 HUF(9.5 EUR). https://en.dandarfurdo.hu/
Dagaly
Anytime I drive by it, I always remember my grandmother. She told us this story when she was a little girl she and her friends would go to Dagaly. Thermal water was first discovered in the area in 1944 then some wells were built in 1948. That was just basically a floodplain. When I was looking for some older pictures of the pools, I also found an interesting article. It turns out that the Danube used to cover the area where Dagaly is currently located.
Now what’s even cooler, that there was an island across from Dagaly with hot springs. The island was scrapped during the river being regulated for ships to move around easier, however the springs of course are still there. I found a study where a few scientists went on a plane ride twice 4 years apart as the circumstances had to be perfect since the machines they were using would interfere with the sun’s reflection. So they had to go out just before sunrise and they had to do that when the river isn’t frozen but as cold as it could be so it’s easier to see the thermal differences on the thermal cameras. They proved the existence of the now underwater springs. This is not known by many Hungarians.
Dagály now itself is a big public pool with mineral rich waters. It’s a huge complex with around 12 pools. Water ranges from 16-40°C (60-105°F). I couldn’t find its own website nor a website with english info on it, so no prices. Also, take the opening hours with a grain of salt: 6 AM to 8 PM.
Aquaworld
Not a classic bath but more like a spa complex, or even a waterpark. It boasts 17 pools, 11 slides, a hotel and it covers an area of 21 acres; its parking lot can fit 1000 cars. With these numbers it is the largest waterpark-hotel complex in Central Europe. It’s a bit out of downtown but if you are looking to rub elbows with the locals and venture out a bit that might be for you. It’s definitely great to visit with kids.
Open everyday from 7 AM to 9 PM. The price for an adult is 6700-9700 HUF(17-25 EUR) and 25700 HUF (65 EUR) for a family with two under 14 year old children. https://www.aquaworldresort.hu/en/
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