Rudas Bath is probably the most popular medieval Turkish bath in Budapest, the City of Baths, famous for its bathing palaces like the Neo-Baroque Szechenyi Bath or the Art Nouveau Gellert Bath.
What makes Rudas Bath stand out is the modern rooftop panorama pool overlooking the river Danube and its many Budapest river cruise boats, the Parliament, the historical bridges and more. Also, Rudas Bath boasts a 16th-century thermal bath in its core, called the Turkish Bath.
In addition, Rudas Spa offers a special late night bathing opportunity, with its special overnight opening hours every Friday and Saturday (the baths reopen from 10 pm to 3 am, both nights: Rudas Night Bathing is only available with tickets booked online). Finally, Rudas is the only thermal bath in Budapest, which has – at least in a smaller part of the thermal complex – men only and women only weekdays in certain hours, when aprons are worn by many guests instead of traditional swimwear. You can book your Rudas Bath entries with a nice dinner right in the Thermal Baths for a special extra.
Rudas Bath & Dinner Booking
Opening hours – Rudas Bath Coed
Mon-Sun: 6 am to 8 pm (pools must be left by approx. 7.30 pm)
The bath is open on holidays, including national and any other holidays, e.g. Christmas, New Year, etc with a mixed set up (open to all genders). That means that the bath is open 365 days. Due to its popularity among locals, expats and tourists alike places are subject to availability at all times. Rudas Bath is a large bath complex, mostly co educated, but one of its several pools, the Turkish Bath has gender specific days, as seen below.
Turkish Baths Gender Days
Monday: Men only
Tuesday: Women only
Wednesday: Men only
Thursday mornings: Men only
Thursday afternoons: Coed
Friday mornings: Men only
Friday 11:00-20:00: Coed
Friday 10 pm – Sat 3 am: Coed Night Bathing with online tickets
Saturday: Coed
Sat 10 pm – Sun 3 am: Coed Night Bathing with online tickets
Sunday: Coed
National Holidays & Peak season periods: Coed
(hours and settings are subject to change, including the gender specific days in the Turkish Bath inside Rudas Bath. Kindly note that the majority of the bath complex, the saunas, plunge pool, large indoor thermal swimming pool etc. are coed, mixed seven days a week)
Rudas Bath is located at the foot of the scenic Gellert Hill on the Buda side.
Turkish Bath inside the Rudas Bath Complex
Turkish baths in Budapest are amazing oriental monuments with modern-day facilities. Many tourists who visited Turkey will expect to see the dry Turkish sauna as a Turkish bath, but the medieval Turkish baths of Budapest are not steam baths as in modern-day Turkey, but historical Turkish baths with a central octagonal-shaped pool extended with other baths.
That said, you can take a Turkish bath as a steam bath too, as Rudas Bath offers a complex bath and wellness experience, including a hammam (Turkish sauna) as well as an ilidza (Turkish “Ilica” for warm thermal spring). There are 6 thermal baths in Rudas Bath as well as a larger swimming pool.
The knights of St John in the 13th century built their healing center here, then after the Buda Castle siege, when the Ottoman Turkish armies successfully captured the Royal Palace of Hungarians, the Turks started to build a series of Turkish baths along the river Danube, using the deep underground hot spring waters for relaxing, bathing and healing. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (Sokoli Mustafa), the Turkish pasha, who excelled in the siege of Vienna, and governed the town of Buda for 12 years during the Turkish occupation in Hungary, made sure that the baths are well built (with hard ceramic pipes, and tiles brought from Turkey).
Last updated on Oct 11, 2024
Hello,
We’ve been planning a visit to Budapest this spring to experience the bath culture. It seems to us that the purpose is lost with the baths going mixed and clothed, and may end up opting for Istanbul instead.
But could you tell us the opening hours for the men only clothing optional days at the bathing house? Just so we can consider it.
Thanks
Dear Patrick, we are sorry to hear that.
Please find the men only days in Rudas Bath as follows:
Men only days: Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri 6 am – 8 pm (Cashiers close at 7 pm)
the rest of the week is mixed or women only:
Women only days: Tue
Mixed days: from Fri 10 pm to Sun 8 pm (Friday is men only day during the day, but at night from 10 pm the bath is mixed)
Thank you for my earlier query when I plan to visit late April 15 on a Friday afternoon, male only day. Can you please advise on the dress code so that I may come prepared……..James
I am visiting Budapest this April 2015 with my male friend and would be grateful for clarification on men’s only days at any of your baths with times. Rudas also offers dance evenings, are any male only?
I have read many travel guides and visited most of the web sites and all seem to offer varying reports and conflicting information.
I would be grateful for your assistance & help……..Thanking you James
Dear James, indeed Rudas Bath is the only bath with gender separated days, except from Fri evenings when the night and weekend bathing starts: http://en.rudasfurdo.hu/news/night-bathing-on-weekends
There are no dance evenings in Rudas bath. However, there are bath parties in Lukacs Baths or Szechenyi baths depending on the season (winter Lukacs, spring and fall may be either, summer Szechenyi): http://szechenyispabaths.com/sparties/) The parties in either spa bath are mixed. We are not aware of male only parties in any of the thermal baths or spas in Budapest.
I want to confirm whether the Turkish baths in Hungary are not the same as the ones in Turkey whether they use a sponge and scrub you down? Are these only thermal springs? Are there ones in Hungary where they scrub you down?
Hello Wennie, you can order such service in Lukacs Baths, called “Turkish massage” (Hammam style on a heated / hot marble platform), and has various versions, e.g. Sherhat’s Pasha’s favorite is a 30 min massage with olive and palm oil, soapy rubbing – scrubbing, massage. Longer versions with other extras (rose oil massage, etc.) are also available, like Sherezade’s Dream, 1001 tales, the Sultan’s Wish massage. Currently there is no online booking in Lukacs Baths, so you will need to order it at the cashier. More info about Lukacs Bath: http://lukacsbaths.com/
Hi I’m going to Budapest in February for 5 days and I am wondering will the bath houses be open then or do they only open in the summer
Hello Shaun, all thermal baths are open, but the outdoor pools in some of them (Gellert Spa) will be closed for winter. Szechenyi Baths is a safe choice as its 18 pools are open all year round, even in winter weather conditions (not necessarily below freezing point though).