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
Dear sirs, are the Rudas baths open on Sunday, May 1st? We’re a mixed group men-women and we’d like to come, but we don’t know if it’s open or not. Thanks a lot.
Dear Daniel,
yes, Rudas Bath will be open on May 01. As May 1 is a Sunday, the Baths will be open for both men and women.
Hi,
I am attending Rudas Baths this weekend.
Do I need to pre-book anything?
Many Thanks,
Hannah
Dear Hannah,
thank you for your inquiry.
Tickets to Rudas Bath can only be purchased at the cashier of the Baths.
Hello Hannah, there is no need for pre-booking (there is no online advance booking option for tickets or for the panorama pool, you need to buy tickets at the cashier in Rudas Baths in Budapest). Sometimes, treatments may get booked up so it is worth contacting Rudas Bath directly to book a massage in email (rudas@spabudapest.hu). Have a nice time and enjoy the thermal baths in Budapest!
Hi. Are massage/treatments and access to the new wellness area available for the Friday night session at Rudas? Thanks.
Dear Jacob,
the wellness area is unfortunately closed after 10 pm, when the night session starts. Thank you for your understanding.
Are there any baths other than Gellert that have private baths? the ones at gellert just look like boring tubs I am looking for something a bit more interesting.. THANKS !
Dear Jay,
Unfortunately Gellert Spa is the only thermal bath which provides a private bath for guests. Thank you for your understanding.
Hi do you provide swimming suits rent service? or can I buy it there ?
Dear Qi Long,
thank you for your inquiry.
Yes, it is possible to rent swimwear in Rudas Baths for the following prices:
Women one-piece swimming dress HUF 1,200 (+ deposit HUF 1,500)
Men swimsuit HUF 1,200 (+ deposit HUF 1,500)