It’s not just warm water, it’s an opportunity to connect with the revitalizing essence of the Earth.
After a couple of hours soaking in the mineral-rich springs of the Szechenyi Baths in Budapest my whole body tingled with energy. And the classical surroundings, with their imperial columns, mosaics and soaring arches were a treat for the soul.
A day at the spa, along with a massage, was an ideal way to spend a morning in Budapest before AmaWaterways’ new ship AmaLea sailed for a week-long Danube cruise to Slovenia, Austria and Germany.
There’s a lot more to the experience than you’d expect. Here’s how to get the most relaxation out of a visit:
1) Doing your homework
The vast Szechenyi medicinal bath complex isn’t the only spa in Budapest, but it’s by far the most impressive. It’s one of the largest natural hot spring spas in Europe, with 18 different pools and 10 saunas and mineral-laden water that comes from more than half a mile under the City Park, the biggest green space of Budapest.
The vast complex of palatial baroque style buildings–that opened in 1913 and has had many later additions–attracts throngs of bathers, especially on weekends. To really get the most relaxing results advance booking is essential.
There are dozens of different possibilities, from a bath ticket with a locker, to cabins, to add-ons like massages and beer blasts, so start with a visit to the spa’s website.
There’s a one Euro handling fee for booking, but it’s worth the price to avoid waiting in lines that can stretch to hours on weekends.
2) Tech meets classical manners
It’s about a 10 Euro cab ride from AmaLea docked on the Danube in the center of town to the spa in Budapest’s vast City Park. With your reservation, you can go straight to a desk to check in and get a map of the complex, a bottle of body wash and a wristwatch-like strap that acts as an electronic key to your assigned change cabin.
A gracious guide then escorts you to the change area and explain how the lock system works. The guide is part of the service and when offered a tip he demurred charmingly, saying “we’re not allowed to accept gratuities.”
3) Prepare to be awed by the choices
Where to begin? The Szechenyi’s neo-Baroque complex of buildings feel like an imperial palace of the great courtly age of the Hungarian empire. And, in fact, they’re named for Istvan Szechenyi, considered classical Hungary’s greatest statesman.
There are indoor and outdoor pools with the most interesting being indoors, arranged in vast rooms with soaring ceilings and walls decorated by fantastic mosaics. You can see water monsters, swans, dolphins clams and mermaids all doing what you’re doing—enjoying the waters amid statues of water gods and goddesses.
4) Getting rubbed the right way
We’d signed up for a massage and my wife and I started with that before slipping into the refreshing waters. The experience took us down corridors to an inner sanctum filled with doorways. There was no one in sight, so we took a seat to wait. At precisely the time on my ticket a door opened and a burly masseur emerged and introduced himself. It was a vigorous, not particularly deep tissue massage, but the half hour was just right for releasing tight muscles and joints.
5) Stroll Around and Develop a Strategy
After taking a mandatory shower, there are so many pools to choose from in separate sections of the complex that it’s a matter of roaming around and testing the temperature and the ambience. Some are surrounded by carvings, some are bright and others are more subdued and all the pools have different shapes.
Groups love to meet at the spa and there can be parades of teens hopping from one pool to another like characters in a Goldilocks tale. This one’s too hot, this one too cool and this one just right. The water actually comes from the ground at near the boiling point and is cooled significantly before being pumped into the pools.
It’s your choice, but the temperature is listed at each pool, from cooling pools in the 20s Celsius to sweat-inducing ones at 38C, which is 106 Fahrenheit. Most pools are between 30C and 34C, which is body temperature and they all contain the same potent mix of minerals, posted on the walls.
If you’re feeling active, one long narrow pool also has regular exercise classes you can join in and stretch or lift small weights in the pool in sync with an instructor.
6) Bonus: The Beer Spa
This is a unique feature you won’t find anywhere else. Hot-tub like vats are filled with fresh thermal water and then an attendant adds a jug of the ingredients that go into beer–malt, hops and yeast– before you get in. Strange as that sounds, it’s said to be incredibly nourishing to your skin and the herbal scent is refreshing. While you soak, you can pull yourself as many pints of local ale as you wish from the taps at the side of the tubs. There’s even more nourishment in a plate of traditional Hungarian appetizers to nibble.
Booking ahead is especially important for this beer fest, because there are only six hot tubs that accommodate two each, so you need an appointment time and there’s always a wait list. The price is 49 euro for one person or 88 Euros for two sharing a tub.
It was a blissful way to start an AmaWaterways journey. On the ride back to the AmaLea I was envious of people who live in Budapest who can take the waters whenever they want. It’ a cinch I’ll be looking for a return visit to Budapest for another Danube cruise and another day at the spa.
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