Budapest is one of the great spa cities of Europe.
Numerous natural hot springs pour out over 80 million litres (18 million gal) of richly mineralized water every day. The greatest concentrations of natural springs are situated in Óbuda, near Gellért Hill, on the Buda embankment near Margaret Bridge and on Margaret Island itself. Baths have existed here since Roman times, but it was the Turks who best exploited Budapest's natural resources. Today there is a wide choice of therapeutic and recreational baths and pools.

Turkish influence

Although the ruins of Roman thermal baths dating from the 2nd century AD have been found in Óbuda, it was only under the Ottoman occupation of the 16th-17th centuries, that the bathing culture really took hold in Budapest.
Four stunning Turkish-built baths, some of the few remaining examples of Ottoman architecture in Budapest, are still in operation. The Rudas, the Rác, the Király and the Császár Baths were all built in the 16th century, and are constructed on a single model.

A marble staircase leads into a chamber containing a dome-topped, octagonal thermal pool, which is surrounded by smaller dome-covered pools at temperatures ranging from icily cold to roastihgly hot. The most beautiful and the most atmospheric are almost certainly the Rudas Baths, followed closely by the Király Baths.

Though not without their charms, the Rác Baths have been heavily restored and are less spectacular than the Rudas and Király Baths. The Császár Baths have been absorbed into the Lukács Baths complex. Many of the city's newer baths are for both men and women.

The Turkish baths, however, owe much of their unique atmosphere to the fact that they remain resolutely single-sex. The Rudas Baths are for men only, while the Rác and the Király Baths are open to men and women on alternate days. There is no need to wear a bathing suit; as a small apron is provided.