BUDAPEST-BATH.COM

Rudas is one of the oldest thermal baths (spas) in Budapest. Its unique location, regulars and ambience make it a must see in Budapest. The bath was reserved for men for decades but is open for women since 2005 two days per week. It is also where the legendary Cinetrip spa parties have originated from. The bath can be visited on Friday and Saturday nights. In the summer, there is a club (Rudas Romkert) in the garden.

History of Rudas Bath

In the 16th century, Buda and Pest were parts of the Ottoman Empire. Buda was even the centre of a Vilayet, an Ottoman unit of governance. Turkish-style bathing culture flourished, many steam baths were built. In 1566, two pashas of Buda, Ali and Mustapha Sokoli built what is today the centre of Rudas: the octagonal pool, surrounded by the 10 m diameter dome sustained by 8 pillars.
The thermal bath has been in use since 1566. The adjacent art noveau swimming pool was built in 1896. The steam bath part was used between 1936 and 2004 exclusively by men. Nowadays the steam bath is reserved for females only on Tuesdays (what’s the world coming to?), and can be visite by both sexes in swimming suits simultanously on weekends.
21 different thermal springs feed the Rudas Bath. The water of Hungária, Attila and Juventus springs can be consumed for the purposes of a drinking cure in the drinking hall. There is also a daytime hospital operating in the spa.

Films shot in Rudas:

Red Heat, 1988, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi. In the beginning of the film Arnie beats the hell out of a couple of bad guys in the bath. The fight was supposed to happen in the USSR.

Bath units of Rudas Bath (Spa)

Steam pools

water temperature 16, 28, 30, 33, 36, 42 °C
water surface area 4,5; 9; 9; 9; 96,5; 9 m2

Swimming pool

water temperature 278 m2
water surface area 29 °C

• Rudas Bath Address: Budapest, Döbrentei tér 9.
• Tel: (+36 1) 356 13 22
• Open:
  Swimming pool:
  Mon-Fri: 6.00-18.00
  Steam bath:
  Mon-Fri: 6.00-20.00 (Tuesday: females only, rest males only)
  Sat-Sun: 6.00-17.00 (both sexes in swimming suits)
  Fri-Sat night: 22.00-04.00 (both sexes in swimming suits)
  
• Price:
  Steam bath with cabin 2200 HUF
  Swimming pool with cabin 1500 HUF
  Swimming pool with locker 1200 HUF
• Price and opening for Rudas parties (”sparty”): www.cintetrip.hu

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