Morning guys and welcome to our channel so today we're in Budapest and we're
about explore one of the most iconic places in Budapest which is the
Széchenyi baths. I'm not too sure whether I'm pronouncing it correctly. I think it might
be Széchenyi, but that's close enough. We've got flip-flops, we've got towels
swimming trunks for me obviously, of course and swimwear for me.
We're gonna grab some lunch first, we didn't get
to try it yesterday, so we're gonna try the famous
Lángos, which is one of the dishes must try here.
Europe. Budapest aka the city of spa's, something's telling me that this trip is going to be exciting!
First things first, one of the main reasons amongst many
millions of people come to visit Budapest is bathhouses seated on the old
Roman Town Aquincum, which in Latin means water. It has close of 100 baths to
choose from. I think you'll all agree with me that good old soak in a thermal bath is
a quintessential Budapest experience.
So guys have a look at the buildings in here, they're so beautiful and they're super old school as well.
In 2013 Széchenyi Baths turned 100 years old,
keeping it pretty sleek for such an old bathhouse. But it didn't always look as
glamorous and splendid as a does today. It took years of renovation to make it
look like a palace nearly as pretty as Pena palace in Portugal.
Enchanted by the beautiful Roman Baths in England and onsens in Japan, we are heading to the
biggest natural hot spring in Europe, Széchenyi, which happens to be the first hot
spring bath palace on the pest side of Budapest, and by the way, Pest is where
you want to stay in Budapest as it's by far more lively than Buda.
Easily walkable, it takes 30 minutes walked from St Stephen's Basilica to the city park
near Hero's Square. Or, you can tell you Metro from Deak Square to Széchenyi fürdő
station which only takes 15 minutes.
It won't take you long to spot the artistic
designs in Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance styles. They are all over
outside and inside all enticing and relating to water motives and mythology,
like mermaids and naked water goddess statues.
Good news guys you can hire or buy a towel,
and even swimwear in case you weren't planning to bathe here.
We got our tickets online to avoid queuing up but it didn't seem to be overcrowded
anyway. And luckily, there's no time limit on your stay here so you could be
here as long as you please! Or until you get sunburn in a summertime!
And it stays open 365 days a year.
Ready? Let's get changed to our swimwear!
You'll be given a yellow wristband which you'll need to keep on until exit Széchenyi,
as you'll need it to open your cabin. By the way anyone under the age of fourteen
won't be allowed in, so perhaps it's best to skip this one if you are planning a family day out.
One of the things that we were really concerned about was food
but we didn't actually know they serve food here, because I don't think they tell you on
the website, but there is a little mini cafe here. The selections not like
massive, but I mean there's still some food.
You won't be leaving hungry for sure.
Alright, think of it like a huge swimming pool. It's in Eastern Europe, and not
Japan so you don't go in naked. Although who knows to what extremes clubbers would go
to during wild sparties here on Saturday nights with a DJ of 3D laser projections
that go on until 3:00 a.m! Why am I picturing my head some fellow
rowdy intoxicated Brits shouting get him out for the lads!
So these are the cabins.
Water fountain there which will come in quite handy.
It's pretty windy today! It's still very windy.
The view is really amazing here!
Here's the very spacious cabin area split between two
floors for an extra euro you can get a private cabin with a lot more room than a locker.
Széchenyi is the largest medicinal bath in Europe known for healing chronic
illnesses and stress relief, or just offering amazing relaxation, making it
a perfect reason to ask your doctor to get you a prescription for it. And that's
all because Hungary sits on mineral-rich geothermal waters from the depth of
1,256 meters below the ground.
It's so deep that the water needs to be cooled down from 77 degrees
Celsius to a pleasant 30-plus degrees.
I suggest that you allocate more time for Széchenyi as all together, there are 18
pools with different sizes and temperatures. The outdoor complex of the
Széchenyi Baths features 3 pools, out of which 2 are thermal pools and one swimming pool.
The 50 meter long open-air swimming pool is much colder than the thermal
pools and you will need a swimming cap for it. There's no natural hot spring
water and it's probably not ideal on a windy and still chilly April day.
This must be a reason why it's been empty all day!
Our favourite was the main thermal pool,
in here is where you probably be kept the most entertained.
perhaps a game of cards? Or, how about the whirlpool with fully grown adults have
more fun than kids do!
So we managed to escape the whirlpool.
And now we're safe for the meantime.
It's nice and relaxing here, we're in the heart of Széchenyi baths.
It's so peaceful here! Look at all around us.
So now that you guys have seen 2 of the main baths that are outside and one swimming pool,
we're going to take you to the indoor baths, annnnd starting with this one.
Octagonal shaped.
Looks like a jacuzzi, but it's not.
I think there's sauna behind there as well, where you can see that door there.
Some of the indoor swimming pools seem to be a lot quieter, it's not as busy.
I think all the hen dos and stag dos tend to go outside.
The remaining 15 indoor pools are symmetrical because in the past they
were separated by gender. You will notice that some will have different
temperatures, minerals and underwater jets, steam rooms and saunas.
Oh my god! This place is massive, there's a load more rooms! When is it going to end?!
I think there's about 18 of them, 10 saunas and spas, and a lot of massage places as well.
What about this one? This one looks quiet!
No one inside.
It says 20 degrees, but it feels more like 3 degrees!
So we finally settled on one of the indoor spas and this one smells a little bit eggy!
That's probably because of the sulphur that you get in natural hot springs.
Very similar to the one we experienced in Kyushu especially.
And in Nagano, i think.
It feels very warm, not too hot.
I think it's definitely colder than what you get in Japan.
Probably about 35 to 37 degrees.
It's pretty nice very warm, and obviously you don't get the wind from the outside,
so it's pleasant!
Fancy some curative water?
How does it taste?
Oh my god! That's yuckie!
It's not nice, it's not tasty, it tastes like a rotten egg!
Well I guess that's what you can expect from the thermal water,
because it has got a lot of sulphur,
I think magnesium and some other substances.
The Széchenyi baths is definitely a place to be on the map of Europe's best sites!
Looking forward to bathing in thermal spas? Leave us a comment in the section below.