Dandár Thermal Bath (Dandár Gyógyfürdő)

What to expect

Dandár is the Budapest thermal bath that locals use and most visitors never hear of. It sits on a side street in Ferencváros, the 9th district on the Pest side, a few blocks back from the Danube near the Pest end of Petőfi Bridge. From outside it looks like a modest interwar municipal building, which is exactly what it is.

Inside it is small and functional. There is a thermal section with two medicinal pools, a cold plunge pool and a Finnish sauna; a walled courtyard with two warm outdoor pools; and a compact sauna area in the basement. There is no swimming pool, no wave machine and no grand domed hall. What you get instead is hot medicinal water, very few tourists and prices that are a fraction of those at Széchenyi.

Nobody under 14 is admitted. The crowd is mostly retired locals on a cure, office workers on a Thursday evening and a few visitors who came looking for “the locals’ bath” and found it.

The pools

The operator lists these:

• Medicinal pools: one at 95°F35°C and one at 100°F38°C. These are the thermal section’s main pools and the reason most regulars come.
• Cold plunge pool: in the thermal section, next to the Finnish sauna.
• Courtyard pools: two adventure pools at 97°F36°C and 100°F38°C, fitted with back and lower-back massage jets and neck showers, with a grassy sunbathing area and loungers that open from spring to autumn. In October 2026 the neck shower in the outdoor 100°F38°C pool was out of order.
• Mini sauna world: a classic Finnish sauna that seats eight, an aroma steam cabin, a plunge pool and a rest area with loungers. The ice machine was out of order in October 2026.

The water is a thermal water containing sodium, calcium, magnesium and hydrogen carbonate, with sulphate, chloride and a significant amount of fluoride. Dandár has no spring of its own on site. When it became a medicinal bath, the water was trucked in from Széchenyi and later from another bath; since 1987 it has come from wells in the district, and since 2005 from a well near the National Theatre.

Getting there

The address is Dandár utca 3, 1095 Budapest. The official site lists these connections:

• Tram 2, which runs along the Pest riverbank from Parliament, and tram 24. Both stop within a short walk.
• Buses 23 and 54.

If you drive, guests can park free in the closed car park opposite the building, which is unusual in central Budapest. From the Gellért area on the Buda side, cross Liberty Bridge or Petőfi Bridge; the bath is about 2 km (1.2 miles) from the closed Gellért Thermal Bath.

When to go

Dandár is open every day of the year from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and until 10 p.m. on Thursdays. The ticket desk closes an hour before closing, and you are asked to leave the pools 20 minutes before. On Thursday evenings the courtyard jets and other water features stop at 7 p.m., though the pools stay open.

Weekday mornings are calm. Winter is the best time for the courtyard pools, when the warm water steams in cold air. Weekend prices apply on public holidays: on October 23, 2026, for example, the bath charges weekend rates and does not sell the time-limited tickets.

The bath was renovated in 2024 and 2025. The courtyard pools and the rebuilt sauna area reopened in December 2024, and the indoor pools reopened on August 1, 2025, after work on the tiling, insulation, ceiling structure, windows and building services.

Prices and booking

The 2026 price list, valid from January 7, 2026:

• Adult thermal ticket: HUF 3,500 on weekdays, HUF 4,000 at weekends and on holidays.
• Complex ticket (thermal section, sauna world and courtyard pools): HUF 4,500 / 5,000.
• Senior and full-time student: HUF 2,400 / 2,700.
• 2-hour thermal ticket: HUF 2,500 on weekdays plus a HUF 1,000 deposit.
• Afternoon thermal ticket for the last two hours: HUF 2,500 on weekdays.
• Courtyard pool supplement for thermal ticket holders: HUF 1,000.
• Cabin: HUF 800. Valuables safe: HUF 1,100.

Budapest residents get extra discounts, including student tickets with a BudapestGO pass and 2-hour evening tickets. A 15-visit pass costs HUF 43,300, or HUF 53,500 for the complex version. Tickets are sold at the desk and in the online shop at jegyek.dandarfurdo.hu, and you do not need to book a time. Towels, robes, flip-flops and swimsuits are on sale at the desk but are expensive (a towel is HUF 6,900), so bring your own.

Bathing culture

Dandár follows Budapest Spas house rules. Shower before you get into any pool. Swimsuits are worn throughout the pool areas. Budapest Spas requires swim caps in swimming pools at all its baths, but Dandár has no lap pool, so you will not normally need one here. In the sauna, sit on a towel or sheet and leave the door closed. In the medicinal pools, keep the noise down: many people are there on a prescribed cure. A wristband watch opens your locker or cabin; losing it costs HUF 3,000.

History

Dandár opened in May 1930 as Budapest’s first “cleanliness bath”, a public washhouse for the many Ferencváros homes that had no bathroom. It had 15 tubs each for adults and children. Ferenc K. Császár drew the first sketches, and the plans were finished in Kálmán Maróthy’s office by Gyula Rimanóczy. As homes gained bathrooms the washhouse lost its purpose and closed in the early 1970s. It reopened in 1978 as a medicinal bath. In 2014 the courtyard gained its two outdoor pools and the basement became the sauna area, and the thermal section was refurbished a year later.

Where to stay nearby

There is no lodging at the bath. Ferencváros and the neighbouring Józsefváros have plenty of hotels and apartments, and the area around the Central Market Hall and Ráday utca is a 15 to 20 minute walk away. If you want to try a second bath on the same trip, Széchenyi in City Park and Lukács on the Buda side are both reachable by public transport in under 40 minutes.

Safety notes

• Heat: The 100°F38°C pools are hot enough to make you light-headed. Keep stays to 15 or 20 minutes, drink water between soaks and stand up slowly.
• Medical conditions: Hungarian spas advise people with heart conditions, high blood pressure or pregnancy to check with a doctor before using hot medicinal pools.
• Wet floors: Tiles around the pools and saunas are slippery. Wear flip-flops.
• Valuables: Use the paid safe for passports and phones.