Lukács Baths

So, you’re in Budapest and you want to bathe like the locals do. In that case, I would start at the Gellért on the Buda side of the city, which features stunning architecture, a great restaurant, and treatments like massages and facials to boot. Regrettably, though, it’s closed for renovations until 2028, so if you’re going this year or next I think Lukács and Rudas are both good options. The last time I was at Lukács, an older lady in the changing rooms mumbled something about my tattoos, so you can be sure that it’s authentic, lol.

If you’re at the baths, I recommend a massage for sure, or, if you’re even more cosmetically inclined, a facial, during which (be warned) the cosmetologist will use brute force to extract every single impurity, no matter how minuscule, from your face. It probably won’t be relaxing, and you’ll probably look kind of crazy for a day or two, but after that, you’ll forget you ever even had pores. If your skin is tough and doesn’t scar too easily, Eastern European-style extractions will do for you what an American facial never could.

Via Veronika (Vera Weekly)

Lukács Baths — Our first stop. Strolled along the Danube, explored quiet nearby neighborhoods and dipped into the various thermal waters. Note: this one gets a lot of hop-on/hop-off bus tourists, so expectations were set accordingly but it was still wonderful. $20 entry

S.P.A. TRAVEL DIARY: BUDAPEST · Baths & Spas