The whole world knows the pastel buildings with Belle Epoque or Art Nouveau architecture surrounding pools where chess players compete with swimming caps on their heads in water vapor.

But running these mythical establishments "should cost 170% more in 2023 compared to last year," warns Edit Reffy, the spokeswoman for Budapest Spas, the company that manages the thermal baths of the capital.

"Managing the energy crisis is a big challenge," she told AFP. Savings measures have been put in place (reduced service, covered outdoor swimming pools, etc.) and entrance ticket prices have been raised.

"Inevitably", the historic baths, mostly frequented by a foreign clientele, have increased their tickets by "more than 30%".

Like the sulphur-smelled Szechenyi, adored by night owls for its wild parties, or the Gellert, which has become a world icon with its waters rich in calcium and magnesium in a curved setting of turquoise mosaics.

The Gellert pool in Budapest, February 9, 2023 © FERENC ISZA / AFP

Despite this increase in prices, attendance has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels (42 million visitors in 2019), according to professionals in the sector.

Less well known, provincial institutions have been more affected by the crisis. Some have been forced to close their doors, while a quarter of them have reduced their hours, Zoltan Kantas, head of the Hungarian Baths Association, recently warned.

Developed in the Central European plain two thousand years ago by the Romans, the spa culture was later perpetuated by the Hungarians. In the sixteenth century, the Ottomans built baths that are still in use today.

With nearly 1,300 sources of medicinal and thermal water, Hungary remains a cheaper destination than the European average and often spectacular.

The Szechenyi seaside resort in Budapest, February 6, 2023 © FERENC ISZA / AFP/Archives

There is the destination of Miskolctapolca (northeast), where you can take water in labyrinthine caves unique in Europe, with a curative climate.

Or the largest biologically active natural thermal lake in the world, in Heviz (southwest). Its 4.4 hectares benefit from water heated by geothermal energy that does not fall below 22 ° C in winter and can reach 38 ° C in summer.

© 2023 AFP