Will be in Budapest this summer for 4 days. I have read many posts regarding baths, but must admit, I'm not getting the appeal. Please explain the experience to this newbie! My wife and I are upper middle-aged.

Well in Budapest you have some very pretty buildings inside which are baths many with a long tradition of use. In all the water is pretty hot which is especially nice in the winter months as the cold air hits the hot flesh.

Outside Budapest there are many more inluding some in fields, in caves etc etc.

Why is it nice, well partially because you are taking part in the local culture in a way that is harder than in other countries, you see all life there, the fat gangster with the very young blonde by his side will be joined by the little old lady and the dustman and guess what, you cannot tell who is who until they open their mouths (well body art gives a few clues). And of course for most Hungarians (outside the tourist sites) the local prices are pretty low so anyone can go.

I like to think of it as the same as sitting in a Paris bar and drinking a beer.

So in the same way you cannot go to Milan and not watch a football match or Milan and not go to the Opera, going to Budapest and not going to a bath is just missing the point.

Or going to Spain and not eating tapas, going to Munich and not stopping by a Biergarten, or going to Amsterdam and not cruising through the Red Light District.

oops, guess I missed the Munich one

If it doesn't appeal to you, don't do it. Help stamp out the herd mentality!

You can very easily go to Milan and not the opera especially if you cannot get decent tickets.

So, the bath thing doesn't appeal. Going all the way to Barcelona just to hang out in wine bars doesn't appeal to me, for example, but that's what some posters here are planning to do.

Is it bad or a waste of time? Not at all. Just not for me.

OP, if it doesn't appeal to you then don't do it.

I've been to Paris and skipped both the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Sacrilige to some but NASFWG. You do what you want, it's your trip.

We took a private tour of Budapest which included stopping at the Gellert, seeing the baths but not using. I didn't want to take the time with so much we wanted to see and only 5 days.

For some the seeing sense is the most important, for others it is hearing, tasting or feeling. Don't miss out on tokaji or chocolate cake

If you don't find them appealing, skip them. There's no requirement. I myself can hardly ever go to France or Italy or Morocco or other places that feature spas and hammams without taking part. It's relaxing and therapeutic and re-energizes my travels.

I don't handle the baths well in the summer. I have enough hot flashes without sitting in a thermal pool And it took me over a year of living in Budapest before I tried a bath. Once I tried them, I got quite hooked as a way to just relax.

For Hungarians, they believe the water is curative. Different baths cure different illnesses. The mineral content dictates this. The bath may be prescribed by their doctor. So bottom line, here, they go for the cure.

There are two basic types. The newer and more opulent baths built during the Austro-Hungarian empire and the 500 year old baths built by the Ottoman's during their occupation. I prefer the later. It never ceases to amaze me when I am soaking in a place quite that old.

I buy a daily pass with a massage (there is a package price). My husband and I go, hang out, soak in various temperature baths, break away for our massage, return for maybe one more soak. When I leave, my neck is less stiff (I work on a computer all day), and I just feel fantastic.

If it feels like work - it probably defeats the purpose. It is a glimpse into a very big part of the Central European culture. But if it is not for you, that's fine.

i>If you don't find them appealing, skip them. There's no requirement. I myself can hardly ever go to France or Italy or Morocco or other places that feature spas and hammams without taking part. It's relaxing and therapeutic and re-energizes my travels.</i>

Same here. I love hammams. LOVE THEM.

Oh bloody hell: it's this attitude - "So in the same way you cannot go to Milan and not watch a football match or Milan and not go to the Opera, going to Budapest and not going to a bath is just missing the point" - that just shouts "I'm a superior tourist and the rest of you are cro-magnons.

The point of Budapest is not the baths. There is far too much on offer from the city as a whole - the history and culture of Hungary do not distill into "Hungarians like baths." If that's what you get from your trip to Budapest, you missed everything else.

Yeesh.

BigRuss, I adore you.
AZ

I bet "I went to Amsterdam and skipped the Anne Frank House" makes me an inferior tourist as well.
(We absolutely loved our time in the Netherlands.)

I do get the appeal - you have ostentatious architecture and decoration, and who doesn't love a bit of rubbing and scrubbing

Preferably followed by coffee and cake...

If you want rubbing and scrubbing go to Amsterdam (try the red light district).

Rubbing and scrubbing is taken almost to an art form in Turkey.
Rubbed and scrubbed practically raw first, then doused in hot water, and later enclosed in thick, warm, womb-like foam and left for dead on a hot marble slab. Heaven.