Balnevia
Steam over the green thermal lake at Hévíz with wooden pavilions

Hévíz/Hungary

Hévíz Thermal Lake

The largest biologically active thermal lake in the world, warm all year.

Bathing
Indoor / Outdoor

Hévíz is a 4.4-hectare lake fed by a spring cave 38 metres down, its whole volume renewed every three days, and warm enough to bathe in outdoors in January.

Balnevia view

Why visit

Floating in an open lake surrounded by forest, in water that never drops below 24°C, is unlike any built bath.

Recommendations

Hotels nearby

Explore places to stay near Hévíz Thermal Lake.

The water

Thermal water

Source
Hévíz spring cave
Mineralisation
Sulphurous, radon-bearing, mildly mineralised
Character
Spring water renewing the whole lake every 72 hours; 24-26°C in winter.

Facilities

  • Outdoor pools
  • Indoor pools
  • Massage treatments
  • Spa treatments

History

Bathing was formalised in 1795 by Count György Festetics; the wooden pavilions over the water date from the spa's Habsburg period.

Practical information

Bathers use floating rings for long soaks. The recommended session is thirty to forty minutes at a time.

Official website

Getting there

Twenty minutes from Keszthely, two and a half hours from Budapest by car or bus.

Location

Hévíz, Hungary46.7889, 17.1889View on Balnevia map

Related places

More thermal baths in Hungary