Zsóry Gyógy- és Strandfürdő

What to expect

Zsóryfürdő is the spa quarter on the western edge of Mezőkövesd, the market town of the Matyó folk-embroidery country between Eger and Miskolc. The bath sits on 11 hectares beside main road 3, surrounded by hotels, holiday flats and snack bars, and counts 22 pools across an indoor medicinal bath, an indoor adventure and swimming hall, and a large outdoor strand with a wave pool and slides. The town owns it, and the municipal company Mezőkövesdi VG Nonprofit Zrt. runs it.

The water is what draws the older regulars. It is a calcium-magnesium hydrogen-carbonate water with chloride and a lot of sulphide, about 15.5 mg per litre, which the operator says is the most of any sulphur medicinal water in Hungary. Total dissolved minerals run to 3.5-3.89 g per litre, and the water comes up at about 140°F60°C. It smells of rotten eggs. The bath markets it for joint and rheumatic complaints and holds a Europe Spa MED certificate. We make no medical claims for it.

History

The spa started with a failed oil well. In 1938 the landowner Lajos Zsóry let prospectors drill on his land. On February 25, 1939, at 875 m (about 2,870 ft), the bore hit a reservoir of hot water that shot up some 30 m in a geyser at around 154°F68°C, according to the Hungarian Wikipedia history. Zsóry bought the pipes left in the ground, sold the water bottled from 1940, and opened the first pool in July 1940.

The water was declared medicinal in 1968 and the bath a medicinal spa in 1983. Building followed in waves: the indoor hall in 1971, the wave pool in 1979, a treatment building in 1980-81, the outdoor medicinal pool and adventure pool in 2004, the renovated twin pool in 2011, the indoor adventure bath in 2017 and the slide park in 2019. Mezőkövesd was named an official health resort (gyógyhely) in 2013, and a memorial room for Zsóry opened in 2019.

The pools

Indoor medicinal bath (all year):

• Three medicinal pools at 93-97°F34-36°C, 97-100°F36-38°C and 93-104°F38-40°C.
• A six-person whirlpool at 93-97°F34-36°C.

Indoor adventure bath and swimming pool (all year): an adventure pool, two children’s pools at 90-93°F32-34°C and 0.25-0.5 m deep, and a swimming pool where swim caps are compulsory (HUF 800 at the indoor ticket desk).

Outdoor medicinal pools:

• The medicinal pool beside the covered bath at 93-97°F34-36°C; in summer it is run as an adventure pool at 86-90°F30-32°C.
• The Nosztalgia medicinal pool at 93-97°F34-36°C.
• The twin pool’s two medicinal pools at 90-97°F32-36°C, 90 cm deep.
• An outdoor adventure pool at 86-90°F30-32°C, which you can swim out to from the indoor building, with massage jets and bubble beds.

Summer strand: the wave pool (72-75°F22-24°C, 72-75°F22-24°C, up to 2.4 m deep, waves every hour on the hour), the twin pool’s adventure pool with a family slide and its shallow pool (75-86°F24-30°C), a splash pool, a children’s pool for ages 3 to 10 at 86°F30°C, and the slide park. Its five slides include a 100 m tunnel slide with light effects and a four-lane racing slide; riders must be at least 120 cm tall at the shoulder, with weight limits of 100-120 kg.

From September 14, 2026, the bath listed these as running: the indoor medicinal pools, whirlpool, children’s pools, adventure pool and swimming pool, and outdoors the twin medicinal pools, the Nosztalgia pool and the medicinal and adventure pools next to the covered bath. The outdoor twin adventure pool, the shallow pool and the paddling pool had closed for the season.

Getting there

The bath is at Napfürdő út 2, about 4 km (2.5 miles) west of central Mezőkövesd, beside main road 3 (E71).

• From Budapest: about 130 km (81 miles) on the M3 motorway, then a short stretch of road 3. Allow about 1 hour 35 minutes.
• From Eger: about 25 km (16 miles).
• From Miskolc: about 50 km (31 miles) on road 3, or a little longer on the motorway.

Mezőkövesd is on the Budapest to Miskolc main railway line, and a town bus runs to the bath; its main-entrance stop has moved about 150 m to the corner of Napfürdő utca and Fülemüle utca. A lit cycle path runs from the town boundary, about 25 minutes by bike from the centre.

Parking is free throughout the bath area. The Olajfa út ticket office closed on September 14, 2026 and the main-entrance desk on September 21, 2026; the bath said you can enter through the main entrance or the winter entrance of the covered medicinal bath, so follow the signs to whichever desk is open.

When to go

The posted autumn timetable for 2026:

• Medicinal bath and open outdoor pools: Sunday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Indoor adventure bath and swimming pool: Sunday to Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Sauna World: Friday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Medical treatments: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ticket desks close an hour before closing, and you must be out of the pools 30 minutes before. Holiday hours change often, so read the notices on the website before you go.

Come on a weekday outside the school holidays if you can. On those days the adventure and swimming hall is included in the basic ticket. July and August bring the wave pool and slides and the biggest crowds.

Prices and booking

There is no booking for day tickets. Prices valid from September 14, 2026:

• Adult: HUF 5,200.
• Senior (with a pension card): HUF 4,500.
• Youth (ages 3 to 18, or full-time students with a student card): HUF 4,400.
• Under 3: HUF 500 registration ticket.
• Family: two adults and one youth HUF 14,000, two youths HUF 17,500, three youths HUF 21,000.
• Afternoon ticket from 3 p.m.: HUF 3,600.
• Swimming pool only, from 3 p.m.: HUF 1,500.
• Mezőkövesd residents: HUF 2,600 with a residence card and ID.
• Adventure bath and swimming pool supplement: HUF 2,000 on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and from December 21 to 31, 2026. Included free Monday to Friday.
• Sauna World: HUF 2,900 on Fridays, HUF 3,900 at weekends and on holidays.

Lockers are free, but the key deposit (HUF 2,000) is cash only. SZÉP cards and bank cards are accepted at the desks. Bring proof for any discount; without it you pay the full price.

Bathing culture

The bath runs a wristband system: you need a valid wristband the whole time you are inside. Medicinal pools are for sitting. The operator recommends 15 minutes per soak and says longer stays are at your own risk. Shower first, keep your head out of the water and leave the benches to people who are actually soaking. The water is treated with a chlorine-free disinfectant, and the bath advises against drinking it.

Swim caps are compulsory in the swimming pool. Sauna rituals (aufguss) are booked by arrangement with the sauna master.

Where to stay nearby

Hotels and guesthouses ring the bath. Among them, Balneo Hotel Zsóry and Zsóry Liget hotel and spa are on Fülemüle utca, a short walk from the gates, and some hotels sell packages with discounted bath entry. Central Mezőkövesd is 4 km (2.5 miles) away. Eger, about 25 km (16 miles) west, has the widest choice of rooms. Bogács, about 15 km (9 miles) north, has its own thermal bath, and in Miskolc the Miskolctapolca Cave Bath is about an hour’s drive east.

Safety notes

• Heat and time: The 100-104°F38-40°C pool is hot. Stick to about 15 minutes and get out slowly.
• Health: The operator lists contraindications, including fever, recent heart attack, heart or circulatory failure, thrombosis and cancer. Ask a doctor first if any apply, or if you are pregnant.
• Sulphur: Take off silver jewellery. Rinse after soaking.
• Children: Under-14s may use the medicinal pools only on a doctor’s recommendation.