Marco Hévíz is the biggest Thermal lake in Europe. We spend there a couple of days and we enjoyed the wellness and the warm of thermal lake. This guide is a little help to enjoy the place and relax few hours.
Hévíz is a small town in the south of Hungary close to the famous Balaton Lake.
The lake is 47,500 square meters and is used as a thermal healing from Roman Empire. The ancient Romans loved the thermae and throughout all Europe they discovered and started to use hot springs for socializing and organize political and professional meetings.
The curative effects of Lake Hévíz were presumably already known by the Romans, at least the ancient coins found in the lake and the remains of an altar indicate so.
Objects excavated around the lake and originating from the Migration Period prove the presence of Germanic and Slavic tribes. The first written record of the lake dates from 1328.
Healing properties of the lake
The water of the lake is reach in minerals coming from the deep cave under the lake. Cave is more than 40 meters under the spa center in a cave under the lake full of mud. Water came out from the cave is extremely warm and can be more than 60°C. This warm keep the lake never less than 23°C in the winter and can be almost 36°C during the summer. Water in the lake change completely every 72 hours. This fact permits to have a biologic active water and with many minerals is perfect for healing many diseases.
The thermal water of the lake is rich in calcium, magnesium and hydrogencarbonate. From the official website (www.heviz.hu) I can check every mineral there is in the water:
Cation
Kalium – 6,8 mg/l
Natrium – 27 mg/l
Ammonium – 0,32 mg/l
Calcium – 81 mg/l
Magnesium – 36 mg/l
Iron – 0,04 mg/l
Anion
Chlorid – 23 mg/l
Bromine – 0,11 mg/l
Iodine – 0,021 mg/l
Fluorine – 1,4 mg/l
Sulphate – 64 mg/l
Hydrogen-carbonate – 378 mg/l
Sulphide – 3,2 mg/l
Prices are different and you can choose how long you would like to be inside. You can buy only the access for the lake or also wellness area. Prices are cheap and you can check here all the options that you have.
If you go in the afternoon before closing prices are cheaper and you can choose 2 or 3 hours.
If you want just the lake 2 hours can be enough. With wellness area 3 hours is the minimun to enjoy saunas, steam rooms and whirlpools. Of course you don’t need to be in hurry, just relax!
Which part of the year to go?
We went in November and it was great. I think in summer is not so useful to go inside hot water when outside is extremely warm, but you have more freedom to swim all around the lake and enjoy open air sunbath. In autumn and winter water of the lake is not so warm to swim, someone like to do it, not me. There is a space of the lake where water remain warm all over the year and in the winter is great to swim there. It is inside the central building in the middle of the lake. You have stairs to go down in the water and enjoy the thermal healing. Inside the spa you can loan some equipment if you need, as a swimsuits or water rings to swim more relaxed.
Hévíz the village.
Hévíz is small, everything you can reach on foot in few minutes. To buy equipment in the shops in city center is a bit expensive as is understandable. You have also few restaurant where you can go. I suggest you to check outside the pedestrian area, is cheaper and better quality. After 5pm in November almost every cafes were closed and when the spa close the village simply goes to sleep. Maybe there is something to do during the night but I didn’t checked, we were there for the thermal lake. Hévíz is full of hotel with different prices, you can find a cheap room really clean and close to center or you can sleep in many of fancy hotels all around the village. Hévíz lives only because of thermal lake, all the life and the economy is based on wellness center.
