Bardejovské Kúpele: Wellness Spa Ozón and summer pool

Bardejovské Kúpele is one of Slovakia’s oldest spas, a part of the town of Bardejov about 5 km from its centre, in a valley under the Magura massif that shelters it from winds. If you are not coming for a medical stay, there are two water areas open to everyone: the year-round Wellness Spa Ozón with pools and saunas in Hotel Ozón, and a summer open-air pool with heated water that runs in July and August.

The spa owes its fame to its mineral springs. They are first mentioned in a charter of the Hungarian king Béla IV in 1247. In the 19th century Kúpele was one of the most fashionable spas of the Kingdom of Hungary, and in 1895 Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi) took a cure here — a Sisi museum and a themed trail recall her stay. Eight springs are used for drinking cures: Hlavný, Lekársky, Klára, Alžbeta, Napoleon, František, Anna and Kolonádny. All of them are piped into a covered, heated colonnade. The water is cold, hydrogen-carbonate-chloride, sodium, ferruginous and carbonated, with an increased content of boric acid. Note that the pools are not thermal: they hold ordinary heated water, while the mineral water is for drinking.

What to see and do

• Relaxation pool 21 × 11 m, 1.2 m deep, 28–30 °C: water bowl, water cannon, wall massage jets, bubbling floor, counter-current and underwater LED lighting.
• Quiet pool 4 × 11 m, 32–34 °C, with tubular loungers and an air-bubble bench.
• Children’s pool 6.5 × 2.5 m, 20 cm deep, 30–32 °C, with a small slide, a “water hedgehog” and a water bell.
• Sauna world: dry, steam, inhalation and infrared saunas; classic, bamboo or lava-stone massages can be booked separately.
• Summer pool: a 33 × 15 m pool (1.3 m deep) and a 4 × 4 m children’s pool (0.8 m), water heated to 26 °C.
• Between swims, stroll through the spa park to the colonnade, the Sisi museum and the open-air museum of folk architecture, which stands right in Kúpele.

Practical information

Getting there. Kúpele is linked with Bardejov by town buses (MHD). By car it is about 5 km north of the town. Cars are not allowed inside the spa area; you can park only in the designated paid car parks. If you visit the Wellness Spa or the summer pool, the cash desk validates your ticket from the central car park and parking is free (up to 5 hours; leave within 30 minutes of exiting).

Wellness Spa Ozón opening hours (as of October 2026): pools — Monday 13:00–20:30, Tuesday to Sunday 11:00–20:30; saunas — daily 13:00–20:30. From 7 to 22 December 2026 the Wellness Spa is closed for technical works.

Tickets (prices from 1 February 2026): pools 1 h — €12 adult / €9 child / €11 student, senior 60+ or disabled; 2 h — €17 / €13 / €15; 4 h — €19 / €15 / €17. Pools + saunas: 2 h — €19 (reduced €17), 3 h — €21 (€18), 4 h — €23 (€20). Family ticket (2 adults + up to 2 children) for the pools: 2 h — €40.50, 4 h — €45.50. Each extra half hour started costs €2 (child €1). Children under 3 go free with a paying adult; children aged 3–14 must show their health-insurance card. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 14:00 visitors over 60 get 28% off.

Summer pool 2026: 27 June to 1 September, daily 10:00–19:00; early swimming Tuesday to Sunday 9:00–10:00 — €3.50. Adults €11 (after 15:00 — €8), children under 15 €7 (after 15:00 — €4.50), pensioners €7, children under 3 free; family 2 + 1 — €25, 2 + 2 — €31.

The Wellness Spa suits families with children and anyone looking for a rainy-day option; it is a pleasant way to end a day of sightseeing in Bardejov.

Nearby

• Open-air museum of folk architecture — wooden houses and churches right in the spa park.
• Bardejov — a medieval UNESCO-listed town with the Basilica of St Giles.
• Wooden church in Hervartov — one of the oldest wooden churches in Slovakia.
• Church in Ladomirová — the wooden Greek Catholic church of St Michael the Archangel.

Official website: kupele-bj.sk

Photos: kupele-bj.sk; Akul59, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; J.Dncsn, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Patrik Kunec, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.