Hévíz

Hévíz holds the largest thermal lake in the world that can be swum in, a natural crater pool west of Lake Balaton fed by a spring that replaces the entire volume of water every three days. The temperature never drops below twenty three degrees even in January, so bathers swim through rising steam under snow-covered trees in winter. Indian water lilies flower across the surface in summer. A wooden bathhouse on stilts stands in the middle of the lake, and the town around it has been a spa resort since the eighteenth century. The lake is a medical spa first, and bathing times are limited.