Top 5 Pools in Barcelona

Top 5 Pools in Barcelona

Yeah, everyone likes to swim, but winter is coming, or so they say, and the Mediterranean is getting… chilly, freezing, and frankly, disappointing.

But that does not mean nothing at all if swimming is your thing, isn’t it? Nope! Why? Because Barcelona is full of incredible and cool and human-friendly swimming pools. Big, small, medium sized pools with salty, sweet, warm, hot or freezing waters, Barcelona has a perfect site for you and your friends and families.

So, come on, let’s have a look at the five top places to go for a swim in Barcelona!

5. Dir- Diagonal

Sarria/ Sant Gervasi

The first swimming pool of the top 5 list is set in Turó Park and for decades was part of  the most traditional swimming club in the city. This covered Olympic Swimming Pool, which was some decades ago run by the City Hall, is now managed by the famous local sports clubs’ franchise DIR.

This means, you will have to pay in order to go and use its premises. Good news is that you don’t need a membership, since daily passes are available for everyone (and, yeah, for a reasonable price, too!)

4. Piscines Santaló

Are you both a feminist and a swimmer, or maybe just a water fan, or just a woman who loves to swim?  This is your place, for sure. Welcome to the famous Piscines Santaló, one of our Top Five Places to go for a Swim in Barcelona and the only swimming pool all around the city which is open just for women.

Get out, guys, go to your own places. Boys have not been allowed in the pools since they were founded in 1977, a couple of years after the return of democracy and during the boom of feminism and gender studies as a sheltering club for girls.

Santaló pool, image sourced from their website

3. Piscines Bernat Picornell

Sants/ Montjuic

The third selection of this Top Five Places to go for a Swim in Barcelona is a super sporty premise not far from Montjuic.

Bernat pool during the Olympic Games of ’92, image sourced from their website

Are you a professional swimmer? Would you like to be one? This is your place, then. Just imagine you are about to jump into the most wonderful swimming pool when you see that there is a big guy at your side, a huge one. Half man, half shark, and an obvious athlete. Suddenly, you realize that the guy is… Michel Phelps himself!

He jumps into the water, begins to swim as fast as he can and, before you can blink, he is back.

Well, it would be no surprise at all, because Bernat Picornell’s main attraction is the spectacular professional swimming pool built for the 1992 Olympic Games.

Bernat Picorell also offers a very special activity  on Saturdays! From 9pm to 11pm you can enjoy the nudist area of the pool.

2. Club Atletic Natacio Barcelona

“Barcelona’s Swimming and Athletic Club”

The swimming club situated right by the sea, image sourced from their official website

Why should we choose between the salty sea waves and a wonderfully designed swimming pool when we can have both at the same place?  We should not choose. And we do not have to.

With a superb swimming pool facing towards the shore, Club Natació Atlétic Barcelona offers you the possibility of swimming in warm water while watching the sea, and that makes it one of our five top swimming places in Barcelona.

You can access its three swimming pools from 6.30am in the morning to 11pm at night, even if you don’t have a membership.

It has three swimming pools, two of them of regular size and the third one designed for kids. The club always also has a lounge with hammocks, a bar and a private beach which you can access from there.

Adult prices: 12.82 euros

Kids prices: 7.40 euros

Kids under 4: Free

1. Plaça del Mar

Sea Square

Can Drago pool, image sourced from City Life Barcelona

And, yes, my friends, it seems we have finally reached #1 place to go swimming in Barcelona; the incredible swimming pool Plaça de Mar.

Because of its big size (over 1,500 m2), this pool is known amongst locals as the lake of Can Drago. It is of, course, one of the biggest swimming pools in Barcelona and it belongs to the private company Eurofitness Can Drago, which means clean waters and excellent services.

Although you can swim perfectly well in it, Plaça de Mar is a place that appears to be more suitable when you want to enjoy a sunny day, eating some sandwiches and lying on the grass next to the water, rather than for someone looking for a place to practice sports.

One way or another, the lake is still one of the wonders of the city for several reasons.

For kids it is perfect! The pool has many safe and shallow ends where the whole family can enjoy the fresh water.
Whether you go alone or not, the lake of Can Drago is also a great place to meet new people from all around the world… You could even find someone special bathing next to you!

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