Swimming activities in Europe
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Caracalla-Therme
The modern Caracalla-Therme, which opened in 1985 and is named for a Roman emperor, has more than 900 square metres of outdoor and indoor pools, hot and cold water grottoes, various whirlpools, therapeutic water massages, a surge channel and a range of saunas, including a new log-cabin sauna. Bathing suits (available for purchase) must be worn everywhere except in the upstairs sauna; towels can be rented. Children are admitted from age three.
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Piscine Victor Boin
Belgium isn't much of a swimming nation but those interested in unusual pools might want a dip at Piscine Victor Boin in St Gilles. This covered Art Deco pool has a bain turc (Turkish bath) at the rear, which is reserved for women on Tuesday and Friday; it's reserved for men Monday, Thursday and Saturday. A single pool ticket costs around €2.
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Outdoor Swimming Areas
Between May and the middle of September, Outdoor Swimming Areas are open around the lake and up the Limmat River. These are usually rectangular wooden piers with a pavilion covering part of the; most offer massages, yoga and saunas, as well as snacks.
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Brockwell Park Lido
A beautifully designed 1930s lido, Brockwell is one of London’s best, as witnessed by the multitudes that descend in the summer months.
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Strandbad Wannsee
Possibly Europe's largest lakeside lido with 1km of sandy beach and plenty of infrastructure and concessions.
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Parc Balnéaire du Prado
Marseille's main beach area is the 1km-long Parc Balnéaire du Prado ; created from backfill from the excavations for Marseille's metro. Beginning 5km south of the centre, it's split into five beaches (north to south): Plage du Prado Nord (also called Plage du Petit Roucas Blanc), Plage du Prado Sud (also called Plage de David), Plage Borély, Plage Bonneveine and Plage Vieille Chapelle.
These beaches have public toilets, showers, first-aid posts with coastguards and free lockers to safeguard valuables. Prado du Nord and Sud are wheelchair accessible; Prado du Nord and Borély have a children's playground; and café-clad Borély and Bonneveine have sun-loungers/parasols to r…
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Maria Luisa Pool
Lying southeast of the city centre, Sofia’s most attractive expanse of greenery is home to the Vasil Levski Stadium, CSKA Stadium and Maria Luisa Pool, as well as bike tracks and tennis courts. It’s laid out with countless statues and flowerbeds, and is a relaxing place to take a leisurely stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The eastern end of the park is dominated by a gigantic communist monument built in 1956 and known as the Mound of Brotherhood, featuring a 42m-high obelisk and socialist-realist icons including a pair of partisan fighters, dramatically gesturing comrades clutching Kalashnikovs, and smiling, stoic workers. It has long been neglected by the authorit…
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Punta della Suina
Gallipoli's beaches stretch in great curves both north and south of town. To the north is the Lido Conchiglie and the disco quarter, but it's south you want to go, to the long sandy stretch of Baia Verde. Between September and May the lidos (managed sections of beach with umbrellas and beds) are closed so you can enjoy the beach pretty much all to yourself for free.
In May things start to crank up, the beach is raked to perfection and the lidos are renovated and repainted ready for the hectic summer months. Gallipoli's best lidos are Punta della Suina, and further south the super-pretty Lido Pizzo, backed by whispering pine trees. There's also the tiny La Purita beach on …
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Waterville Aquapark
Calling all kids! This huge complex at the Park Inn – Pribaltiyskaya features miles of water slides and rides, waterfalls, jet streams and wave pools. There is something for everyone here, as special pools for younger children have shallow waters and warmer temperatures, while a two-lane 25m pool is dedicated to water aerobics and lap-swimming (aka ‘adult swim’). Also on site: an international ‘sweating complex’ featuring Russian banya, Finnish sauna, Turkish hammam and Indian sauna. Prices quoted are for four hours of fun, but all-day admission is also available.
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Swim with Fungie
In the early 1980s, Dingle fishing crews began to notice a solitary bottlenose dolphin that followed their vessels, jumped about in the water and sometimes leapt over smaller boats. When an American tourist offered to pay a boatman to take him to visit the large, friendly dolphin, an industry was born. Eleven boats now go out every day in the summer, and the Dingle dolphin is an international celebrity.
The Dingle Boatmen's Association runs a daily two-hour boat trip for enthusiasts who want to Swim with Fungie . Organise it in advance through Brosnan's, where you can hire wetsuits and snorkelling gear.
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Kva-Kva Park
Calling all kids! This huge complex features seven long and winding water slides, a terrific tsunami water ride, waterfalls and wave pools. There is something for everyone here: special pools for younger children have shallow waters and warmer temperatures, while adults can relax and feel the soothing pulse of 150 hydromassage jets. Note: children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. From VDNKh metro station, take any outward-bound bus to Furazhnaya, which is about 1km past MKAD.
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Gellért Gyógyfürdő
Soaking in this Art Nouveau palace, open to both men and women in separate sections, has been likened to taking a bath in a cathedral. The pools maintain a constant temperature of 44°C, and the water, high in calcium, magnesium and hydrogen carbonate, is good for pains in the joints, arthritis and blood circulation. The entrance fee is actually a kind of deposit that's refunded when you leave, depending on how long you have stayed.
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Castle Baths
Bled's warm (23°C at source) crystal-clear water - it now rates a Blue Flag - makes it suitable for swimming well into the autumn, and there are decent beaches around Lake Bled, including a big gravel one near the camping ground and a grass one on the northern side. Just east of the latter is the large Castle Baths , with an indoor pool and protected enclosures in the lake itself with huge water slides.
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Maribor Island Swimming Pools
Maribor has several outdoor swimming pools, including the Maribor Island Swimming Pools, a sand bank at the end of a dammed-off portion of the Drava River called Maribor Lake, about 4km west of the Old Town. A sunbathing area is reserved for naturists. Local bus 15 from the train station will drop you off at the Kamnica stop, near the start of the footpath leading to the bridge and the island.
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Beach Club
When New Russians go to the beach, they might go to the Costa del Sol or the French Riviera, or they might go to the Beach Club at Vodny Stadion. A surprisingly beautiful white-sand beach flanks the Moscow River, furnished with lounge chairs, beach umbrellas and a well-stocked bar. Active types can rent jet skis, play volleyball and even swim. Of course there is a place to dock your yacht.
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Waterworld
Bundoran's Blue Flag beach isn't safe for swimming, so the place to do it is Waterworld on the waterfront, with wave pools and water slides.
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Beaches
Southeast of Taranto the coast begins to unfurl in one long series of sandy beaches and coves. The closest beach to town is the Lido Bruno but you'll need to head beyond that to get to the better beaches like the ones at Marino di Pulsano and Toretta. You can reach some of the closer beaches by public transport but you really need a car to get the best out of beachcombing.
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Hampstead Heath Ponds
Set in the midst of the gorgeous heath, the three ponds offer a slightly chilly dip surrounded by wild shrubbery; the men’s pond is a bit of a gay cruising area (but it’s also a fantastic, beautiful place for a swim), the secluded women’s pond is less cruisy. The mixed pond can sometimes get rather crowded and isn’t so scenically located.
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Amager Strandpark
If brisk water doesn't deter you, the greater Copenhagen area has several bathing areas. This beach has undergone a total transformation in recent years and is now a spectacular sheltered lagoon, with acres of sandy beach and, during summer, a festival atmosphere most days with cafés and bars. Playground facilities and shallow water make it ideal for children.
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indoor swimming pool
Some of the beaches on Lake Bohinj's northern shore are reserved for naturists in summer. Nonguests can use the indoor swimming pool at the Hotel Zlatorog (572 33 81; Ukanc 65; pool/pool & sauna Mon-Fri around €6/around €7, Sat & Sun around €8/around €9; ;16:00-22:00) should Bohinj's infamous early morning fog drive you inside.
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Sloterparkbad
Set in an attractive recreational area with a yacht harbour in the western suburbs, next to the terminus of tram 14, this place has indoor and outdoor pools. The latter can get overcrowded, but this bath is known for a less frequented nudist island, past the pools and across a causeway. The indoor pool opens in summer on cold, rainy days. Call for opening hours.
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Ribersborgs Kallbadshus
Ribersborg is a fetching sandy beach backed by parkland, about 2km west of the town centre. Off the beach, at the end of a 200m-long pier, is the adorable, wooden Ribersborgs Kallbadshus, an open-air naturist saltwater pool, with separate sections for men and women, and a wood-fired sauna dating from 1898.
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Letten
Letten, a bathing area further north up the river, is where Züri-West trendsetters swim, barbecue, skateboard, play volleyball, or just drink at the bars and chat on the grass and concrete. You’d never know that this was the focus of Zürich’s street drug scene and a virtual no-go area until 1995.
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Minskae Mora
There's swimming and beach fun at Minskae Mora, an artificial reservoir 5km north of the city (buses leave regularly from the central bus station). There's a free public beach (plus a nudist beach!), and pedal-boat and catamaran rental. By car, head north along the P28 and watch for the signs after the village of Ratomka.
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Fiesa Beach
Piran has several 'beaches' - rocky areas along Prešernovo nabrežje - where you might get your feet wet. They are a little better on the north side near Punta, but as long as you've come this far keep walking eastward on the paved path for just under 1km to Fiesa Beach, which is a very small but clean beach.
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