Zurich's swimming bars

Article by: Sarah Johnstone, June 2008

Here's a quick general-knowledge question: which place on earth has the highest concentration of public swimming pools? Sydney? LA? Uh-uh. The place claiming the most public baths per head of population is Switzerland's largest town, Zurich.

This mini-opolis of 370,000 people has 26 public pools, and sits on a lake and river whose water almost (but not quite) seems clean enough to drink. Many of the wooden-decked public lidos lining the waterfront are transformed into bars and clubs on balmy summer evenings.

Zurich's reputation as a boring financial capital is an out-of-date, bankrupt notion. So whether you're in town for the Euro 2008 football championship or staying on afterwards, the following lido bars are good spots to take the pulse of the reborn city.

1. Seebad Enge

Its eponymous lake is undoubtedly one of Zurich's best features. Located on the southern fringe of the city centre, its grassy banks swarm in warm weather with sunbathers, picknickers and other assorted hedonists. Bankers in stripy shirts may make a detour around it on a Segway scooter and police sometimes patrol on rollerblades, while both frisbees and the aroma of grilling sausages waft through the air. Underpinning the scene are two lidos, one of which is the Seebad Enge on the western bank. Like many Zurich 'pools', it's essentially a grid of wooden decks, covered spaces and walkways, floating on pontoons and marking out patches of bracing lake water in which to swim. Seebad Enge has one mixed and one women-only section, plus a sauna, massages and yoga classes. There's also a kiosk and bar where you can watch the twinkling downtown lights and the lake's illuminated jet fountain, similar to that of Geneva.

• location: Mythenquai 9
• tel: 044 201 38 89
• open: As a pool and sauna May 1-September 14 (pool closed in bad weather) and as a sauna for the rest of the year
• baths: 9am-7pm daily (May 10-Jun 1 & Sep 1-14), 8am-8pm daily (Jun 2-Aug 31)
• kiosk/bar: to midnight daily
• price: CHF3-6 (US$2.80-5.75)

2. Barfussbar@Frauenbadi

Moving north along the Limmat River into the city centre, you'll arrive at probably the most cultural of 'Zuri's' lido bars. This beautiful 19th-century pavilion is open solely to women by day, a legacy of its history as a true 'public bath' before there was running water in the houses of strict, protestant Zurich. In the 21st century, however, men are also allowed in on certain evenings. The only condition is that everyone must remove their shoes, and the disorderly collection of footwear inside the door of the 'barfuss' or 'barefoot' bar is one of its memorable images. ('Finken', or house slippers, are available to keep your toes warm.) As well as Thursday's bar, there are performances by comedians and world musicians on Wednesdays. Sunday is dance night, with the same sort of chilled beats.

• location: Am Stadthausquai
• tel: 044 211 95 92
• open: mid-May to mid-Sep; closed in bad weather
• Frauenbadi: 9.30am-7.30pm daily (Jun 1-Aug 14); ring for details for May & mid-Aug to mid-Sep
• Barfussbar: 8pm-midnight Wed, Thu & Sun
• cover price: CHF6 (US$5.75)

3. Rimini Bar@Männerbadi

A walk north along the Schanzengraben canal is one of Zurich's little secrets, taking you through an intriguing, lesser-trodden route. The former Botanic Gardens line the canal's right-hand bank, and as you emerge through these you'll hear and then see the Männerbadi (men's baths) across the small gorge below you. They're right next to the Swiss Stock Exchange building and near a tower and other remnants of the old city fortifications. By day restricted to owners of a Y-chromosome – it's that history thing again – after hours the baths turn into the mixed gender Rimini Bar. Decorated with potted plants and oriental mats across its generous wooden desks, Rimini is known as a cool, laidback place to relax. It's also popular for its DIY barbecues; buy yourself a sausage and then take it to the grill.

• location: Badweg 10
• tel: 044 211 95 94
• open: Jun-Sep; closed in bad weather
• Männerbadi: 11.30am-7pm Sun-Fri, closed Sat
• Rimini Bar: 7.30pm-midnight Sun-Fri, 5pm-midnight Sat
• cover price: CHF6 (US$5.75)

4. Pier West@Oberer Letten

It's hardly surprising this is the funkiest and most alternative of its genre. It's located in a former industrial neighbourhood, which in the past decade or so has become Zurich's premier nightlife district. Think lots of graffiti. The pier is a two-storey concrete affair, boasting a diving board over the Limmat River. And this diving board is a popular spot for the regular DJs to set up their decks before spinning house, hip-hop or urban beats. Just across the water is the ramshackle Primitivo bar, right next to the Oberer Letten swimming area and two beach volleyball courts. The Swiss are too sensible to drink and swim, and most lido bars forbid anything but dipping in your feet after the alcohol starts flowing. However at cut-loose Pier West, you might see the two activities side by side – albeit being practised by entirely different people.

• location: Lettensteg 10
• tel: 044 362 92 00
• open: May 16-Sep 7; closed in bad weather
• Oberer Letten: 9am to around 8pm daily
• Pier West: 6pm-midnight daily
• cover price: none