Not just a pool, but an aquatic centre with three different indoor sites: one training pool, one for learning and one for fun as well as a small outdoor pool, two solariums and one ‘beach’. It also offers a spa, hammams, saunas and UV cabins. Very clean, well-maintained and organised, people are drawn from far and wide, so it can get a little crowded at peak times. It’s aimed at families and those coming for leisure rather than those training for the Olympics, but always a very pleasant place to while away a few hours.
When Paris's legendary Piscine Molitor – Art Deco showpiece, birthplace of the bikini (and, er, the 'monokini'), star of 'Life of Pi', playground for graffiti artists and ravers – reopened in May 2014, it wasn't in order to welcome back its old public. After languishing in redevelopment limbo for two decades, the pool was eventually snapped up by hotel group Accor, who resolved to convert the site's historic appeal into a luxury brand. The result: a high-end hotel-pool resort that looks good, but costs €180 for a day pass. Parisians are up in arms.
Luckily for them, their city abounds in attractive pools that don't cost half a week's wages to access. From the exotic facilities of the Centre Aquatique de Neuilly-sur-Seine (fake beaches, anyone?) to the naturist evenings at the Roger Le Gall, the Olympic dimensions of the Georges-Vallerey to the dramatic steel structure of the Josephine Baker, these venues offer everything that an overheated Parisian could want. So don your gaudiest swimsuit, grab your coppers for the lockers, and head over for a dip.