The best lido in London right now, according to Time Out

In London it can be hard to escape the heat. Thankfully, the city has a solid selection of dependable outdoor swimming pools, lidos, ponds and open-water swim spots, where you can cool off from the scorching weather and try not to think about the catastrophic wider impacts of climate change. 

We know you lot love an outdoor dip – have you tried to get a spot at London Fields on a sunny day? Yeah, think again. So we’ve decided to rank all the lidos in London for you. Read on to find out our favourite spots. 

According to Time Out, London’s very best outdoor pool is Brockwell Lido – or, as we like to call it, the Costa del Brockwell. The south London 50-metre outdoor pool is not heated, but during these hot summer months who wants to jump into warmed-up water, anyway?

Brockwell is a top tier sunbathing spot that’s particularly great for a social swim. The swimmer’s paradise is surrounded by art deco Grade II-listed buildings and is home to a cracking café that serves delish brunch and sourdough pizzas. In the spring, the walls of the cafe are covered in beautiful purple wisteria. And did we mention it has a sauna?

Second on our list was Parliament Hill Lido, on the outskirts of Hampstead Heath. The water at the Grade II-listed Parly Hill is also unheated, and a splash here comes with a certain aesthetic charm; think Wes Anderson set crossed with a Soviet municipal building. In third place was the ever-faithful Hampstead Heath swimming ponds.

Here’s Time Out’s full list of the best lidos in London. 

Still too hot? Here is the best beach within an hour of London for summer 2025. 

Revealed: the tube line that’ll be the hottest this summer.