Public Swimming Pools in Brussels

I enjoy swimming, and have been trying to explore the different swimming pools in Brussels. I originally created the list of pools on this page because I was looking for a 50 meter pool. Unfortunately, Brussels does not feature any modern mega swimming complex, and its only two 50m pools are usually cut into two separate areas.

But what Brussels lacks in modernity, it makes up for in the variety of its pools. There's about one indoor pool per 10 km², and their age ranges from freshly built to over a century old. (For comparison, Antwerp, the second-most important city in Belgium, features about one pool per 20 km².) A visit to one of Brussels's older pools is a brief trip down history. The oldest pool is the venerable "Piscine Communale d'Ixelles", which dates back to 1904. The Ixelles municipality celebrated its centennial with a brochure on the history and architecture of the pool (available in Dutch and French). Only one year younger is the "Piscine Victor Boin", dating back to 1905. If you're feeling in a nostalgic mood, you should definitely visit one of these pools.

Not a swimming pool, but still worth a mention is Nemo 33. At a depth of 33 meters, it's the world's deepest pool. It's for scuba dive training rather than swimming, but check out the pictures anyway.

If you're looking to spend a day out with the kids, there's the water park Océade.

You may also be interested in this article from the free newspaper Tribune de Bruxelles: "Brussels Swimming Pools to (Re)discover" (in French).

List of Pools

I've only listed pools in Brussels here that are generally accessible to the public. Pools belonging to fitness centers, hotels and the one of the Royal Military School are not listed.

Most public pools in Brussels fall under the authority of the Belgian french-speaking community, which disallows wearing board shorts. Swimming caps are also generally mandatory. An exception to both rules is the pool of the dutch-speaking community's VUB university.

The first button below the address of each pool takes you to that pool's entry on Swimmer's Guide. There you can find some technical information on the pool and other people's reviews. The other buttons provide links to the pool's location on Google Maps, a Google Maps route description on how to get to the pool from the VUB university, and links to the pool's website or sites if it's available in different languages.

L'Espadon
Rue des Champs 69
1040 Etterbeek

"The Swordfish" is the pool where you'll most often find me. It's an attractive pool that was completely rebuilt in the period 2000-2002 after the original was destroyed by a fire. Unfortunately, it's best to avoid it in the evening during the week, and at certain times on Saturday, when there are Aquagym classes. The water gets very wavy with a bunch of people jumping up and down, and only 4 lanes are left for swimmers. Some evenings there's even a second activity, leaving only 3 or 2 overcrowded lanes for "swimming". For activity times, check the "Activités" page of Etterbeek Sports. If you forgot your swimsuit at home, there's a nearby shop that specializes in swimming gear: Waves & Water.
Piscine Sportcity
Avenue Salomé 2
1150 Woluwé-St-Pierre

Sportcity offers one of the only two 50m pools in Brussels, but it's usually divided into a shallow water part for kids and a 33m part. It's a full 50m pool only on weekdays very early in the morning and in the evening. The exact schedule can be found on the website, but it's 50m on all weekdays between 18:00 and 19:00. It was renovated in 2005, making it a nice, fairly modern facility.
Swimming Pool of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Pleinlaan 2
1050 Elsene

The pool of my alma mater seems to be popular with many swimmers, though I personally don't like it much: there are only communal changing rooms with a sign on the door asking visitors to help keep them clean (so don't expect them to be), the pool is not well-lit and you'd better swim fast to keep warm in the cold water. On the upshot, the cold water seems to drive away anyone but the most serious lap swimmers. The pool is now connected to a fitness center, but is still accessible without a membership card. The pool lives by the university's rhythm: it's closed on weekends, including Friday evening, as most students are then not on campus. On weekdays it's only open around noon and in the evening.
Piscine Victor Boin
Rue de la Perche 38
1060 Saint-Gilles

When I first visited this pool, its most notable feature for me was its changing rooms. Rather than having the typical locker room like in most modern pools, there are a few levels of cubicles that surround the pool. I later found out that other older pools in Brussels have a similar layout though. You also don't get a wristband with a key to open your cubicle, a member of staff needs to come open the door. The old-fashionedness of this pool is perhaps best enjoyed when you're feeling in a nostalgic mood. It's also home to the annual Swim4Life charity fund raiser.
Bains de la ville de Bruxelles
Rue du Chevreuil 28
1000 Bruxelles

One of the post-war pools of Brussels, inaugurated in 1953. At the entrance you can find some panels recounting in brief the history of the city's pools. Housed in a building conceived as a sports center, the basin is on the third floor. The large window unfortunately does not look out on a great view at all, but it still gives your swimming a nice 'elevated' experience.
Piscine de Bruxelles-Ville
Rue Champ de l'Eglise 73-89
1020 Laeken
Piscine Neptunium
Rue de Jerusalem 56
1030 Schaerbeek
Piscine communale d'Ixelles
Rue de la Natation 10
1050 Ixelles

The oldest surviving pool of Brussels, dating back to 1904. The opening hours during the week are unattractive as the pool closes at 18h, except for Mondays when it closes at 21h. I've only visited this pool once so far and found it a rather disappointing experience: the pool was overcrowded with school children and rather oddly cut up in areas rather than lanes. Plus staff forced me to wear a cap, most other pools don't bother if you're as bald as I am. One positive point: the entrance fee is rather low.
Piscine du Ceria
Rue des Grives 51
1070 Anderlecht
Piscine olympique Louis Namèche
Rue Van Kalck 93
1080 Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
Bassin communal Nereus
Place Reine Fabiola 10
1083 Ganshoren
Bains de Neder Over Heembeek
Rue de Lombartzyde 120
1120 Neder Over Heembeek
Piscine Les Tritons
Av. des Anciens Combattants 260
1140 Evere
Calypso 2000 Trois Tilleuls
Avenue Léopold Wiener 60
1170 Watermael-Boitsfort
Piscine de Longchamp
Square de Fré / Av. Defré 1
1180 Uccle
Complexe sportif Poseidon
Avenue des Vaillants 2
1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
Bassin de natation de St Josse
Rue Saint-Francois 23-27
1210 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode