Indoor swimming pools in Berlin

Can anyone recommend an indoor pool? I'd like to swim a few days a week, preferably closer to the Charlottenberg/Wilmerdorf area.

Here is the link to all the swimming pools: Berliner Bäderbetriebe

Thank you!

I'm in love with the Landsberger Allee Schwimmhalle (I've been swimming there since November). It is clearly a former DDR training facility. There are 2 massive 50-m pools and much of the time one of these is entirely open to the public (sometimes a few lanes are blocked off for team training). It's not cheap but it's worth it. And it's also right by the Ring-Bahn so easy to get there.

My doctor tells me swimming is good for my foot/ankle, so I guess I'm going to try out the Schwimmhalle Fischerinsel (a short ride on the M48 from my place).

Aren't your fingers a bit pruned by now?

Schoeneberg Stadtbad is excellent, lovely changing rooms and a really modern 25m pool with other smaller pools/jacuzzis. Mitte Stadtbad is a very interesting 50m pool not far from Oranienburger Strasse. Wilmersdorf Stadtbad is also good.

Charlottenberg and Neukoelln have lovely old fashioned interiors and both have FKK swimming sessions.

Neukölln Stadtbad is great. FKK swim on weekend nights is fab, open to all genders (and particularly friendly to gay cruising). I'm a bi female and it didn't bother me. Nice eye candy. ;-)

Er, strictly for swimming, I have found the Spreewaldplatz facility near Görlitzer Bahnhof to be fantastic. Wave pool, sauna, whirlpools, kiddie area, etc. etc.

Does anyone have any idea if there is a demand for swimming teachers in Berlin?

Does that include individual adult instruction? If so, why not post your details (e.g. experience, certifications, specializations, rates) here on Toytown or in the (needs-a-better-design) ExBerliner. So many Germans know how to swim from quite early, so maybe this is less for them then for us non-natives.

A friend of mine has a baby, and he and his partner take their baby to Babyschwimmen each week. Seems to be a lot of available classes though, so if you are a fluent speaker...

I'm in love with the Neukölln Stadtbad ... dull hetero me never knew about the FKK swimming weekend nights



I like it for never being full and being absolutely gorgeous. the fact that its just 5 minutes from my place makes it perfect for swimming after a long day - great for the perfectly deep sleep.
Swimming backstroke there offers all the eyecandy i need ;p

You hetero boys love your own, er, backstrokes too much! ;-)

Well, now that i think of it, isnt loving oneself a bit homo after all? Its a man caressing a man after all ... hmmmmmmm guess i'm a bit bi then, too

Its just that my gay side is very very faithful

ROFL

Nothing wrong with man-love, I just recommend cheating in this case!

Nah, I like my life simple, and its complicted enough with the chicks ... having sexuality potentially interfer with my social relations to one half of the population is complicated enough, I am thankful there's people where sexuality can never even begin to become an issue. A man needs a safe haven. Well, obviously not everyone, but this one does.

I would love to joke that bisexuality offers double the dates on your average Friday night, but who am I kidding!
Well, next time you are at the Stadtbad, just know you have more, um, backstroke options than you previously thought.

I need to get back over there to admire the great architecture.

Yeah. Architecture.

Actually, these options were already subtly brought to my attention ... Naive me didnt think it had anything to do with the location tho ^^.

The sauna at Neukölln Stadtbad is very good too. Anyone recommend any others?

Whatever happened to the Liquidrome/Tempodrome, whatever it was called, over near Moeckernbruecke or thereabouts? Seemed to have shut down the pool permanently in favor of corporate events and clubbing, but the pool always seemed to be very busy, with long lines. Was there a structural fault?

i was going to recommend the swim hall at lansberger allee...but after seeing the neukoeln bad...wow!

Stadtbad Neukölln is very nice, but not quite as impressive as it appears in the photos

Hi there,

Just moved to Kreuzberg and I'm in need of a good workout in the pool. I finally got around to checking out the pool round the corner from me at Spreewaldplatz but it turns out it's just closed for a month. Wonderful.

So can anyone suggest a swimming pool that's relatively accessible from Kreuzberg?

Oh, plus, are there any dos and don'ts in a German swimming pool? (excluding the obvious like not drowning other swimmers for going too slow).

Cheers!

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I only know the Landsberger Allee pool, but there don't seem to be many rules and I found the etiquette easy to pick up. People go for whichever lane seems less crowded; there is no division of lanes by speed or skill. Somewhat opposite to the way that many Berliners would sooner walk through you than around you on the street, in the pool they seem quite content to swim around you if you're going slower. Clashes are amazingly uncommon; people avoid contact. There is a wider hang-out lane for genuinely slow paddlers--avoid it--and if you are rather shy about being too slow, swim in the lane closest to that because it seems to select for slower but serious swimmers. Always swim counterclockwise within your lane; I've never seen lane-splitting occur. Watch out for people hanging onto the lane markers, kids diving off the springboards, and people huddled at the end of lanes.

Doesn't anybody go to the pool and just hang out in the water? Whenever I've gone here everyone seemed to be swimming laps, even in the part of the pool that was not divided into lanes.

Hey all,

I've just moved to Charlottenburg, and I need to start exercising - it's hard enough trying to stay motivated in the cold weather with no sun without feeling like I am slowly withering away in the confines of my room. I was wondering if anyone knows of any good/cheap swimming pools in the area (anywhere on this side of town), or even a place/website I can go to to look for one? I'm right near Bismarck strasse U-Bahn, and I NEED to start swimming.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Peace,
Pascal

Topics merged by admin

The website for public swimming pools in Berlin is the Berliner Bäder Betribe and it is only in German. So if anyone is looking to go swimming or find out a little more about the swimming pools that are recommended on Toytown but are not totally confident in using this website then:

Click on Bäder on the drop down menu on the home page and then Bäder- und Saunasuche and you will find drop down search menus, one of which will ask you to select by Bezirk in Berlin (local area within Berlin).

You will then be able to see a list of swimming pools in your local area. Only when you get to this stage will you be able to see if the swimming pool is actually open, and at what times. A number of pools, particularly to the western side of Berlin, are currently closed for renovation or have altered opening hours. Any alterations are listed in bold in red typeface at the top of the individual swimming pool entry. The most important words to look out for here is 'Stadtbad' (swimming pool) and 'geschlossen' (closed). Often very little, if any, advance warning is given on this website of closures. So if you have not visited a particular pool recently (more than a week ) it is always worth checking that the pool is open on the day.

If any alterations in the opening times are a temporary measure, they are often not updated on the drop down menus under Bäder- und Saunasuche (making the search facility here not totally reliable). It is best just to search by Bezirk alone if you are looking for some sense of orientation and any changes in time will again be listed in red type in bold at the top of the individual entry.

Since a number of pools are currently closed for renovation (e.g. Stadtbad Lankwitz, Stadtbad Wilmersdorf I, Stadbad Charlottenberg - Alte Halle) you might find the remaining pools a little crowded. But hopefully we will be able to appreciate the improved facilities in the New Year.

Thanks for info, you've been most helpful! It's a shame as I live right near Wilmersdofer Str in Charlotenburg, so it's just bad timing for those pools that are currently closed I guess.

Thanks again!
p

You can also join one of the fitness clubs which have pools. I belong to Elixia and go to the one at Hermannplatz, which has a nice pool. The Wilmersdorf Elixia at Prager Platz is beautiful with a very fine pool. These pools are more modern, much cleaner and less crowded than the public ones. I also found with the public ones there was a nasty tendency for them to be closed for a school class or "senior day" or something just when I had some time in my busy schedule to work out. They also get a lot of dear old souls who swim 5-abreast at a snails pace, awkwardly holding their hairdos out of the water and chatting, making it next to impossible to swim lengths around them. The fitness clubs are somewhat pricey, but not much more so than the public pools if you go frequently.

Floating on your back up and down the pool is also quite popular here which does make things somewhat more chaotic.

I would second the suggestion to check out private clubs as well if flexibility of schedule is an issue.

If economy is paramount, then some of the pools do an early morning swimming session that may be more geared towards lane swimming.

Anywhere near sudkreuz.

I just went here http://www.liquidrom-berlin.de/presse.html
its great

How much is it to swim at the place at landsberger allee?

Also would like to know how much it costs?

And do you need to wear a swimming hat, if so can you buy these at the pool.

Another thing, do these pools have locker facilities or how does it work with your clothes and things in the changing room?

Thanks!

Hi All

Someone pm'd asking for swimming lessons, unfortunately in a mass clean out, while I was still half asleep, I deleted your message and can't remember your name exactly.

Just to let you know I'm moving so sorry as much as I would like to I can't help you out.

(best tip for breast stroke ever - first the arms then the legs - should never fail you)

Good luck.

If someone needs lessons I can teach them how to swim. I was a lifeguard for a summer job.