Swimming is the year-round answer when kids need to burn off energy and the weather won't cooperate. City pools cost a few euros a swim and want fitted swimsuits, not loose board shorts, and some ask for a cap, so pack both. Here's what we checked, from a lap pool floating on the Seine to wave pools and slides kept warm through winter.
A public pool built on a barge moored on the Seine, beside the Bibliothèque François Mitterrand. The 25-meter pool sits under a glass roof that opens in summer, when a 500 m² sun deck with views of the river boats opens too.
It suits kids who swim confidently: there is no separate shallow pool for toddlers.
A glass-roofed hall holds a 33m pool, with six lanes split by swimming speed. Kids head for the leisure pools next door: a paddling pool, a wave pool, a massage bath and a jacuzzi. A solarium opens in warm weather.
The same sports center houses an ice rink, so a swim and a skate can share one outing.
Georges-Vallerey is the 50-meter pool built for the 1924 Paris Olympics, now under a wooden roof that slides open in good weather. A movable wall can split it into two 25-meter pools, and a moving floor sets the depth from 0.9 to 2.15 meters, so some days have a shallow end. It suits kids who can swim or are learning; there is no separate toddler pool.
A 1924 Art Nouveau public pool, listed as a historic monument, where the 33-meter indoor pool sits under a tall vaulted roof. Outside are two more: a 25-meter Nordic pool heated all year, and a 12-meter children's pool that runs from 40cm to 1.1m deep. The artesian well that once fed the pools still runs the fountain on the square out front.
Aquaboulevard is a big indoor water park at Balard, with the water kept at 29°C all year. Inside are two wave pools, 11 slides, rivers with a current, geysers, water mushrooms and jacuzzis.
In summer, outdoor pools and a 4,000 m² sand beach open too. A Gaumont cinema, a McDonald's and a Decathlon share the same complex.
Aqua Mundo (called Aqualagon until the Center Parcs rebrand) is the water park of the Villages Nature Paris resort, about 6 km south of Disneyland Paris. Under a tropical dome there's a wave pool, seven slides, rivers, whirlpools, splash play and a pool with a climbing wall. Outside, lagoons heated by geothermal water sit beside a 15-hectare lake.
Swimming is the year-round answer when kids need to burn off energy and the weather won't cooperate. City pools cost a few euros a swim and want fitted swimsuits, not loose board shorts, and some ask for a cap, so pack both. Here's what we checked, from a lap pool floating on the Seine to wave pools and slides kept warm through winter.
A public pool built on a barge moored on the Seine, beside the Bibliothèque François Mitterrand. The 25-meter pool sits under a glass roof that opens in summer, when a 500 m² sun deck with views of the river boats opens too.
It suits kids who swim confidently: there is no separate shallow pool for toddlers.
A glass-roofed hall holds a 33m pool, with six lanes split by swimming speed. Kids head for the leisure pools next door: a paddling pool, a wave pool, a massage bath and a jacuzzi. A solarium opens in warm weather.
The same sports center houses an ice rink, so a swim and a skate can share one outing.
Georges-Vallerey is the 50-meter pool built for the 1924 Paris Olympics, now under a wooden roof that slides open in good weather. A movable wall can split it into two 25-meter pools, and a moving floor sets the depth from 0.9 to 2.15 meters, so some days have a shallow end. It suits kids who can swim or are learning; there is no separate toddler pool.
A 1924 Art Nouveau public pool, listed as a historic monument, where the 33-meter indoor pool sits under a tall vaulted roof. Outside are two more: a 25-meter Nordic pool heated all year, and a 12-meter children's pool that runs from 40cm to 1.1m deep. The artesian well that once fed the pools still runs the fountain on the square out front.
Aquaboulevard is a big indoor water park at Balard, with the water kept at 29°C all year. Inside are two wave pools, 11 slides, rivers with a current, geysers, water mushrooms and jacuzzis.
In summer, outdoor pools and a 4,000 m² sand beach open too. A Gaumont cinema, a McDonald's and a Decathlon share the same complex.
Aqua Mundo (called Aqualagon until the Center Parcs rebrand) is the water park of the Villages Nature Paris resort, about 6 km south of Disneyland Paris. Under a tropical dome there's a wave pool, seven slides, rivers, whirlpools, splash play and a pool with a climbing wall. Outside, lagoons heated by geothermal water sit beside a 15-hectare lake.
