The hair is still damp, the flip-flops click with every step and the smell of chlorine and sunscreen wafts from the bathing bag: It won’t be long before the phenotypical pool-goer once again dominates the cityscape in Munich. The season has already started in the Schyrenbad, and on Monday, May 15th, the rest of the city pools will also start operating. Only the Bad Georgenschwaige remains closed due to ongoing conversion work into a CO₂-neutral natural pool.
The opening times vary depending on the month: In June and July, the pools invite you to open from 10 a.m. on weekdays and from Friday to Sunday from 9 a.m., closing at 8 p.m. The baths open at the same time in May, August and September, but here you have to pack your bathing suit by 7 p.m. But: Particularly hot days require special measures. If the temperature is over 25 degrees, the pools will last until 8 p.m. in May and August, and for the first time even until 9 p.m. in June and July.
Early swimmers are also catered for: the Schyrenbad opens from Monday to Friday at 7 a.m., as does the Prinzregentenbad on Tuesday and Thursday. In the stadium area of the Dantebad, you can also swim laps on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 a.m., otherwise from 7.30 a.m. – 11 p.m. is the end of the day here too. The offer of the Prinzregenten- and Dantebad is valid for the entire season, but from September there is no early swimming in the Schyrenbad.
Schyrenbad
It has been possible to swim in the Schyrenbad since 1847.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Since the Schyrenbad was renovated a few years ago, you can no longer tell that it is Munich’s oldest outdoor pool. Munich residents have been able to swim here since 1847. But not the women of Munich, who have only had access since 1938. The people of Giesing and Isarvorstadt in particular meet in the Schyrenbad to perfect their complexion – on the sunbathing area directly on the Isar or in one of the two pools. There’s a separate lane for sporty swimmers, a slide that’s great for accelerating, and a paddling pool for those who wear armbands. By the way, smoking is not allowed around the children’s and swimmers’ pools, but you can on the sunbathing lawn.
Schyrenbad, Claude-Lorrain-Strasse 24, info below swm.de/baeder
Prince Regent Bath
The 25-metre pool isn’t that long, but it’s enough to do laps.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
After a large-scale fire in the Prinzregentenbad last August, many Munich residents feared for the summer season. The public utilities are now giving the all-clear: The “Prinze”, as the Bogenhausener Bad is called, opens its outdoor pool as usual. The water is actually only a minor matter – at least for the adults. Because the 25-meter pool is too small and at least too crowded in the afternoon to really swim in it. It is usually only used to dive under and escape the heat for a short time. It’s all about seeing and being seen.
Prinzregentenbad, Prinzregentenstraße 80, info under swm.de/baeder
Dante bath
Competition flair: The spectators in the stands motivate the swimmers.
(Photo: Stadtwerke München)
The two pools in the stadium area of the Dantebad are normally open all year round – even at minus ten degrees and heavy snowfall. But the spa in Gern only shows its full splendor in the summer, when all pools in the large complex are accessible. In the Dantebad, the swimmers crawl a little faster than elsewhere – the grandstand, from which the sunbathers watch the athletes, and the Olympic rings pictured above the pool may be a motivation.
Dantebad summer pool, Postillonstraße 17, info below swm.de/baeder
Michaelmas bath
In the Michaelibad there is even a ten meter board.
(Photo: Robert Haas/Robert Haas)
It whirls you around the bend six times, and then it goes: Splash! The longest slide in the city is in the Michaelibad in the Ostpark. Only after more than 60 meters does the bather have water under their feet. But that’s not the only attraction. In “Michi” there is something for everyone: a diving board with a ten-meter board for the brave, a slide in the shape of an elephant for children, a 50-meter pool for sporty types or a separate nudist area for nudists. The sunbathing lawns offer less space this year, and work on a geothermal construction site will begin here in summer.
Michaeli outdoor pool, Heinrich-Wieland-Str. 24, info below swm.de/baeder
Westbad
One of the attractions in Westbad: the big slide.
(Photo: SWM)
In no other Munich outdoor pool are the sunbathing areas as extensive as in the Westbad. But the biggest advantage of the facility between Pasing and Laim is also its great fate; because the size makes it particularly difficult to locate lost children. The announcement “Little Kevin is looking for his parents” resounds regularly across the lawn. Desperate parents are advised to look in the east part of the pool first, as most kids make their way to the popular splash and mud area. Lost children, on the other hand, have a good chance of finding mummy and daddy in the 50-meter pool or on the long stainless steel slide. When they are not relaxing in one of the two modern sauna areas. One of them is included in the swimming pool price.
Westbad, Weinbergerstraße 11, info under swm.de/baeder
Ungererbad
The fun pool faction also feels at home here.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
Whether you’re a pacifier wearer, student or senior, suit wearer or freaky, fun pool faction or sun worshiper: the hustle and bustle in Schwabing’s Ungererbad is as colorful as on Leopoldstrasse. The whole of Munich feels at home here – only the sports swimmer does not. Because the large swimming pool makes a kink and throws even water professionals off track. For everyone else, there is even more to offer: a water slide, adventure playground, three-meter diving platform or a nudist area for women. Especially nice: the sunbathing lawns are winding, so every guest can find a quiet spot.
Ungererbad, Traubestraße 3, info below swm.de/baeder
Bad Maria Einsiedel
Chlorine-free: The Maria Einsiedel is cleaned in a biological way.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
Nature lovers feel at home in Maria Einsiedel, frostbite less so. The reason: The Maria Einsiedel is a natural pool that is cleaned in a biological way. Therefore, the water temperature is just 22 degrees and is therefore two degrees cooler than in the other outdoor pools. If it was temporarily closed last year due to increased germ contamination, it will open again this year as planned. In order to prevent further closures when there is little rain, a regeneration pond was also built – to the delight of many bathers: With its shimmering green, chlorine-free bathing lake, Maria Einsiedel is considered the most beautiful outdoor pool in the city.
Naturbad Maria Einsiedel, Zentralländstr. 28, info below swm.de/baeder