Once part of Milan’s Teatro Franco Parenti, this 1930s pool was restored with its rationalist geometry intact. Surrounded by pale stone and theatrical sightlines, it remains one of the city’s most elegant places to swim.

Since the late 19th century, Sydneysiders have been making pilgrimages to the pocket of perfection that is the Bronte Baths. Once, people crowded into rattling trams that carried them down the hill for bathing and picnics; now, especially in summer, cars can get jammed and parking is a headache. But the crystal waters in this small bean-shaped pool cut into a pale cliff are as lovely as they were a century ago.

Opened in 1929, Paris’s Piscine Molitor was once the city’s most fashionable pool—art deco mosaics, porthole windows, and boxy balconies evoke its golden era. Rebuilt from original plans, it still draws those with an eye for design.

Set against Victoria Harbour, Kennedy Town’s public pool is a study in contrasts: clean-lined glass-and-steel pavilions by Farrells frame open-air lanes and sweeping sea views. Go early—afternoons fill fast with families.

Set on the edge of the Harlem Meer, the new Davis Center opened in 2025 with a public pool that replaced a 1960s bathhouse. Low-slung and landscape-led, it blends seamlessly into the park’s northern edge.

First opened in 1850, Soho’s Marshall Street Baths were rebuilt in the 1930s with vaulted ceilings and a marble-lined pool. Still open to the public, it’s one of London’s rare examples of civic elegance done well.

Inspired by ancient Roman baths, Berlin’s Stadtbad Neukölln opened in 1914 with soaring columns, mosaic tiles, and twin pools under barrel-vaulted ceilings. Still public, still quietly grand.

Built in the 1930s as part of Mussolini’s sports complex, the Piscina del Foro Italico pairs Fascist-era grandeur with Carrara marble and monumental mosaics. Stark, sculptural, and still open for public swims.

Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, Copenhagen’s harbour baths turn industrial waterfront into clean, sculptural swim zones. Open to the public and free, they reflect the city’s deep belief in democratic, well-designed space.

Formed by volcanic rock and filled by the Atlantic, the sea pools of Porto Moniz on Madeira’s northwestern coast are a natural-meets-manmade marvel—raw, geometric, and open to the ocean in every sense.