Madrid Has Only 25 Municipal Pools Among 14,757 Open-Air Pools. The open-air pool season has begun in Madrid, but access remains limited. More than 700,000 residents across five districts cannot use municipal pools. Authorities promise new facilities, but no timelines have been set.
The season for municipal open-air swimming pools has begun in Madrid, but for a significant part of the city's residents, this event has brought no relief. Five districts of the capital — Centro, Retiro, Salamanca, Chamberí, and Chamartín — still lack a single public outdoor pool. This affects more than 705,000 people, which is more than the population of cities like Seville.
Infrastructure deficit
According to the Cadastre as of July 2025, there are 14,757 open-air swimming pools in Madrid — more than in any other city in Spain. However, the vast majority of them are private. There are only 25 municipal open-air pools, which results in extremely low coverage: one facility for every 141,000 residents. Among the country's largest cities, only Seville has a worse situation, with 171,000 people per public pool. Zaragoza remains the leader in pool accessibility.
As noted by the Federation of Regional Neighborhood Associations of Madrid (FRAVM) and the Platform for the Remunicipalization of Services, the report “Madrid no es ciudad para chapuzones” compared data on the number of summer pools and residents. If we take into account real capacity — based on the number of tickets sold — the situation looks even more acute: only 1–1.5% of the city's population can access a pool per day.
Queues and the struggle for tickets
In 2025, the 24 municipal outdoor pools sold between 35,000 and 52,000 tickets daily, depending on the number of time slots. Even at full capacity, this serves only a small fraction of those wishing to attend. According to FRAVM representatives, attempts to buy tickets via the website or app often turn into a real struggle: spots are snapped up within minutes, and offline sales are virtually unavailable.
Residents are forced either to look for pools in other districts or forgo spending time by the water altogether. Many note that every year the heat becomes more intense, and the lack of accessible pools turns summer into a real ordeal. Authorities acknowledge the problem: in 2025, Madrid set a record for the number of municipal pools open—30 facilities, including 25 outdoor pools and 5 indoor pools with recreational access. The season recorded 302,609 visits, an increase of 24% compared to the previous year.
Plans and limitations
In February, the city administration announced a project to build a new outdoor pool in the Retiro district, at 138 Doctor Esquerdo Street. However, this is still only a preliminary project with no timeline for completion. There are no plans to build new pools in the other four districts. Over the past 32 years, Madrid has gained just two new outdoor pools—on Paseo de la Dirección in Tetuán and on Mistral Street in Barajas, both of which opened in August 2024, but their capacity is limited.
Some historic pools, such as Stella, remain closed: the facility, which had been operating since 1947, was shut down in 2006 and now belongs to a private school. The FRAVM report emphasizes that pools are important not only for recreation, but also for health and social integration, especially in the context of rising average temperatures and an increasing number of days with temperatures above 36.5 degrees.
Maintenance issues
The FRAVM and platform report highlights a chronic lack of maintenance in municipal pools, which has only gotten worse with the gradual privatization of the sector. Every year, some facilities close for repairs or upgrades. In 2025, the season began with four closed pools: Peñuelas, Luis Aragonés, Vicente del Bosque and Moscardó. Residents have complained about a lack of shade, slippery areas, and insufficient greenery.
There have also been changes to the safety system: under the new regional decree No. 99/2024, the number of medical and lifeguard staff has been reduced. Instead of increasing the number of lifeguards, there are now fewer, which has raised concerns among public organizations.
Private sector and alternatives
With the shortage of municipal pools, demand for private options is growing. Companies like Cocopool and Swimmy offer rentals of pools in private homes at prices ranging from €20 to €240 per hour. This format is steadily gaining popularity when access to public facilities is restricted.
In other cities, such as Zaragoza, discounts on entry to municipal swimming pools during hot weather are offered, whereas Madrid does not provide this option. At the same time, the price of a full-day adult ticket is €4.50, which FRAVM considers reasonable.
The issue of accessibility of leisure and sports infrastructure in Spain is regularly a subject of public debate. In other areas, such as football, questions of survival and competition for resources also come to the forefront—as was the case in the recent clash of clubs discussed in the article about the decisive match between Espanyol and Athletic.
