IMAGES: CHRISTOPHER LUND; ALAMY


SWIMMING


Sunbathers on the


floating deck at Allas Sea Pool in Helsinki


PI SCINE JOS É PHINE BAKER PARIS, FRANCE


This pool is the closest you can get to swimming in the Seine. Moored on the leſt bank of the river, in the middle of the French capital, the enormous, floating steel-and-glass complex has a 82ſt pool, paddling pool, gym and solarium. The pièce de résistance, however, is the retractable roof — opening the pool to the skies on sunny days. Named aſter the American jazz singer, dancer


and Francophile Josephine Baker, who made her career in 1920s Paris, the pool opened in 2006 as part of Paris Plage — a near-annual event that sets up urban beaches along the river to help Parisians enjoy their city through the long summer. And they certainly enjoy the pool on hot days, swimming laps through the treated river water, lounging on the sun deck and watching cruise boats chug back and forth on the Seine. On some evenings, the pool turns into a cinema, with a screen at one end and the audience bobbing about in inflatable armchairs. When the heat fades, cap off the day by ambling


down the cobbled banks of the Seine and into central Paris, passing the Louvre, Notre-Dame and cabaret venues, which still honour Josephine Baker’s legacy. piscine-baker.fr en.parisinfo.com


P I S C INA DA S MARÉS PORTO, PORTUGAL


Porto is defined by the Douro River. The colourful houses and gothic churches of its old town tumble down to the river, overseen by the arching double- decker Dom Luís I Bridge. Port wine lodges, the source of Portugal’s most famous export, line its shores. Brave locals fling themselves into the water on sunny days, but it’s far better (and safer) to head north for a swim, just beyond the point where the Douro spills out into the Atlantic. The Piscina das Marés in the suburb of


Matosinhos seems wedged between land and sea, caught between the boulders that rise from its sides. It was designed by Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, who was also responsible for the nearby Nova Tea House. Both share a love of concrete and sharp lines — as well as stonking views over the Atlantic. The waters of the tidal pool stay calm even as they thrash and eddy in the ocean just beyond — it’s a peculiar pleasure to serenely bob about while surfers battle the wind a short distance away. There are more traditional pleasures on offer when you’re dried off, primarily strolling along the beach with dripping ice cream in hand and checking out the catch of the day in seafront restaurants. visitporto.travel


A L L A S S E A POOL HELSINKI, FINLAND


The best way to prepare for a swim at the Allas Sea Pool is to slowly stew in one of its saunas. Sauna, aſter all, is thought to have originated in Finland and the Finns have been enjoying the ritual for more than 2,000 years. There are two cabins here and temperatures within rise to 80°C — then, when it all gets too much, visitors fling open the door and jump straight into one of the pools on the floating pontoon. The seawater pool delivers the most immediate cool-down — and the greatest shock. The cold-adverse might prefer the heated pool (there’s a heated children’s pool, too). All of the pools offer views of the Helsinki


skyline and the passenger ferries docking at the harbour at Market Square, ready to putter across the Baltic to one of the city’s many outlying islands. Visible across the water is the Old Market Hall, now housing food stalls and restaurants. There are three restaurants at Allas, too. On warm days, visitors break up their swims with time spent in a deckchair on the sand-covered upper deck or with an al fresco lunch at Seagrill. And because the pools stay open until 9pm, there’s always time for one last round in the sauna and another dip aſter dinner. allasseapool.fi myhelsinki.fi


National Geographic Traveller – European Cities Collection 15


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