Municipal and regional pools: how the system works
Madrid's public pools are run by two separate bodies, each with its own app, prices, and schedule.
The Ayuntamiento de Madrid (city council) operates 25 municipal pools across the city. The 2026 season runs from 15 May to 6 September. Each pool divides the day into three bookable slots: morning (10:00 to 15:00), afternoon (16:00 to 21:00), and full day (10:00 to 21:00). Tickets are bought through the Madrid Movil app or the Ayuntamiento's sports website.
The Comunidad de Madrid (regional government) operates four more: Puerta de Hierro, Canal de Isabel II, San Vicente de Paul, and Mundial 86. These open on the same dates but run a single daily schedule from 11:00 to 19:45, with no shift system. Tickets are sold through a different app, DEPORTESCM.
A few other pools sit outside both networks. The Complutense University runs its own summer pool in Ciudad Universitaria through a separate booking system, and the wider region has water parks like Aquopolis and Parque Warner Beach.
How to book, and why speed matters
Municipal pool tickets go on sale up to 49 hours before the start of each slot, and around 80% of each slot's capacity is sold online through the Madrid Móvil app or the Ayuntamiento's sports portal. The remaining 20% can be bought in person at the ticket office, which opens 30 minutes before each shift starts.
Central pools on hot weekends clear out within the first hour tickets go live. The practical fix is checking the app as the 49-hour window approaches and booking as soon as the slot appears, rather than waiting until the night before. Weekday mornings before 13:00 are the easiest slots to get; Saturday and Sunday afternoons in July and August are the hardest. A small mercy: Madrid's dynamic capacity system lets a new visitor in the moment someone else scans out, so a slot marked as sold out online can still open up to walk-ins later in the day.
Comunidad de Madrid pools work on their own clock. Tickets are sold same-day only, through the DEPORTESCM app for iOS and Android or website. Registering an account in advance avoids a slow sign-up eating into the booking window. Each person can buy up to 4 tickets per day, or 2 for people with a disability.
Prices and discounts
Municipal pools
Morning or afternoon slot: free for under-5s, 1.35 euros for ages 5 to 14, 1.80 euros for ages 15 to 26, 2.25 euros for adults aged 27 to 64, and 0.70 euros for over-65s. Full-day slot: free for under-5s, 2.70 euros for ages 5 to 14, 3.60 euros for ages 15 to 26, 4.50 euros for adults, and 1.35 euros for over-65s.
Further reductions apply on top of these prices: people who are unemployed get 70% off the standard rate, people with a disability holding the special sports card get free access, and holders or beneficiaries of the Abono Deporte Madrid pass can get free access depending on their plan.
Comunidad de Madrid pools
All four regional pools charge a flat 5 euros per adult session, with the same core discounts applying across all of them:
- 30% off for children aged 3 to 13, over-65s, and large families. This discount stacks with others.
- Free entry for children under 3, people with a disability of 33% or more plus one companion, and terrorism victims and their families.
- Holders of the regional Carne Joven get free entry at Puerta de Hierro, Canal de Isabel II, and San Vicente de Paul, limited to 10% of each pool's capacity; once that quota is used up, the standard 20% Carne Joven discount applies instead. At Mundial 86, run separately by the Federacion Madrileña de Natacion, Carne Joven holders get the 20% discount from the start rather than free entry.
A share of each day's capacity at the three directly-run pools is held back for ticket-office purchase, reserved for over-65s and people with a disability, opening at 10:30.
What to know before you go
Most pools recommend changing into swimwear before entering the pool area, and some enforce it. The safest approach is to use the changing rooms on site to swap street clothes for a swimsuit and pool shoes before heading to the water. Rules vary from pool to pool, so arriving ready to change quickly avoids any surprises at the gate.
Not every pool has a cafe. Several municipal sites offer only a merendero, a shaded picnic area where visitors can eat food they have brought in. Packing water and snacks is safer than counting on finding a kiosk. Full-day ticket holders receive a wristband at entry that must stay visible throughout the day, since staff check the wristband rather than re-scanning tickets.
Every public pool in Madrid
Below is every public outdoor pool open in Madrid for the 2026 season, split between the 25 run by the Ayuntamiento and the four run by the Comunidad de Madrid.
Municipal pools (Ayuntamiento de Madrid)
All 25 share the same shift system (morning, afternoon, or full day), the same booking app (Madrid Movil) or portal, and the same price bands. The six highlighted first are the ones worth knowing by name before opening the app.
- Casa de Campo. Paseo Puerta del Angel 7, Moncloa-Aravaca. Metro Lago (line 10) or Puerta del Angel (line 6). A 36x25m main pool and a smaller 33x16m one, right next to the park's lake and cable car. Usually among the first to open each season and one of the best connected by metro.
- Aluche. Avenida de las Aguilas 14, Latina. Buses 17, 34, 35, 116, 118. A straightforward neighbourhood pool in the south-west with steadier weekday availability than the more central sites.
- La Elipa. Calle Alcalde Garrido Juaristi s/n, Ciudad Lineal. Metro Vinateros or O'Donnell (line 9). Inside a 159,000 square metre sports park with a 50m pool, enough grass and shade for a full-day picnic, and a marked nudist sunbathing area separate from the main decks.
- Vicente del Bosque. Avenida Monforte de Lemos 13, Fuencarral-El Pardo. Metro Begona or Barrio del Pilar (lines 9, 10). Two 50m outdoor pools in the north of the city, with the Cuatro Torres skyline visible over the fence.
- Moratalaz. Calle Valdebernardo 2, Moratalaz. Metro Pavones (line 9). Three 50m pools plus a children's pool inside a 108,000 square metre complex. One of the largest municipal sites and rarely the first to sell out.
- Blanca Fernandez Ochoa. Calle Monsenor Oscar Romero 41, Carabanchel. Metro Carabanchel or Eugenia de Montijo. Less fought-over than the bigger names, in a part of the city that does not get much pool coverage elsewhere.
The other 19 municipal pools in Madrid:
- Cerro Almodovar. Calle Cerro de Almodovar 9, Vicalvaro.
- Concepcion. Calle Jose del Hierro 5, Ciudad Lineal.
- El Quijote. Calle Numancia 11, Tetuan.
- Entrevias. Ronda Sur 4, Puente de Vallecas.
- Hortaleza. Carretera Estacion de Hortaleza 11, Hortaleza.
- Jose Maria Cagigal. Calle Santa Pola 22, Moncloa-Aravaca.
- Luis Aragones. Calle El Provencio 20, Hortaleza.
- Margot Moles. Paseo Polideportivo 3, Vicalvaro.
- Mistral. Calle Mistral 4, Barajas.
- Moscardo. Calle Andres Arteaga 5, Usera.
- Orcasitas. Avenida Rafaela Ybarra 52, Usera.
- Palomeras. Calle Tranvia de Arganda 4, Puente de Vallecas.
- Paseo de la Direccion. Paseo Direccion 125, Tetuan.
- Penuelas. Calle Arganda 25, Arganzuela.
- Plata y Castanar. Paseo Plata y Castanar 7, Villaverde.
- San Blas. Calle Arcos de Jalon 59, San Blas-Canillejas.
- San Fermin. Calle San Mario 18, Usera.
- Santa Ana. Paseo Alamedillas 5, Fuencarral-El Pardo.
- Vallecas Verano. Calle Arroyo del Olivar 51, Puente de Vallecas.
Nearly every one of the 25 sits within a short walk of a metro or bus stop. Dropping the address into any maps app is the fastest way to plan the route. Note that Santa Ana, Vallecas Verano, and Moscardo open slightly later than the rest of the network, in early June, once refurbishment work finishes.
Regional pools (Comunidad de Madrid)
These four run on a separate system: single daily schedule (11:00 to 19:45), a base rate of 5 euros for adults, and tickets sold same-day through the DEPORTESCM app for iOS and Android or website. See Prices and discounts above for the full breakdown.
- Puerta de Hierro. Carretera de La Coruna, km 7. Capacity: 2,572. The largest of the four, inside a sports park that feels more countryside than city. Best reached by car or bus; it is not an easy metro trip.
- Canal de Isabel II. Avenida de Filipinas 54, Chamberi. Metro Rios Rosas or Canal (lines 1, 2, 6, 7). Capacity: 567. The most central and walkable option, with a beach-style edge, a solarium, and an on-site cafe.
- Mundial 86. Calle Jose Martinez de Velasco 3, near Sainz de Baranda. Capacity: 351. Built for the 1986 World Swimming Championships and run separately by the Federacion Madrileña de Natacion, which is why its Carne Joven discount works differently from the other three. Still shaped for swimming lengths rather than floating around.
- San Vicente de Paul. Calle Pelicano 4, Carabanchel. Capacity: 214. The smallest and calmest of the four. Same base price, considerably less crowded.
Whichever pool is on the list, the same two habits carry across every site in both networks: book the specific slot as early in the booking window as possible, and wear or pack swimwear from the start rather than planning to change on arrival.
FAQ
How much does it cost to use a public pool in Madrid?
Municipal pool tickets for a morning or afternoon slot cost from 0.70 euros for over-65s up to 2.25 euros for adults aged 27 to 64, with reduced rates for children aged 5 to 14 and young people aged 15 to 26. A full-day ticket runs from 1.35 to 4.50 euros in the same age bands, and under-5s go free. Unemployed visitors get 70% off, and people with a disability holding the special sports card enter free. Comunidad de Madrid pools charge a flat 5 euros per adult session, with 30% off for children aged 3 to 13, over-65s and large families, and free entry for under-3s, people with a disability of 33% or more (plus one companion), and terrorism victims.
How many public swimming pools does Madrid have?
The Ayuntamiento runs 25 municipal outdoor pools across the city for the 2026 season, alongside four separate pools managed by the Comunidad de Madrid: Puerta de Hierro, Canal de Isabel II, San Vicente de Paul, and Mundial 86. That makes 29 public pools in total.
How do you book Madrid's municipal swimming pools?
Tickets are bought through the Madrid Movil app or the Ayuntamiento's sports website, released up to 49 hours before each access slot starts, with payment confirmed by an emailed QR code. A separate 20% share of each slot can be bought in person at the ticket office, which opens 30 minutes before the shift begins.
Which are the best public pools in Madrid for summer?
Casa de Campo, Aluche, and La Elipa are reliable, well-connected municipal choices with good metro access. Vicente del Bosque and Moratalaz offer more lawn space around the water. Canal de Isabel II in Chamberi is the most central of the regional pools and the only one with an on-site cafe and solarium.
Where is the biggest public pool in Madrid?
Puerta de Hierro, run by the Comunidad de Madrid on Carretera de La Coruna km 7, holds 2,572 bathers and is the largest public pool in the city. Among the municipal pools, Moratalaz and La Elipa have the biggest complexes by total site area.
