El Dorado, the Lost City of Gold, exists, and it's right there in plain sight, right next to…read moreCentral station and just down the road from every damned hipster bar and coffee shop worth caring about. What the hell am I talking about? Prince Alfred Pool is what I'm talking about. No, not talking. Gushing, in strictly the non-chatroom sense. I always thought this was a scummy hobo park littered with needles and broken dreams. But I took a punt on a friends advice and hit this pool up for an afternoon swim and I stand before you a changed man. Firstly, it's free until November. Nada, nix, bupkiss. Secondly, it's a hella nice pool, with clean, clear water, lotsa lanes, and - the best - a huge slope of grassy wonderland for sunbaking and, sure, perving, because why not? There's a big wooden deck under a tree, umbrellas, a cafe, and state of the art changerooms. We even smuggled a bottle of wine in and got a little sozzled in the sun. Fine a lot sozzled. What a day though. I particularly enjoyed the city workers who busted out the budgie smugglers and were sprawling out in the sun while getting through a fat stack of reports. Now that's how you read, son. That's how you read.

They've finished building it, and it's beautiful. This is an outdoor Council pool set within the…read morelandscape at Prince Alfred Park, near Central Station. It's a great design: grassy hills, big yellow sun umbrellas, with detailing in dark wood and swimming-pool blue. There's not that much to it: a 50m pool and a cafe, change rooms, lockers, and little fountain thing for toddlers to run around in. It's highly green rated : sustainable materials, tri-gen energy, water recycling. The pool is clean and heated (though not too too hot). Suitable for wintertime laps, though getting out of the pool is the unpleasant bit. Today I was a bit unimpressed with people's pool etiquette (the slow lane is not for standing around in with your boyfriend, it's for swimming, morons - and a few stray legs from the play lane heading into the lap lanes, hmph), but I guess that's life in a public pool. It has the standard fast, medium, slow, and leisure lanes and mostly people understand what that means. I'm pretty thrilled that I had a swim in late May, and lay around in the sun. Go Sydney. Go Prince Alfred Park. And the best bit: it's free for the first 6 months! (Until some time in November 2013...)

Maccallum Pool, on the western side of Cremorne Point, is a unique harbourside pool with heritage…read morecharacter and superb views. Its waterside timber deck is an unparalleled sun bathing spot. It was originally just a rock pool created by local residents to form a safe harbour swimming hole. You need to work out the timing of the cleaning of the pool which is once a week and varies. When its closed for cleaning it will be up for 9 hours. The days leading up to the clean the pool can be very dirty. Take a picnic blanket, a wine, cheese, crackers and really indulge in one of Sydney's free attractions.

There is nothing better than finding a spot near the pool on Australia Day and hopping in to cool…read moreoff as you enjoy the park, the views of the harbour and bridge, and digest your prawns and sausages. The rock pool is a nice safe swimming area with some of the best views of Sydney. What makes this such a great place is that it is free.

Did a nice hike and stopped by Giles Bath for a second. The waves were coming in a bit crazy and…read moregot a light splash which actually felt nice in the warm weather.

What's up summer!…read more Blow past the burning sands of Coogee Beach - with its packs of marauding seagulls and a vast purgatory of tourists - and head up the grassy hill on the north side of the beach. Follow the path past the shrine where a Brazilian saw a vision of the Blessed Virgin (actually a thing) until you hit the ye Olde England-style arch that proudly declares "baths." Then it's a skip down the cliff to a lovely clear rockpool that will be either preternaturally calm or manageably rough-n-tumble depending on the swell. Stretch out on the rocks like a cat. Duck down 'neath the water and caress the mossy bottom. Find the secret cave. Laugh at that girl with the selfie stick doing duckface. Then toddle back along the path to Coogee Pavilion for some well-earned beers.

A great location, right near St Mary's Cathedral; The Domain; Hyde Park and the Australian Museum…read more If you want to give the Boy Charlton Pool a bit of a break (and great swimming in winter here) then come and swim your laps here. A great, fast pool (like the Homebush aquatic centre) with great aqua classes for toning and shaping your body; especially if you want to give the traditional gym machines a miss. And it is extremely close to Kings Cross. Local residents living in Kings Cross, Darlinghurst and Elizabeth Bay normally come to this gym, or to City Gym on Crown Street. It is the type of establishment that you want to come back for more, and more. Gym junkies and fitness fanatics rejoice. I have mainly been a causal visitor, although I have friends and business associates who are on memberships here; and once they have left the chain gyms behind; they become addicted to adrenaline here in addition to using the swimming pool. It is bliss to also be surrounded by an abundance of greenery; and an inspiring way to workout. Their fitness trainers are also quite professional, and it is the type of health club where you don't feel like your left out or forgotten weeks after joining up.

Australia and Sydney has some of the best swimming pools in the world in my opinion. When I lived…read morein Australia I used to go here every time I visited Sydney. The facilities are outstanding and it opens up in summer, it has nice wall art and it's a full 50M pool with lots of lanes open for lap swimming. When I think about the best pools I've been to this is the one that I think of. If I lived in Sydney I'd go here every day. The price is quite honestly cheap for what you get. Seriously, just go here and enjoy an excellent facility.

Last summer I decided that Swimmers had the best bodies. The continuous fighting of resistance…read moreevery time you moved your arm through the water whilst performing a freestyle stroke made for broad shoulders, and the twisting of the torso as you glided through the lightly chlorinated water tightened the abs. With this in mind, this shameless attempt at vanity, I started doing research as to where the best place to start swimming would be. The beach was out of the question, living in Leichhardt I didn't live close enough and what I wanted to do were laps, not frolicking in the waves. Whilst looking for the perfect swimming venue, I took a multiple things into account. Location: It had to be in a good location, not out of the way, ideally, somewhere I passed often. (The constant passing of the site would ensure that not only would I be reminded to attend, but also, I would be able to slot in random laps on my way to and from places I already had attend.) I found Victoria Park Pool with its proximity to my house and scenic location in the middle of a beautiful park and with it being slotted half way from home and from the city, the perfect centre point. Next I looked at Price: Yes I was working at the time, but I was working in a Video Shop and I had to be wary of how much this new habit was going to cost me. A lot of gyms and pools required hefty payments monthly in order to keep membership current and I simply couldn't afford that, nor could I afford the day to day fare, which while potentially cheaper, would also be less motivating. Victoria Park Pool had a one off joining fee and then $16 per fortnight taken from my bank through direct debit, a price I could definitely agree on. And finally, quality of the pool: The pool was quality. Not knowing much about pools, I wasn't able to judge this element so precisely, but it has an Olympic sized swimming pool, broken up into the standard eight lanes, the fast lanes, slow lanes and recreational lanes. All in all my Victoria Park Pool experience, once I had made a few adaptions to my schedule, was a good experience. I had to avoid going in the afternoon, once school was out the place was crawling with children, screaming, possibly urinating children. I couldn't go early mornings in Autumn and Winter, the water wasn't the issue, but the cool winds that came through were, and I had to avoid that creepy guy who would just stare at my Speedos and objectify me. With this in mind I was on my way to a swimmers body.

Victoria Park Pool is a great location for a swim in the city…read more The 50m Olympic sized pool is heated all year round, so if you're game in winter, you'll pretty much have the thing to yourself! There is also a gym which offers a small, but not too small weights and cardio room and a large studio that offers classes like spin, yoga and Pilates. The only downside about the gym is they have a really lax policy about using towels on machines. There are numerous signs saying you must use a towel, but no one enforces it and the majority don't abide by it. It's a massive disappointment, really gross and a large reason this review didn't score higher!!

For those of us living in the Inner West, sometimes Dawn Fraser Baths is the closest thing we can…read moreto the beach. For you East/North/South shore folk this may seem ridiculous. But, despite the lack of sand, waves and seagulls, it is still the ocean and sometimes you've got to take what you can get. In the middle of summer Dawn Fraser ocean pool is packed with kids, water-polo teams, pregnant mums, big groups of teens, lap swimmers and anyone wanting to escape the city heat. The pool rises and falls with the tides, and we can kid ourselves that there's some surf if a ferry goes past creating a minuscule swell. Yes the beach may be free and Dawn Frasers may not be, but Dawn Frasers also has free parking, whereas many beaches do not. What's more, Dawny allows for jumps into the pool, it is shark-free and with timber boards instead of sand, you can make your way to the kiosk and back without sand being blown all over your icecream. Whilst I have some friends that won't come back here due to the occasional jellyfish, this is a standard ocean-related risk not specific to poor Dawny. And besides, this just makes it all the more of a genuine beachy experience. OPENING HOURS Oct - Nov 7.15am - 6.30pm Dec - Feb 6.45am - 7.00pm Mar - Apr 7.15am - 6.30pm Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday

I've been going to Dawny since I was a tot, and thankfully it hasn't changed much! It's a fabulous…read morespot for people watching: a lot of old Balmain characters still hang out there, leathery skin and Speedos .... you can also watch local teams play water-polo. When I lived in Balmain, Dawn Fraser Pool was the next best thing to a beach, and a whole lot closer. There isn't any sand (unless the tide is super low, I guess), but what you get is wooden boards to lie upon, which is actually really, really nice. You can stare down through the cracks at the water below. There's a mix of sun and shade, and a little canteen where you can buy hot chips and ice cream. You will probably see clear jellyfish, sea-weed, and little schools of fish in the water - it's a harbour pool so it comes with the territory. Sea lice can be a problem, though that's never happened to me. Dawny is generally nicer at high tide than during low tide, although at low tide you get to see the holes in the wooden slats: some big enough to let sharks in! Don't worry, there are no sharks, and they fixed the hole. I think. This pool is great for kids, and there are life savers hanging around watching everyone. As with Sydney beaches, it's best not to swim here after a heavy rain, as the run-off can contaminate the water.

If Lara Bingle was a beach, she'd be Camp Cove…read more Of course, we're talking the fresh-faced, brown-skinned, salt-tinged Lara Bingle of yesteryear though, before she got commercial and dated cricketers with dicky backs and Hollywood, ahem, stars. Back then Lara was young and happy and carefree. She didn't have any big problems like a crappy reality show, she was blissful and sun-kissed and fun to hang out with, she had no pretentions and was small but really gorgeous and she had some great rockwalks and a little kiosk at one end. And sure, parking was tough but it was always worth it. I LOVE YOU LARA BINGLE. YOU ARE THE TASTE OF SUMMER.

Bon, je l'avoue, je suis très difficile en matière de plage... Je n'aime pas quand c'est trop…read moretouristique (coucou Bondi), j'aime bien quand le sable est pas trop cracra, et plus l'eau est transparente, mieux je me porte (reloue, vous avez dit reloue ?). C'est pourquoi maintenant que j'ai trouvé Camp Cove, je compte en faire ma plage number one. Située à Watsons Bay (j'habite Vaucluse, c'est donc assez prêt de la maison, en plus !), quartier que j'adore-mon-dieu-donne-moi-une-maison-la-bas, Camp Cove est une plage assez bien cachée. A ne pas confondre avec l'étendue de sable au port de Watsons Bay, Camp Cove se situe à 10 minutes max du port. Et si vous vous aventurez dans les environs du parc national juste à côté, vous aurez une vue magnifique de la skyline de Sydney. Amateurs de surf s'abstenir, ici il n'y a pas de vagues. Amateurs de natation, cet endroit est fait pour vous. ------------------------------------ I've something to tell you, I'm pretty tricky about beaches... I don't like when there is too many tourists (yes, I'm French, so a little bit a tourist, but I avoid Bondi as much as I can), I love when the sand is clear and when the water isn't too dirty (This is me, helllloooo). That's why, when I discovered Camp Cove, which is pretty closed to my house, I can tell you it's my beach number one ! I really love Watsons Bay, the warf, Beach Club, the view, and now I can add Camp Cove, which is pretty well hidden. You have to walk like 10 minutes from the warf, and just enjoy this amazing place ! You can also have a walk closed to the beach in the National Park and have a wonderful view to Sydney's skyline ;) Surfers, sorry, this place is too calm for you ! Swimmers, what are you waiting to go there ?

This pool is great- the staff are grand and the water is warm in winter and refreshing in summer!…read moreAlways crystal clear and clean. Really safe venue and nice to go to. They have swimming lessons and a small gym

We just recently became patrons with our little girl who takes swim lessons there…read more The quality of the lessons are superb. We've been to different pools, but here suddenly she flourishes in the pool. The pool is quite modern, with an indoor slide and a little adventure world for the little ones. There is an outdoor pool, everything is still pretty new and clean. At time you can't find parking at their car park, which is frustrating as street parking is rare. The only downside is the staff. Arrogant pushy unfriendly girls working at the reception and the school. I nearly slapped one little tart who came and started to tell me off about something she got wrong. Not sure where they take their attitude and confident from that this is how you talk to clients. Thus my 2 star rating. The clientele is made up of Chinese, Indians and Caucasians. So don't expect a fistfight. Last not least. The coffee shop seems to be serving Caucasians first. So depending if you like that sort of behaviour, could be good or bad.