Love this swim school! Friendly staff, the teachers are great, their teaching techniques really…read morework with my kids who have been swimming there for almost 2 years now. Great area for parents, and a playground for the kids who aren't in the pool, to keep them occupied while they wait for their lessons. And Nathan in the cafe makes a great coffee!

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!!

Seems like a really nice pool. Friendly staff, good facilities…read more We came for the Christmas party event so it was quite crowded, but based on the location and car park size I would assume it is not normally very busy. There was an Olympic pool, a smaller indoor pool, and another shaded kids pool if I recall correctly. It's a bit of a hilly walk from the car park to the entrance

The location of this pool is so beautiful - surrounded by bush and bird songs. The pools are a…read morelittle out of date, but clean and well-maintained. There are four pools altogether, so adults down to children are well catered for. I enjoy regular lap swimming in the 50m pool and then sometimes bring my grandson to play in the baby pool, which is fully shaded. Plenty of hot water is provided after your swim.

Open long hours, all types of bodies and fitness levels at this gym. The indoor heated pool is well…read moreorganised with good signage...people obey the lane rules...a plus for me. Anyone who has had a neck injury because someone has hogged the lane would appreciate this. The spa is clean and the pool assistant checks on the area frequently. The sauna is piping hot....I mean the atmosphere...oh I mean the temperature....gee take it how it comes. Ha The gym area upstairs has a huge range of fitness equipment. You can pull every muscles in every direction in this area. Good flat screens show the latest TV shows. The area is very much self contained from the other areas and you can't hear the huffing and puffing. There are squash courts, a tennis court and an outdoor swimming pool. This place has everything. Now for the best bit there is a bar here. Work out with friends then have a drink afterwards. There are also not many youngsters....too expensive for them and their parents.

This is a community swimming pool inside the botanical gardens. We passed through in November, it…read morewas 70 degrees and too cool for swimming. The location along the harbor is perfect.

Generally, Sydney is a swimmer's paradise. I'm visiting from California and cannot believe the…read moreoptions for pool and open water swimming. ABC Pool hasn't disappointed. Awesome location and views, always plenty of lane/circling space and a solid post-swim cafe experience.

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...)

This is a must do on your visit!…read more It's $10 AUD ($7 USD) for access! It's a great value for this experience. The pools are saltwater. There's a dedicated lap pool for those that want to actually swim, and there's another pool for those that want to take a dip. The waves also crash over the edge, plus you have the beautiful Bondi Beach all around! You can't ask for anything else. The pool area was also very clean! Be sure to get to the pool early enough to secure your spot!

One of my favorite highlights and places in Australia!! Truly breathtaking. Even though the main…read moreiceberg big pool was closed due to high winds and tides, the sights and beauty of the water was truly mesmerizing. After making the walk from Coogee, seeing the icebergs was a breath of fresh air. I stared for quite awhile and took far too many pictures! Definitely the most beautiful body of water I have ever seen.

We took a walk down to this pretty park from our nearby apartment. It's got a bit of everything -…read morewalking/running paths, great water views, tennis courts, play equipment for the kids and more! We walked along the bay for a bit, and stopped at the marina for a drink. There are signs warning you that sharks have been spotted in the bay, so not a place for a refreshing dip. But if you have a boat, it sure seems like a nice place to dock it. For a place so close to the CBD, it was quiet and felt like smiles away from the noise of the city.

Rushcutters Bay Park has a few hidden gems (ok maybe not that hidden) that are great if you are…read moreactive or not. The monkey bars at the south end are actually a great area to do a workout. Watch out for peak hour - right after work - sometimes there are groups of people being coached in that area so you might need to wait for specific stations. There are tennis courts at the south west side of the park - book them online but if you try for early evening there are some people that have standard bookings each week. Later at night is good since they have a great lighting system. Even better is during the day with fewer people around. There is a cafe here that is decent for a coffee but there are so many other coffee shops nearby that you may want to walk a bit. At the Cruising Yacht Club there is a restaurant as well. Fantastic outdoor deck seating and fish and chips are ok. Of course nice cold beer is available as well. You can get reservations and some weekends are very busy. Never tried the indoor seating (why would you when you are by the harbour?). The whole park is dog friendly so be prepared for some visitors if you are having a picnic. Some dogs running 'free-range' but never had a problem. Just make some new friends.