I have not been to the Azur aquaplex since their renovations in 2015-2016. So I am not able to…read morecompare. The good: Nice complex, very modern. Different kind of pools for different activities. Lots of different types of classes available. Sauna areas included. Great class trainers. Bleachers area for people who can come to watch. Place is clean. Front lockers specifically for valuables. The bad: Pool water can be colder than we think it might be. Class trainers are overworking (barely have a break between classes). If one pool has an issue, reorganizing space between other pools is an hassle. Lots of stupid parents not watching their kids. Changing rooms can be crowded by families. Changing rooms can be slippery. Aside from people being around and in your way (see the bad section), the place itself is a very nice one.

We visited the Montreal Olympic Swimming Pool and Olympic Parc on a full day tour of Montreal…read more It was super cool to see and hear about the construction of the facility and the pool for the 1976 Olympics. It's inside the giant, leaning, Montreal Tower, which in itself is really neat to see. In the Olympic Pool area, there is also a small museum too that covers the 1976 Olympic Games. On our tour, the guide explained to our group how the pool (and other smaller pools) were built for the swimming, diving, and other water sports. The pool is still used for recreational swimming by the citizens of Montreal, which I appreciate that they found a new use for it vs. tearing everything down and building over the site.

Coming here was the highlight of our trip to Montreal and if you like to swim I would definitely…read moreput this on your itinerary. Why? In 1976 the Summer Olympics were held in Montreal and this facility which is still in the same state as in 1976 with the Olympic rings outside the door was built for the swim competition. Now you have the opportunity to swim in the same pool as the Olympic Athletes. Canadians can buy monthly memberships but Americans can swim here for a daily fee of less than $8.00 CAD with a passport and proof of double vaccination. They even have the viewing stands so bring some friends and family with you to cheer you on like in the Olympics. The pool is super clean--the cleanest I have ever seen. And so are the locker rooms and showers. I had googles on and dove to the bottom a few times and it was cleaner than any pool that I have been in. You are required to keep a face covering on all times walking around except in the pool. ( I got reprimanded initially by the lifeguard for walking near the pool without one.) There are lanes for laps, a kiddie area, and free swim area. There are 2 lifeguards on duty on both sides of the pool. They even have a machine in the locker room to dry your swim suit--worked great! There are open lockers but you will need to bring a lock--we just used our small suitcase locks--it seems relatively safe when we were here. They have benches next to the pool for your towel and things. We took a Uber here from the hotel but if you are driving, park in P5 lot. Give yourself a few hours to come here because if you are not familar its a maze of Olympic buildings and once inside another maze figuring out how to get from the locker room to the pool without walking though another gender's locker room. I had to consult with other swimmers and such nice people in Montreal--they gave me an escort. Just a tremendous experience and we are thankful to the Montreal people for allowing us to "jump in."

A nice, good-sized pool with one lane for lap swimming, and a diving area. There are 4 or 5 big…read moreumbrellas around the cement decking, not a lot of shade. No grass, no eating. There are a bunch of lounge chairs available on a first-come basis. Lots of kids & families, a separate kiddie pool, ok locker room. Nice. 5.75$ for non-residents.

Nice big pool, very clean and there is always a deck chair and some shade to be had under umbrellas…read moreand big, leafy trees. The change rooms are kind of dark though and the showers are right there out in the open which is a tad odd. Adult swims at noon are perfect for laps and there is plenty of room for lots of people at what I think is a fairly steep price though: $5.75. I like the pool itself a lot, but would pick the free Laurier pool over this pool more often than not. My biggest complaint besides the price though? The life guards were annoying and confusing absolutely everyone by blowing their whistles every couple of minutes. People would stop, look around, wonder what we were doing wrong only to realise that it was the teenage girl lifeguards whistling at friends to bring them something or to get their attention...don't do that!

It is September 1, and a bit cool today, which meant that the pool was practically empty and I had…read morea 50 m lane to myself. Beautiful, clean pool. You can book online during the busy times. Certainly the best place for lap swimming in Montreal that I have found.

Large outdoor pool easy access by metro and sunny. Good place for families because of the…read morebeach-kind smooth slope into the water. Down side not much place to hide from the sun, food not allowed around the pool and sad plain concrete around the pool. Also for adults the pool can get a bit boring after a while. Kind of boring when not in the water. I think it's also some sort of a pick up spot - but of course, like any pick up spot in Montreal shy and quiet, you'll get back home the same way you came. If you come with kids there's also a nice green park nearby and thanks to the city of Montreal for the high parking fees as usual. Not much else to do around at the end of the day, if not chasing the marmots in the grass!

This is a very fun place they have free swimming all the week for adults and for kids all the week…read moreexcept Sunday they even have other activities for adults and kids!!!!!! It's a very fun place for you can your family to come and enjoy!!!

A nice, fairly large public pool with good locker rooms. No chairs, most people are on towels on…read morethe cement around the pool or at about a dozen picnic tables on an adjacent shady lawn. There are lots of families and kids, teens, and a separate kiddie pool, and a diving area. The water was clean and nicely cold and not so crowded on a beautiful, hot day in mid-July. It doesn't seem to be near anything, except the St Michel flea market. I's free!

I sort of want to give this a full four stars just for being a free, public, year 'round, indoor…read moreswimming pool. However, if you're picky, there is really nothing special going on here. It's all fairly standard. I only go at the limited times when the whole pool is converted into three laps, so I can't speak to the bain libre scene, but they do seem to have a fair amount of free swim and I have had pretty satisfactory experiences here. There are usually (depending on the season) two times during the day when the pool is devoted entirely to lap swim, once in the afternoon, once in the evening. I have found that I go around 8pm, there is generally enough space to swim. (Plus, there is nothing better than falling fast asleep after a swim.) But the afternoons are more crowded. Here's the thing, you will be sharing a lane with anywhere from zero to eight people at a time. That's just the way this goes. At first that was very jarring for me, but I got used to it. While the lanes are divided into "lent," "moyen," et "rapide" these are very loose guidelines, and you may find yourself huffing along in the medium lane, with an olympic competitor on your tail who won't switch into the fast line because he failed to medal or something. (Hey guy, this is a community pool, "rapide" is your destiny. Own it.) Pros: - "a free, public, year 'round, indoor swimming pool" - well-located - I absolutely love the way the pool room walls are mostly composed of windows, because catching a glimpse of pouring snow in a street light while you're walking around in a bathing suit is the coolest. Cons: - water is generally not warm enough in the winter - by the end of the day, the whole place could DEFINITELY be a little cleaner - showers are very awkwardly positioned and so it's not super fun to get naked for the full de-chlorinifying experience, but I just sorta hold my breath and pretend I come from a culture where nudity is, like, whatever not a big deal (I don't...this takes most of my will power...) - you have to take your shoes off before going into the locker room, which is supposed to be for 'garder propre' purposes...but that would all be a moot point if they'd just mop up a couple of times a day...

Really not the best pool, but it's free and there's a lot to said about free public pools in…read moreMontreal... They're awesome. The first review nailed all the important things, and even two years later it's right on the money! I wouldn't pay for a membership to a pool like this one, but I don't have to, it's free. Crowded at times, with pretty limited hours devoted for free swimming, it's just steps away from my place, and once you lower your standards, sharing a lane with 4-8 other swimmers is not all that bad (most of the time). Even when I had access to the McGill pool, which is much better, I still used the public ones that were closer to my place, especially in winter. There's only 3 showers, no separation between them, and oh, the soap dispenser is always empty. But, who can complain? Bottom line: you get what you pay for, and it's OK! (did I mention it's free already?)