Complexo Municipal de Piscinas de Leiria

The Complexo Municipal de Piscinas de Leiria is the city’s main indoor pool, run by the Câmara Municipal de Leiria. It stands on the site of Leiria’s old outdoor pools, on Avenida Bernardo Pimenta. The council uses it for swimming lessons, club training, competitions and public swimming.

What makes it good for small children is the set of three pools at different depths and temperatures. The regulations publish the water temperatures, and the learner and toddler pools are properly warm.

In July 2026 the Assembleia Municipal approved a revised set of rules and prices for the complex, published in the Diário da República on 23 July 2026. The details below come from that text and from the council’s pools page.

• Piscina de Formação (Pool A), the learner pool: 25 m by 17.40 m, 1.10 m deep all over, kept at 28 to 30°C. It’s meant for teaching and for leisure, and can be split into eight 25-metre lanes or ten shorter ones across the width.
• Piscina de Competição (Pool B): 25 m by 17.40 m and 2 m deep, kept at 24 to 27°C. This is for club training, competitions and lane swimming.
• Piscina Infantil or chapinheiro (Pool C), the toddler pool: 17.40 m by 5 m, sloping from 30 cm to 1.20 m, kept at 29 to 30°C. The regulations reserve it for babies and children from the time they start walking up to age 6.

A flat 1.10 m pool is useful for families: most adults can stand anywhere in it, so it’s easy to stay beside a child who is learning. The toddler pool is mostly used for lessons, and the regulations say public swimming there only happens when space is free, so ask at reception whether it’s open when you arrive.

Public swimming (público livre) is available, according to the council’s page:

• Monday to Friday: 7:30 to 17:30, and 20:30 to 21:45
• Saturday: 9:00 to 16:00
• Sundays and public holidays: closed

The weekday daytime window is long, which suits families with pre-school children and home-educated children. From 17:30 to 20:30 on weekdays the lanes go to swimming classes and clubs.

A swim is 45 minutes. The regulations allow 1 hour 20 minutes in total, including changing and showering; stay longer and you pay for another session. Lanes hold a maximum of 12 people, and if the public lanes are full you have to wait.

The price list republished on 23 July 2026:

Public swim	Single swim	10 swims	20 swims	30 swims
Ages 14 to 64	€1.95	€17.55	€33.15	€48.75
Under 14, 65 and over, Cartão Jovem	€1.55	€13.95	€26.35	€38.75
Under 4	Free
People with a disability	€1	€9	€17	€25

Every public swim before 16:45 on a weekday is 25% cheaper. On top of that you pay once to register: €5 for the user card, then €3 every two years for the insurance that covers pool users. A second card if you lose one is €2.50.

Babies and toddlers up to 3 swim free, but the adult who goes in the water with them needs their own loaded user card.

The council’s page lists two clubs that run swimming schools at the complex:

• Associação Desportiva Cultural e Recreativa do Bairro dos Anjos (BA), which runs a water activities school for babies, children and adults. Phone 244 813 046 or 964 851 308, geral@baleiria.pt.
• Clube Náutico Leiria, whose swimming school uses a teaching method it calls the Método Aquático Compreensivo. Phone 924 093 048, geral@nauticoleiria.pt.

Ask the clubs directly for ages, class times and fees.

The regulations explain how lessons work for younger children. Parents of children aged 7 and under (and those turning 8 before 31 July in that season) can take them as far as the changing room. From there a teacher or assistant walks the class to the pool and brings them back afterwards, and the parent waits outside the changing area. Parents don’t stay on the poolside during lessons, apart from special cases the council authorises in writing, such as the youngest age groups. Children in lessons get a companion card for one adult (€2.50), or two adults for children up to 3; it lets the adult into the changing rooms but not into the water.

From the 2026 regulations:

• Children under 7 in public swimming must have an adult with them for the whole visit.
• Swim cap and flip-flops are compulsory for swimmers, and companions wear flip-flops on the poolside too. Bikinis must be sports bikinis.
• Everyone walks through the footbath and showers before getting in.
• The lockers are free but you bring your own padlock. Take it off when you leave, or staff will cut it off at the end of the day.
• Children under 7 go into the changing room of the adult with them if that adult is swimming. If the adult isn’t swimming, they use the children’s changing room.
• No creams or oils, no airbeds, no running on the poolside, and no food or drink in the pool area or changing rooms.
• No filming or photos without written permission from the council.
• No animals.

The complex has a bar, a restaurant, a playroom (ludoteca) and an outdoor children’s area, according to the regulations. The playroom is also rented out by the hour, so it may not be free for general use.

It’s a working sports centre shared with schools, clubs and classes, so public swimmers get whatever lanes are left over. Under the regulations, planned closures must be announced at least eight days ahead, on the council’s channels and at reception, so check before you go.

The council also owns smaller pools at Caranguejeira and Maceira, each with a single learner pool 90 cm to 1.20 m deep, run by the parish councils.

Leiria is a good base for the limestone country to the south. The show caves at Grutas de Santo António near Porto de Mós and the dinosaur footprints at Serra de Aire are both within easy driving distance, and FunPark Fátima has more for energetic children.

Is there a baby pool at Leiria’s municipal pools?

Yes. The toddler pool slopes from 30 cm to 1.20 m and is kept at 29 to 30°C. It’s reserved for children from walking age to 6, mainly for lessons, with public use when space is free.

How much is a swim for children?

€1.55 for under-14s on the July 2026 price list, or about €1.16 before 16:45 on weekdays with the 25% discount. Under-4s are free. Everyone needs a €5 user card first.

Do children need a swim cap?

Yes. Caps and flip-flops are compulsory under the regulations.

Is the water heated?

Yes. The learner pool is kept at 28 to 30°C, the toddler pool at 29 to 30°C and the deep competition pool at 24 to 27°C.

Can I stay with my child during their swimming lesson?

Usually not. For lessons, parents drop younger children at the changing room and a teacher takes them to the pool. In public swimming, children under 7 must have an adult with them the whole time.

Is it open on Sundays?

No. The complex is closed on Sundays and public holidays.