Piscina do Complexo Desportivo de Benfica

The Complexo Desportivo de Benfica, on Avenida Gomes Pereira, is the sports centre of the Junta de Freguesia de Benfica (the parish council). Alongside a gym and the António Livramento roller rink, it has an indoor pool with classes for every age, from babies to older adults. The parish’s website brands its services as Bairro Benfica and its sport as Desporto em Benfica.

For families, the pool offers weekly lessons for babies, children and teenagers, and a set time on Saturday afternoons when parents and children can swim together.

The 2026/27 children’s timetable has sessions called Pais e Filhos (parents and children) on Saturday afternoons, at 15:40, 16:20 and 17:00, the last one running until 17:40. On the timetable they’re listed alongside classes in the same slot. A single ticket for a parent-and-child session costs €2.70, the same as a normal public swim ticket.

The price list doesn’t say whether the €2.70 covers both parent and child, or what ages the sessions are for, so ask when you ring to check the time.

Baby swimming (natação para bebés) lasts 30 minutes, and the classes are named after sea creatures: Estrelas do Mar (Starfish), Cavalos Marinhos (Seahorses) and Pinguins (Penguins). Most run on Sunday mornings, starting every half hour from 9:15 to 11:15. There are also Seahorse and Penguin classes at 18:00 and 18:40 on some weekdays, and a Starfish class on Friday at 17:20.

Baby classes cost €27.65 a month for one a week, €41.98 for two and €47.51 for three.

Children’s classes follow a ladder of animal names: Tartarugas (Turtles), Golfinhos (Dolphins), Focas (Seals) and Tubarões (Sharks). Older children and teenagers join the NJ groups (natação jovem, youth swimming) at AMA level (adaptação ao meio aquático, getting used to the water) or levels 1, 2 and 3, and there’s a pre-competition group for keen swimmers.

On the 2026/27 timetable, weekday classes run from 17:20 to 20:00, with an extra Turtles class at 16:20 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Saturday mornings there are classes from 8:40 to 12:20, and on Sunday a Turtles class runs at 11:45.

The monthly fees on the 2026/27 price list are the same for children and adults:

• One class a week: €22.12
• Two a week: €33.08
• Three a week: €41.37
• Four a week: €45.26
• Five a week: €49.66

New students pay €27.65 registration (which includes the card), €3.89 insurance, and the card costs €5.53 if you lose it. Renewal costs €16.59. Registration is half price from May and free in July.

The discounts can make a real difference for families. Parents, children and grandparents (the price list says first-degree relatives and grandparents) get 25% off the monthly fees, and holders of the parish’s B card, available in the Bairro de Benfica app, get 20% off registration. You can also save 5% by paying three months at once or 10% for six. Discounts can’t be combined, and none apply to public swimming.

Public swimming (natação livre) runs in one or two lanes for most of the day, from 8:00 to 17:00 on weekdays and again from 20:00 to 20:40, in a few slots on Saturday, and from 9:15 to 12:25 on Sunday mornings. With only one or two lanes, these are mostly for people swimming lengths. For a family splash, the parent-and-child sessions are the better choice.

• Single ticket: €2.70
• Monthly pass (one swim a day): €22.12
• Lunchtime pass (weekdays 12:00 to 17:00): €11.06 a month

The timetable marks some slots where you can take the swimming test, which new public swimmers may need to do.

The parish council’s page links a sign-up form in which a parent or the swimmer declares they accept the pool’s regulations, but the regulations themselves weren’t online when we checked. Ask about swim caps, footwear and the rules for children at reception.

The complex is open Monday to Friday from 7:30 to 21:00, on Saturdays from 8:30 to 18:00 and on Sundays from 9:00 to 13:00. The parish council also runs a second pool at the Complexo Desportivo Boavista on Rua das Azáleas, a 25-metre pool with public swimming on weekdays from 9:30 to 19:20 and on Saturdays from 9:30 to 12:30.

The council doesn’t publish the pool’s size or depth, so if your child is a non-swimmer, ask which classes use shallow water.

Nearby, in the Monsanto forest park, Hello Park has a ninja course, a tree-top course and a pirate ship. Teenagers who skate can try the free Calhariz de Benfica skatepark, and in summer Carnide parish opens its outdoor Espassus pool with a children’s pool.

Can parents swim with their children at the Benfica pool?

Yes. The 2026/27 timetable has parent-and-child sessions on Saturday afternoons between 15:40 and 17:40, with a €2.70 ticket.

From what age are there swimming classes?

Baby classes (Starfish, Seahorses and Penguins) are 30 minutes long and run mostly on Sunday mornings. The price list doesn’t give a minimum age, so ask when you sign up.

How much are children’s swimming lessons?

€22.12 a month for one class a week, plus registration, insurance and a card. Families get 25% off monthly fees.

Is the pool open on Sundays?

Yes, from 9:00 to 13:00, mostly for baby classes and public swimming.