Piscina Municipal da Constituição

The Piscina Municipal da Constituição is one of three indoor pools run by Ágora, the City of Porto’s culture and sport company. (The other two are at Cartes in Campanhã and the Eng. Armando Pimentel pool.) It’s the one most suited to young children, because alongside the 25-metre main pool it has a separate learner pool that’s shallow enough for small swimmers to stand in.

The building has the 25-metre pool, the learner pool, a gym, two studios, four changing rooms, spectator seating and a bar that doubles as a waiting room. It’s a working sports centre, not a leisure pool: there are no slides or wave machines. What it does well is steady, year-round swimming, which matters in a city where the sea is cold and winters are wet.

According to Ágora’s activity guide:

• The 25-metre pool is 114 cm deep at the shallow end and 150 cm at the deep end.
• The learner pool (tanque pequeno) is 90 to 114 cm deep. Classes for beginners and the gentler aqua-fitness sessions happen here.

In public swimming time the 25-metre pool is shared with lane swimmers, and parts of both pools may be taken by classes. If you want space to play with a non-swimmer, check the timetable for times with fewer classes.

Public swimming (utilização livre) is when anyone can come in and swim without joining a class. The 2025/26 timetable, still the one linked on Ágora’s portal when checked in September 2026, gave these hours for the 25-metre pool:

• Monday to Friday: 7:00 to 18:00, then 20:45 to 21:30
• Saturday: 8:45 to 19:00
• Sunday: 8:45 to 13:00

That long weekday window suits home-educating families well: you can swim mid-morning on a Tuesday when schools are in class. In August the lessons stop and the pools open for public swimming only, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 19:00. The pool is closed on public holidays, on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and from 18:00 on the eve of São João, Porto’s big June festival.

The season runs from 1 September to 31 July. There’s also an annual shutdown for cleaning and maintenance, announced at least fifteen days in advance.

Ágora charges for public swimming in two ways. These prices come from the 2025/26 price list:

• Without registering: €5 for up to two hours, or €2.50 with the Cartão Porto, the city’s resident card.
• Registered users: after a one-off registration (€35 for adults, €25 for under-18s, halved with the Cartão Porto), you load at least €7 onto a card and pay €3.50 a visit, or €1.75 with the Cartão Porto.

Ágora’s enrolment page had opened registrations for the 2026/27 season in August and September 2026, but the new price list hadn’t been posted when checked, so check the portal before you go.

The swimming school is the main reason many Porto families use this pool. Ágora’s regulations set the ages: baby classes for 6 to 48 months, children’s classes for 3 to 15, and adult classes from 16.

Baby swimming (natação bebés) runs mainly at weekends. One parent goes into the water and the changing room with the baby. The activity guide lists what babies work on: getting their face wet, blowing bubbles, floating on their back with ears in the water, and jumping in from the side. The 2025/26 price was €24 a month for one class a week, or €31 for two (half price with the Cartão Porto).

Children’s classes are split into levels:

• Level 1, water confidence: moving about holding the side, putting the face in, opening the eyes underwater, “starfish” and “jellyfish” floats, and jumping in feet first.
• Level 1 advanced: picking up objects from the bottom, gliding off the wall, first front crawl and backstroke.
• Level 2: turns, starts from the block and the first breaststroke kicks.
• Levels 3 and 4: all four strokes over 50 and then 100 metres, with water polo, lifesaving and synchronised swimming introduced as games.

Children’s classes last 45 minutes and run at set times through the week, including late afternoons from 16:00 and Saturday mornings; the timetable PDF has the full grid. There’s also an adapted swimming class (natação adaptada) on the timetable. Under-18s paid €19 a month for one class a week, €26 for two and €38 for three, halved with the Cartão Porto.

Enrolment is in person or online through Ágora’s Portal do Desporto. You need an ID card or citizen card, a tax number (NIF), a passport photo and the Cartão Porto if you have one. Places are limited, and for 2026/27 Cartão Porto holders could enrol first, from 17 August, with everyone else from 7 September.

The pool also runs judo, karate and dance classes for children in its studios, including Dance Mini Kids for ages 6 to 8.

From the pool’s regulations, published 1 September 2025:

• Children under 12 can only use public swimming with an adult who is responsible for watching them.
• Everyone must shower before swimming and wear a swim cap or bandana and a swimsuit or swim shorts. Flip-flops are recommended between the changing room and the poolside.
• Children up to 8 use the children’s changing room or the one for their own sex, and only one parent may go into the changing room with them.
• No games, running or jumping into the water. No creams or oils, and no sitting on the pool steps.
• Bags go in the lockers; you can’t take anything onto the poolside that you won’t use in the water.
• Food and drink only in the signed areas; there’s a bar.
• No animals except guide dogs.

This is a busy municipal pool shared with lane swimmers, classes and clubs, so it can feel noisy and echoey at peak times. Children who find that hard may cope better at quieter times, which the reception staff can point you to. Public swimming during the lesson season shares space with classes, so the learner pool isn’t always free for play.

Access and entry are by QR code from Ágora’s portal, the Cartão Porto or a user card issued by Ágora.

After a swim, the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal are good for a run around and a picnic. On a hot day the fountains and lakes of the Parque da Cidade are a short drive west, and for another rainy-day option the Planetário do Porto has shows for children.

Do children need a swim cap at Porto’s municipal pools?

Yes. The regulations require a swim cap or bandana, plus a swimsuit or swim shorts, for everyone in the water.

Is there a baby or toddler pool?

There’s a learner pool 90 to 114 cm deep, which is shallow for adults but deeper than most toddlers are tall. Babies and toddlers need to be held or wear armbands, and baby swimming classes start at 6 months.

How much is a swim at the Piscina da Constituição?

On the 2025/26 price list, a two-hour drop-in visit cost €5, or €2.50 with the Cartão Porto. Registered users paid €3.50 per visit.

Can my child swim on their own?

From age 12. Under-12s need an adult with them during public swimming.

Is the pool open in August?

Yes, for public swimming only, on weekdays from 9:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 19:00. There are no lessons in August.