Piscina Municipal de Santo Tirso

The Piscina Municipal de Santo Tirso is part of the town’s Complexo Desportivo Municipal (municipal sports complex), on Rua do Retiro. It has two pools: a main pool approved for competitions by the Portuguese Swimming Federation’s technical council, and a separate learner pool (tanque de aprendizagem). The council says it has more than 78,000 visits a year.

It’s a council sports pool, and what makes it worth knowing about is the price and the timetable. Public swimming runs through most of the day, and an hour’s swim for a child under 12 costs €2 with a user card.

The 2026/27 timetable (mapa de utilização) shows public swimming (utilização livre) in every time slot on weekdays, from 8:00 through to the evening, alongside water aerobics and swimming classes. The building closes at 21:30 on weekdays, with a short break for maintenance in the early afternoon.

At weekends:

• Saturday: morning session from 9:00, closing at 12:30, and afternoon session from 15:30, closing at 18:15
• Sunday: morning only, from 9:00, closing at 12:30

Public swimming shares the water with classes, so the space free for play changes through the day. The pool is closed for the whole of August.

For home-educating families, weekday mornings are the most useful: the timetable shows public swimming alongside water aerobics classes from 8:00 to lunchtime, with no children’s classes until the late afternoon.

From the council’s 2026 price table (anexo IV):

Public swimming for children under 12:

• With a user card: €2 an hour, then 2.5 cents a minute after the first hour
• Without registering: €2.50 an hour

Public swimming for everyone else:

• With a user card: €3 an hour, then 4 cents a minute
• Without registering: €4 an hour

Registration costs €10 a year and includes the access card, a companion card and insurance for the school year. You can buy a swim cap (€4) and a padlock for the lockers (€3.70) at the pool.

The swimming school (Escola de Natação) offers:

• Water confidence for babies (adaptação ao meio aquático), levels I and II
• Children’s swimming, levels I and II, plus mixed-level groups
• Swimming for teenagers and adults, learners and improvers
• Rehabilitation and adapted swimming (natação especial)

The 2026/27 timetable puts baby classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings, from 9:45 or 10:30. Children’s classes run on weekday evenings from about 18:30 and on Saturday and Sunday mornings and Saturday afternoons.

Prices for children under 12, per month:

• One class a week: €13
• Two classes a week: €21.50
• Three classes a week: €30
• Baby water confidence, one class a week: €16.50

For everyone 12 and over, one class a week costs €16.50 a month, two €27 and three €37.

Schools, nurseries and holiday clubs can book two lanes or the learner pool with an instructor for €25 an hour (up to 15 children).

The timetable states that a swim cap and suitable swimwear are compulsory. For lessons, arrive 10 minutes before the class starts. The council doesn’t publish the full pool regulations online, so ask at reception about age rules for children swimming without an adult and whether swim nappies are required for babies.

The pool shuts in August, when many other pools are at their busiest. In summer, the outdoor Quinta da Gruta pools in Maia or the Parque Aquático de Amarante are the nearest alternatives with space to play outside.

On the busiest evenings the main pool is split between lanes for public swimmers, water aerobics and several classes at once. For a quieter swim with a small child, weekday mornings look the least crowded on the timetable.

The Zoo da Maia is a short drive south for a morning with animals before an afternoon swim.

How much is a swim in Santo Tirso?

On the 2026 price table, an hour’s swim for a child under 12 costs €2 with a user card or €2.50 without. Adults pay €3 or €4.

Is there a learner pool?

Yes. Alongside the competition pool there’s a learner pool used for beginners’ classes.

Is the pool open in August?

No. The Santo Tirso municipal pool closes for the whole of August.

Do children need a swim cap?

Yes. The timetable says a swim cap and suitable swimwear are compulsory.

From what age are swimming lessons?

The school runs water confidence classes for babies at weekends, then children’s classes in two levels.