Piscina Municipal do Oriente

The Piscina Municipal do Oriente is a Lisbon city pool on Rua Câmara Reis, on the inland side of the railway between Olivais, Moscavide and Parque das Nações. The Junta de Freguesia do Parque das Nações (the parish council) runs it directly, and it says about 300 people use it every day. It’s a sports pool with lanes and classes, and there are no slides or wave machine.

What makes it useful for families is the timetable. The council publishes exactly how many lanes are free for public swimming in each 45-minute slot. On Saturday afternoons that’s every lane of both pools, and the prices are among the lowest in the city.

The building has a 25-metre pool (piscina de competição) with six lanes and a smaller learner pool (tanque de aprendizagem). Beginners’ classes for 6 and 7-year-olds happen in the learner pool, and older children move on to the 25-metre pool as they improve. The council doesn’t publish the depths of either pool, so ask at reception if you need to know whether a small child can stand.

Public swimming (utilização livre) means coming in to swim without a teacher. The Oriente pool splits it into two kinds. Sporting free swim is for people who can swim 25 metres, and you may be tested. Recreational free swim is for playing in the water and needs no swimming skill. Children can only join in when enough lanes are free:

• One lane: adults swimming lengths only
• Two lanes: adults only, for lengths or for play
• Three or more lanes: adults and children

The timetables linked on the pool page in September 2026 showed these times with three or more lanes in the 25-metre pool:

• Saturday 14:45 to 18:30: all six lanes, the best family session of the week. The learner pool has all three lanes open at the same time.
• Saturday morning: 8:15 to 9:00 and 9:45 to 10:30.
• Sunday morning: 9:00 to 10:30 with five lanes, and 12:00 to 13:30 with three.
• Weekdays: 15:15 to 16:45 every day (to 17:30 on Mondays), most of the late morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and 11:45 to 13:15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The learner pool is also open to children from 15:15 to 16:00 on weekdays.

Weekday evenings from 17:30 are mostly lessons and lap swimmers. The council says the timetable is only a guide and can change without notice, so check the latest PDF before you go.

The price table linked on the pool page when we checked in September 2026 is the version first published in 2023:

• Public swim, weekdays before 17:00: €2.00, or €1.50 for under-18s and Cartão Jovem holders.
• Public swim, weekdays after 17:00 and weekends: €2.50, or €1.88 for under-18s.
• Weekday daytime pass (before 17:00): €25 a month, or €18.75 for under-18s.
• User card: €2.50 (a replacement costs €7.50).

Parish residents (fregueses do Parque das Nações) get 15% off. Families on low incomes in the parish, and people with a disability of 70% or more, can apply for an exemption using a form on the pool page. A monthly private locker costs €7.20.

The swimming school is large, with classes every weekday afternoon and all weekend morning:

• Babies, 1 to 3 years: 30-minute classes with an adult in the water, grouped by age. They run on Saturday mornings from 8:15 to 12:30, Sunday mornings, and weekday slots at 16:00 and 19:00.
• Water confidence (adaptação ao meio aquático, AMA), ages 4 and 5: for children with no experience in the water. Weekday classes run from 16:45 to 19:45, with Saturday and Sunday mornings too.
• Children’s levels, ages 6 to 16: Level 1 is basic water confidence, Level 2 needs backstroke, Level 3 backstroke and front crawl, and Level 4 adds breaststroke. Weekday classes run from 16:00 to 20:30, and weekend classes from 8:15 to 13:30.

Babies and 4 to 5-year-olds don’t need a test. Older children take a water test before signing up so they’re put in the right level.

Using the price table’s discount for under-18s, children’s lessons cost €14.26 a month for one class a week, €21.82 for two and €26.07 for three. Baby classes cost €20, €30 or €35 a month before any discount, so ask at reception which rate applies. Registration costs €24.70, and a single trial class costs €5 (€3.75 for under-18s).

For 2026/27, current swimmers renewed their places between 16 June and 12 July, and new sign-ups opened on 13 July for any places left. New students can join throughout the season until May, in person at the pool’s reception.

The rules printed on the public swim timetables are clear:

• Children under 2 can’t use public swimming. They can only go in the water in organised classes with an adult.
• Children under 12 need an adult with them who is responsible for watching them in the pool. If not, a parent must fill in a responsibility form (termo de responsabilidade), which is on the pool page.

The compulsory kit list is a swim cap, flip-flops, and a one-piece swimsuit or swimming briefs. Ask at reception about swim nappies for babies.

Public swimming here is cheap, but the lanes free for children change hour by hour. Aim for Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning unless you’re free on a weekday mid-afternoon. The pool closes for the whole of August and on public holidays, and there’s a general cleaning break around lunchtime every day. Reception is open slightly shorter hours than the pool.

The pool is a short hop from the riverside at Parque das Nações. The Oceanário de Lisboa and the hands-on science museum Pavilhão do Conhecimento are good rainy-day pairings, and in dry weather the Telecabine Lisboa cable car runs along the river. Younger children will like the animals at the Quinta Pedagógica dos Olivais nearby. If the children still have energy, Teddy and Friends on Avenida de Pádua is an indoor playground with a café for parents.

When is the best time for a family swim at the Piscina do Oriente?

Saturday from 14:45 to 18:30, when all six lanes of the 25-metre pool and the whole learner pool are open to children. Sunday mornings are the next best.

How much does it cost for a child?

€1.50 on weekdays before 17:00 and €1.88 after 17:00 and at weekends, on the price table linked in September 2026, plus a €2.50 user card.

Can babies and toddlers swim there?

Children under 2 can only go in the water in classes with an adult. Baby classes start at age 1.

Do children need a swim cap?

Yes. A swim cap and flip-flops are on the pool’s compulsory kit list.

Is it open in August?

No. The pool closes for the whole of August and on public holidays.