Piscina Municipal de La Salette

The Parque de La Salette is Oliveira de Azeméis’s best-loved park, a hill that was once called Monte Castro. The council describes it as about 17 hectares of green space, footpaths and viewpoints, and the park has celebrated its centenary. In the middle of it is the Piscina Municipal de La Salette, an outdoor pool the council opens every summer.

The council calls it one of the most popular places in town in summer for families, young people and visitors. It’s cheap, it’s surrounded by trees, and you can combine a swim with a walk through the park.

The pool opens only in summer. In 2026 the season ran:

• 20 to 30 June: afternoons, 14:30 to 19:00
• 1 July to 31 August: every day, 9:30 to 19:00
• 1 to 5 September: afternoons, 14:30 to 19:00

Swimmers have to be out of the water half an hour before closing. The dates for 2027 hadn’t been published when checked, but the pattern of a mid-June opening and early-September close is a good guide. Check the council’s page before you go.

On 12 August 2026, for International Youth Day, the council let everyone up to 29 in free, so look out for similar one-off free days.

The 2026 prices on the council’s page:

Ticket	Morning or afternoon	Full day
Children 0 to 5	Free	Free
Ages 6 to 17	€2	€3
Adults (18+)	€3	€4

For two adults and two school-age children, a full day came to €14 in 2026. With younger children it’s cheaper still, since under-6s are free. Adults supervising a group don’t pay if they only watch and don’t use the pool, loungers, mats or changing rooms.

From the council’s operating rules for La Salette:

• Children under 12 must be with a responsible adult. Teenagers aged 12 to 17 can come without an adult only with a signed authorisation from a parent or guardian, using the form on the council’s page. The form stays at the pool office if the parent agrees.
• Everyone goes in through the changing rooms and must be in swimwear to enter the pool area.
• Shower and walk through the footbath before swimming.
• Barefoot or suitable pool shoes only in the swimmers’ area.
• No jewellery, creams or oils in the water.
• No eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum in the pools or on the poolside.
• No inflatables of any kind. Check with the staff about armbands for small children before you go in.
• No running, pushing people in or dangerous jumps, and no sitting on the pool steps.
• No dogs or other animals, except guide dogs.
• The changing rooms are separated by sex.

There are no lockers. Instead you hand your clothes and belongings to the staff, who give you a numbered token to collect them later. The rules say to bring only everyday things, not valuables.

The rules don’t mention swim caps. Staff watch the pool whenever swimming is allowed, according to the operating rules.

The pool is only one part of the park, and the council’s tourism page lists what else is inside its 17 hectares: a children’s playground (parque infantil), exercise areas for older people and for sport, an events park and a picnic park. That makes it easy to split the day between a swim and a picnic under the trees, with the playground for younger children who are tired of the water.

The park grew from a promise. According to the council, the people of Oliveira de Azeméis prayed to Our Lady of La Salette for rain and, when it came, built her a chapel, opened on 19 September 1880. Work on the park around it began on 7 April 1909, to a plan by Jerónimo Monteiro da Costa, then the director of Porto’s municipal gardens. Older children may like hunting for the chapel after hearing the rain story.

In August thousands of people come up the hill for the Festas em honra de Nossa Senhora de La Salette, the town’s summer festival. Expect a lively park and harder parking if your pool day falls during the festival.

The council’s page doesn’t give the number of pools, their depths or whether there’s a separate children’s pool. Phone 256 600 615 or 925 661 421 if you need to know before you bring a toddler.

It’s an outdoor pool on a hill, so it’s at its best on hot, still days. July and August weekends are the busiest time. The council’s page doesn’t mention a café inside the pool area, and eating is not allowed on the poolside, so plan snacks in the park.

Oliveira de Azeméis also has an indoor Piscina Municipal in town, open all year, with a council swimming school that takes babies from 6 months and children from 3.

In the same municipality, the Núcleo Museológico do Moinho e Pão de Ul shows how the village’s famous bread was made in water mills. Nearby in Santa Maria da Feira, the Museu do Papel Terras de Santa Maria lets children see paper being made by hand.

How much is the La Salette pool?

In 2026 a morning or afternoon cost €2 for ages 6 to 17 and €3 for adults, or €3 and €4 for the full day. Under-6s were free.

When does the La Salette pool open?

In 2026 it opened on 20 June and closed on 5 September. It’s open all day in July and August, and afternoons only in late June and early September.

Can my teenager go on their own?

From 12, with a signed parental authorisation form. Under-12s must be with an adult.

Can we bring an inflatable ring?

No. The rules ban all inflatables.

Is there a baby pool?

The council’s page doesn’t say. Phone the pool before you go if you have a toddler.