Piscinas Municipais de Évora

The Piscinas Municipais de Évora opened on 5 September 1964 and are still the city’s main place to swim through the Alentejo summer, when afternoons in Évora regularly feel like an oven. The complex sits outside the old walls on Avenida Eng.º Arantes de Oliveira and is run by the council, the Câmara Municipal de Évora.

What makes it useful for families is the range of water on one site. There are five outdoor pools of very different depths, so a toddler, a seven-year-old learning to swim and a teenager who wants to jump off a board can all be happy at the same time. Around the pools there are lawns, a playground, a picnic area, a multi-sports court and bars.

The council publishes the size and depth of each pool, which helps you decide where each child can go.

• Two baby pools (the regulations call them tanques infantis, for children up to 6). Each is 9 by 6 metres and between 45 and 60 cm deep. The regulations also mention a separate paddling pool for babies (chapinheiro).
• The learner pool (tanque de aprendizagem), 33 by 16 metres and 90 cm to 1.30 m deep. This is the big shallow pool where most young children spend the afternoon. Diving is not allowed here because it is under 1.30 m.
• The Olympic pool, 50 by 20 metres and 1.80 to 2.30 m deep. It’s deep at both ends, so it suits confident swimmers only.
• The diving tank, up to 5 metres deep, with boards at 1.5, 3, 5 and 7.5 metres. The regulations say the 7.5 m and 10 m platforms are closed to the public, so check with the lifeguards which boards are open on the day.
• A small covered pool, 16 by 6 metres and 1.20 to 2 metres deep, used in winter. The council’s pages do not set out winter public-swim times, so ask before you go outside the summer season.

In 2026 the summer season ran from 3 June to 13 September. Opening hours were 09:00 to 20:00 from Tuesday to Saturday and 13:00 to 20:00 on Sundays and Mondays. Dates change a little each year, so look for the new poster on the council website from May.

Prices in summer 2026 depended on age, the day and the time you arrived. For visitors:

• Up to 5: free.
• 6 to 10: €1.80 on weekdays, €2.40 at weekends and on public holidays.
• 11 and over: €4.75 on weekdays, €5.95 at weekends and on holidays.

A ticket bought after 15:00 costs about a fifth less, and after 17:00 about half. A family with two children aged 6 to 10 arriving after 17:00 on a weekday paid €2.40 per adult and €0.90 per child. Residents and people who work in the municipality pay less, and their children go free up to age 10. The council also sells 10-entry packs for residents, which need an Évora pool user card (Cartão de Utente). You can buy tickets at the gate or online on the council’s Évora Desporto site, which saves queuing on hot weekends. People with disabilities are exempt from the charges.

Parking on site was charged by the hour in 2026: €0.40 on weekdays and €0.60 at weekends and on holidays.

The rules come from the council’s 2018 regulations and its good-practice page.

• Children under 11 cannot come in for free swimming unless an adult is with them to supervise. The 2026 price list puts it as children up to 10 only entering with an adult.
• A swim cap (touca) is compulsory in the covered pool. Outdoors it is recommended, and flip-flops are advised in both.
• Everyone showers before getting in and walks through the footbath. The deck is for bare feet or clean flip-flops only, and there is no eating, drinking or smoking there.
• Babies must wear swim nappies in the paddling pool and the other pools.
• Armbands and children’s floats are allowed. Other inflatables and ball games are not.
• Children have to use the pool meant for their age. Running, pushing and jumping in are not allowed, so a child who just wants to cannonball will need the diving tank.
• Parents are asked to take young children to the toilet themselves and to get them out of the water as soon as they need to go.
• Children under 9 may use the changing room of the other sex.

The council lists three local clubs that run children’s swimming at the pools: G.D.C. de Santo António (which also runs triathlon), G.D.R. Canaviais and Pódio dos Sorrisos. The council’s own water school, the Escola Municipal de Atividades Aquáticas, runs lessons and water aerobics for adults. Contact the clubs directly for ages, term dates and prices, since the council page does not give them.

There is a lot of open lawn but the council does not describe any shade structures, and Évora in July and August is very hot. Bring a parasol if you can, plus hats, sun cream and plenty of water. Sunday and Monday mornings are closed. Summer weekends cost more and are the busiest time. The pools close in mid September, so there is no outdoor swimming here in the cooler months.

Évora is compact, so a morning in the old centre and an afternoon at the pool works well in summer. Nearby ideas from our listings:

• The Chapel of Bones, a short, strange visit that older children remember.
• The Água de Prata aqueduct, which you can follow on foot into the centre.
• The Museu do Relógio, a clock museum for curious minds.
• The Almendres Cromlech, a field of standing stones outside the city.
• Snacks at Pão de Rala, a pastry shop known for convent sweets.

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

In the covered pool, yes. In the outdoor summer pools a cap is recommended rather than required, according to the council’s regulations. Packing one saves any argument at the gate.

Is there a baby pool?

Yes. There are two toddler pools, 45 to 60 cm deep, for children up to 6, plus a paddling pool for babies. Babies need swim nappies.

How much does it cost?

In summer 2026 a visitor aged 11 or over paid €4.75 on a weekday and €5.95 at weekends. Children aged 6 to 10 paid €1.80 or €2.40, and under-6s went free. Late tickets cost less.

Can children go on their own?

Not under 11. The regulations say children under 11 need an adult with them who is responsible for watching them.

When is it open?

Only in the summer season, roughly early June to mid September. In 2026 it ran from 3 June to 13 September, opening at 09:00 from Tuesday to Saturday and at 13:00 on Sundays and Mondays.