Complexo de Piscinas Municipais de Silves

The Complexo de Piscinas Municipais de Silves is the council’s main sports building, and the council calls it the reference facility for the whole municipality. It’s an indoor complex with three pools, a gym, a fitness studio and a café-bar, and it’s busy all day with the municipal swimming school, water-fitness classes and public swimmers.

The pool regulations list what’s inside:

• A 25-metre sports pool, 16.67 metres wide and 2 metres deep throughout, built for training and national competitions.
• A learner and recreation pool (tanque de aprendizagem e recreio), 16.66 by 8 metres, from 80 cm to 1.20 metres deep, with an access ramp. It’s used for water confidence, baby swimming, aquagym and hydrotherapy.
• A children’s paddling pool (tanque infantil or chapinheiro), 8 by 8 metres and 40 cm deep, for the first stages of water confidence and baby swimming.
• A jacuzzi, a dry sauna and a steam room.
• Spectator seating, a gym, a fitness studio, public toilets, a first-aid room and a café-bar.

There’s also a fraldário: a mixed changing room just for children up to age 10, who can go in with an adult. That’s a real help for a parent on their own with a child of the other sex.

The complex runs from September to July and closes every August for maintenance. In 2026 the public-swim area (and the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi) closed from 1 August to 6 September for maintenance work, according to a council announcement reported in the regional press. The council’s page gives phone and email for current opening hours; it doesn’t publish them online.

Public swimming here is called utilização livre, meaning swimming without a teacher. Under the regulations:

• Sessions last 90 minutes in total, which has to cover changing, swimming and showering.
• Public swimmers get one lane of the 25-metre pool, with a maximum of 12 people. When the timetable allows, the council opens more lanes, and space in the learner pool and the paddling pool.
• Children under 12 can only swim with an adult, who is responsible for them and also pays.
• You can borrow the pool’s floats and teaching equipment when classes aren’t using it.
• Over-18s can also use the jacuzzi, sauna and steam room.

If you don’t have a user card, reception issues an occasional-use card when you show ID and sign a term of responsibility. The council’s page doesn’t give the price of a single public swim, so ask at reception.

The pool’s regulations list what every swimmer must do:

• Wear sports swimwear: swimming trunks for boys and men, a one-piece sports swimsuit for girls and women.
• Wear a swim cap and flip-flops.
• Shower and walk through the footbath before getting in.
• Don’t wear creams, make-up or oils, or jewellery that could hurt someone.
• Don’t run, jump in or play games in the water unless it’s part of a class.
• Don’t use the 25-metre pool if you can’t swim.

Children up to 7 can use the changing room of the opposite sex with an adult of that sex. Lockers are opened with a wristband; if you lose it, you’ll need ID and a fee to get your things back. Animals aren’t allowed, except assistance dogs.

The Escola Municipal de Natação teaches children through the school year. When checked in September 2026, the council’s price list showed:

• Registration (annual insurance and user card): €12.50.
• Swimming school: €18 a month for one class a week, €23 for two.
• Packages: swimming lessons or public swimming plus the gym (AquaGym) €42; plus group classes (AquaFitness) €40; or all three (AquafitnessGym) €50 a month.

Fees are paid monthly by the 8th. The 2026/27 swimming school timetable was marked “coming soon” when checked, so contact reception for class ages and times. Enrolment is at reception.

This is a sports complex, not a leisure pool, and there are no slides. Public swimmers share the building with classes, so at busy times you may only have one lane. For small children the paddling pool and learner pool are the draw, if they’re open to public swimmers at the time you visit; phone ahead to check. There’s a café-bar in the building for a drink afterwards.

Silves Castle, with red sandstone walls built by the Moors, stands on the hill above the town. In August the town holds its medieval fair. In summer, Aqualand Algarve at Alcantarilha is in the same municipality.

Is there a baby pool at Silves?

Yes. The paddling pool (chapinheiro) is 8 by 8 metres and 40 cm deep, and the learner pool is 80 cm to 1.20 m with a ramp.

Can children swim without an adult?

Only from age 12. Under-12s must be with an adult, who also pays.

Do you need a swim cap?

Yes. A cap, flip-flops and sports swimwear are compulsory for all swimmers.

Is the pool open in August?

No. The complex closes in August for maintenance. In 2026 public swimming reopened after 6 September.

How much are swimming lessons?

€18 a month for one class a week or €23 for two when checked in September 2026, plus €12.50 a year for insurance and the user card.