With the outdoor swimming season coming to a close and school holidays already at an end, swimming pools across Switzerland have started to take stock of how things went over the last few months, In Zurich, officials announced that city-run pools had a record summer this year, with up to 2,38 million visitors choosing to take a dip.

Record number of people visit public pools in Zurich

In a statement given to 20 Minuten, the city council of Zurich reported that 2,38 million admissions were recorded at publicly-run pools during the summer season of 2023 - the “season” does vary by pool, but usually runs between May and September. 130.000 more entries were recorded compared to last year, breaking the 2,28 million record set in 2018.

It’s also important to note that the new figures only refer to publicly-run swimming baths. Entrants to private pools in the city, those who simply leapt into the lake at Chinagarten or Rentenwiese or took rubber boats down the Limmat were not counted, meaning the total number of swimmers in Zurich is likely even higher.

Visitor numbers in 2023 were certainly helped along by the weather. At the height of summer, river and lake temperatures often rose above 23 degrees celsius for weeks on end.

Zurich has become a spa town, says city official

Speaking to 20 Minuten, Filippo Leutenegger, head of the school and sports department at the city of Zurich, said that “this year’s figures show that the city of Zurich is a unique spa town and that swimming has become one of the most popular sports among residents. The pool staff did an excellent job again this season and mastered the influx of guests and the associated challenges."

While some hot days may still be to come, nine of the 15 publicly-run pools in Zurich are already closed for the season, with the Auhof, Letzigraben outdoor pools and the Mytenquai and Tiefenbrunnen lakeside lidos set to close from September 25. The last of the pools to remain open - the Utoquai lakeside pool and Seebach outdoor pool - will be open until closing time on Sunday, October 29.

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