Florence Outdoor Swimming Pools: Prices and Times
When the heat in Florence becomes serious
By mid-July, Florence stops being a comfortable walking city between noon and four in the afternoon. Temperatures regularly hit 36 or 37 degrees Celsius, the stone streets radiate heat, and even seasoned sightseers start looking for alternatives. If you are travelling with children, a pool session is not a frivolous detour - it is often the thing that saves the afternoon and keeps everyone cheerful enough for a proper dinner.
The good news is that Florence has three public outdoor pools that are well-run, affordable, and genuinely suitable for families. They are not waterparks. They do not have lazy rivers or elaborate entertainment structures. What they do have is clean water, proper children’s sections, trained lifeguards, and entry prices that will not make you wince. Getting to know these pools before you arrive in the city means you can plan around them rather than scrambling to find them in 38-degree heat with two tired children in tow.
Three public pools and what each one offers
Piscine Le Cascine is the most central of the three and the one I would recommend for most families. It sits inside the Cascine park, which is Florence’s largest green space, approximately two kilometres west of Piazza Santa Maria Novella along the Arno. The complex includes a fifty-metre competition pool, a second recreational pool, and a proper paddling area for younger children - shallow enough for a toddler to stand up, and separated from the main pools. There is also a small slide area suitable for children roughly between five and twelve, with a height requirement of about 110 centimetres for the larger slide. This is the busiest pool on summer weekends, so arriving early matters. By eleven o’clock on a Saturday in July the complex can be very full indeed.
Piscina Costoli is east of the centre, near Campo di Marte, at Viale Paoli 3. It is a substantial facility with a fifty-metre pool, a recreational pool, and a children’s section that includes a small slide and water spray features. The crowd here is largely local families from the residential neighbourhoods on Florence’s eastern side. Bus line 17 gets you there from the city centre in about twenty minutes. Costoli feels less touristy than Le Cascine on busy days, which tends to make the atmosphere noticeably calmer.
Piscina Bellariva is the smallest and quietest of the three. It sits further east still, on Lungarno Aldo Moro 6, and is reachable by bus line 14 in roughly twenty-five minutes from the centre. It has a main pool and a dedicated children’s section, but fewer facilities than the other two. If you want a relaxed, uncrowded pool experience on a weekday, Bellariva is the one to choose.
Tickets, opening times, and Italian pool rules
Entry prices for the 2026 season sit at roughly seven euros for adults at Cascine and Costoli, and six euros at Bellariva. Children between six and twelve pay around four euros at the larger pools and three euros fifty at Bellariva. Children under six enter free at all three. All pools offer a reduced late-entry rate - typically one to two euros less - if you arrive after four in the afternoon. This is worth knowing if your morning is committed to museums or sightseeing.
Opening hours run broadly from ten in the morning to seven in the evening on weekdays, and from nine at weekends. Bellariva opens from noon on weekdays. Confirm exact times before visiting, as they shift slightly across the season and can vary on public holidays.
One detail that surprises some visitors: Italian public pools require swim caps for everyone in the water, including children. You can buy one at the pool entrance for around two to three euros if you forget to pack one. Loose board shorts are not permitted - Italian municipal pool regulations require fitted swimwear for men and boys. There are lockers at all three pools; bring a one-euro coin to operate them, which is returned when you leave.
None of the three pools require advance booking for families. You pay at the entrance and go in when there is capacity. On the hottest summer weekends, Le Cascine can reach its limit by midday. Arriving before ten thirty on a Saturday almost always guarantees immediate entry.
Planning a pool day without a car
From Charlotte on Via Guido Monaco 19 - five minutes’ walk from Santa Maria Novella station - the tram to the Cascine park runs in roughly fifteen minutes. The Costoli and Bellariva pools are reachable by bus in twenty to twenty-five minutes. None of these journeys require a taxi.
A pool day works best structured around the heat rather than against it. Aim to arrive at the pool by ten or ten-thirty, before the sun is at its most intense. Bring your own water and a picnic if you like, or buy from the pool bar - most pool bars stock panini, pizza slices, fruit, and cold drinks at reasonable prices. Leave by four or five in the afternoon and head back through the city once the light has softened. The late afternoon in Florence, after a cool pool morning, is genuinely one of the better moments of a summer day here.
Sun protection is essential. The UV index in Florence in July is high enough that fair-skinned children without it will burn within an hour. Apply before leaving and reapply after the water.
Making the pool part of a wider itinerary
A pool morning slots neatly into a longer Florence day without swallowing everything else. From the Cascine complex you are five minutes’ walk from the park itself - which has cycling paths, a Tuesday morning market, and several bars and restaurants along the riverside. Families who want to spend a full day in that part of the city can combine two hours in the pool with a picnic in the park and an evening stroll back along the Arno toward the centre.
For families visiting Florence in high summer, the combination of early museum visits and afternoon pool time is genuinely the best way to structure the hottest weeks. The city is at its most beautiful before ten in the morning and after five in the afternoon. The middle part of the day, when you would be willing a breeze into existence, is exactly what the pools are for.
Charlotte’s position near Santa Maria Novella means the tram, the buses, and the main cycling routes are all within easy reach. If a pool day matters to your itinerary, the logistics work well from here. More details and availability at Charlotte.
