Piscine Suzanne-Berlioux (Les Halles)
Adult Admission Price & Policy
Drop-in/Casual
€5.10; Senior Citizens (65) €4.00. [November, 2023]
Note: Admission policies and prices shown in Swimmers Guide listings are believed to be correct as of the date shown in brackets. If not correct now, please click on the "Edit" button and tell us so this listing can be fixed and the information brought current. This site works best when its users take an active role in the maintenance of the data.
Note: Admission policies and prices shown in Swimmers Guide listings are believed to be correct as of the date shown in brackets. If not correct now, please click on the "Edit" button and tell us so this listing can be fixed and the information brought current. This site works best when its users take an active role in the maintenance of the data.
Full-Size, Year-Round Pools & Boards
Pool 1
50m x 20m, 8 lanes, 0.8m - 1.8m depth, chlorine sanitized, indoors,
27º - 28ºC (81º - 82ºF).
Location
Location
Close to the Louvre. Metro: Les Halles - Chatelet. The pool is located on the third underground level of the Forum des Halles shopping mall complex, next to the cinema.
County/Region
Paris
GPS
48.862766, 2.343212
Teams That Use This Facility
We have no web links or contact information for teams that train at this facility.
Facility Notes
Swim caps are required. Shoes must be removed before entering changing area. For men, only tight-fitting swim suits are permitted, loose-fitting boxer-style "trunks" are not acceptable.
The men’s and women’s showers, while separate, are visible from the pool, located between the pool deck and the entrance to the locker rooms. Consequently, it is necessary to shower with your suit on, because everyone in the pool can see you.
Swimmers complain of crowding, bad hours, and lack of lane etiquette. It's most crowded evenings until about 9 PM and on weekends. The pool is open on Sunday mornings, when the rest of the Forum Centre is closed – use the Port du Jour entrance, near St. Eustache.
The pool also has a Facebook page.
There are two types of lockers: The blue lockers use an electronic keypad to operate; the violet lockers use a refundable €1 coin. There is a four-minute time limit for the electronic, keypad-operated lockers, so it is advisable to change in a stall, before choosing a locker.
Facility Reviews
Paris has about 30 pools, very few suitable for serious lap swimming - this is one.
Shallow at one end and not good for flip turns.
Tends to be crowded, but the best I've found for real lap swimming.
One lane for paddles, one for breaststroke, one for crawl and backstroke - but too crowded for backstroke when I was there. VERY crowded at the start of the session, but the crowd diminished later in the morning.
At 6 PM on Saturday it was beyond crowded: Hand-to-foot in every lane.
Yep, it's crowded. Very. But, at the same time, it's a pretty awesome pool. I arrived at opening time on a Wednesday morning (11:30 AM) and stood in line with about 15 people before the doors opened. Despite being an English speaker with limited French skills, I still managed to make my way through the locker room (the lockers are dual language) into the pool quickly enough to get in 500m before the lanes exceeded their comfortable capacity. I spent another 45 minutes or so dodging other swimmers, turning around mid-lane and generally not being able to get my heart rate going, but it really didn't matter - the experience was fun. I got a real kick out of the female locker room attendants, whose presence still made me feel self-conscious, even though the changing stalls were perfectly private. I also found the spinning class taking place in the pool - yes ladies and gentlemen, IN THE POOL, an absolutely hilarious concept; somehow these avid bikers found the gumption to lift 30-or-so stationary bikes into the water and pedal away! Realistically, if one wants to do fast sets and get in a collegiate-level workout, this ain't the place, but if you want to string together some yardage and get a good taste of a swimmer's life in the Paris metro, this is a great spot to take a dip.
[October, 2014]
[October, 2014]
Rating: 7 on a scale of 10.
Crowded from opening to closing; the lowest number of swimmers in a lane is seven or eight, just after opening; the most 15. All stokes and speeds seem possible in any lane; but it's a long course swim in the middle of Paris. Open long hours, including some mornings at 7 AM for an hour and 15 minutes - unfortunately not all mornings. Open very late some nights, too. Hours change according to school vacation
[April, 2015]
Crowded from opening to closing; the lowest number of swimmers in a lane is seven or eight, just after opening; the most 15. All stokes and speeds seem possible in any lane; but it's a long course swim in the middle of Paris. Open long hours, including some mornings at 7 AM for an hour and 15 minutes - unfortunately not all mornings. Open very late some nights, too. Hours change according to school vacation
[April, 2015]
This Olympic-size pool is located in the lowest level of the shopping center at Les Halles (Metro: Châtelet-Les Halles). Signs for the pool (piscine) are clearly marked throughout the shopping center. When in doubt, keep going downstairs.
Lockers are user friendly. After choosing a locker, enter its number on a nearby computer screen, then enter a 4-digit password of your choosing. To open your locker, enter its number and password. The locker door will automatically open. Caps are required as well as tight-fitting suits. Showers are required with suits remaining on. There are both warm (chaud) and cold (froid) shower options.
The pool has a grouping of three combined lanes and four single lanes, which have signs indicating types of strokes, but they were ignored. The far lane is reserved for lessons. The temperature is 27ºC (80.6ºF). I tended to swim in the early afternoon so that it was not unbearably crowded. I was told it becomes crowded after 4:00 PM.
[October, 2019]
Lockers are user friendly. After choosing a locker, enter its number on a nearby computer screen, then enter a 4-digit password of your choosing. To open your locker, enter its number and password. The locker door will automatically open. Caps are required as well as tight-fitting suits. Showers are required with suits remaining on. There are both warm (chaud) and cold (froid) shower options.
The pool has a grouping of three combined lanes and four single lanes, which have signs indicating types of strokes, but they were ignored. The far lane is reserved for lessons. The temperature is 27ºC (80.6ºF). I tended to swim in the early afternoon so that it was not unbearably crowded. I was told it becomes crowded after 4:00 PM.
[October, 2019]
This is a decent pool with a "rapide" lane allowing all four strokes. The shallow end is only 0.8m deep and the water is cold. Demonstrably slower swimmers will push off in front of you.
The pool is somewhat difficult to find, as it's downstairs. It's close to the round Bourse de Commerce. Use the Pont Neuf Sortie from the Les Halles Metro stop.
[September, 2022]
The pool is somewhat difficult to find, as it's downstairs. It's close to the round Bourse de Commerce. Use the Pont Neuf Sortie from the Les Halles Metro stop.
[September, 2022]