LidoSteam
LidoCold water. Coves, lakes and river pools for the warm months.
  • Spots221
  • In season in Nov143
  • Sea in Nov19 to 22°
Where to swim SteamWarm water. Thermal baths and hot springs, open all year.
  • Baths and springs654
  • Countries36
  • OpenAll year
Where to soak

Where to swim in Europe this month: beaches, lakes and thermal baths

Pick a month and the list shows where you can get in the water then. The cold side is sea coves, beaches and lakes; the warm side is thermal baths, hot springs, hammams and saunas. Each region shows how many of its places are in season and how warm the water usually is that month.

Every place has a page of its own. For a beach that's the sea temperature month by month, how you get down to the water and the rules that apply there, like a summer car ban or boat-only access. For a bath it's the entry prices as the operator publishes them, opening hours, swimwear rules and minimum ages, set side by side with the other baths in the same town.

Water

Swimming

  1. Greece76 spots in season20°Country
  2. Spain23 spots in season20°Country
  3. Italy22 spots in season19°Country
  4. Crete19 spots in season21°Region
  5. Corfu15 spots in season20°Region
  6. Zakynthos15 spots in season20°Region
  7. Rhodes14 spots in season21°Region
  8. Sicily14 spots in season20°Region
  9. France10 spots in seasonCountry
  10. Malta9 spots in season21°Country
All 6 countries and 16 regions

Thermal baths

  1. Germany114 baths27 to 42°Country
  2. United Kingdom53 baths34°Country
  3. Hungary39 baths30 to 42°Country
  4. France36 baths21 to 38°Country
  5. Austria33 baths32 to 38°Country
  6. Italy32 baths23 to 43°Country
  7. The Alps30 baths27 to 38°Region
  8. Bavaria28 baths30 to 42°Region
  9. Greece26 baths30 to 42°Country
  10. Iceland25 baths28 to 42°Country
All 36 countries and 28 regions

Every place, one by one

Questions about swimming and thermal baths in Europe

Where is the sea warmest in Europe in November?

Of the places listed here, the sea is typically warmest in November around the Canary Islands (22 °C), Crete (21 °C), Rhodes (21 °C) and Malta (21 °C). Switch the month above to see how that moves through the year; the swimming pages give the temperature for every month.

What is the difference between a thermal bath, a hot spring, a hammam and a spa bath?

A thermal bath is a ticketed bath whose pools are filled with natural thermal or mineral water. A hot spring is the same water with little or nothing built around it, often free and open at all hours. A hammam is a steam bath with a washing and scrubbing ritual, and a spa bath is a sauna landscape with warm pools where the water is heated rather than drawn from a spring. Public saunas, kallbadhus and seaweed baths are listed as bathhouses.

Do you need swimwear at thermal baths in Europe?

In the pools, almost everywhere. The sauna areas are where it changes: most baths in Germany, Austria and Switzerland run them textile-free, and so do several Hungarian sauna worlds, while others want swimwear there too. In Iceland you shower without a swimsuit before you get in. Every bath page gives that bath's own rule.

Where can you bathe in hot water for free?

At Agios Nikolaos hot spring (Methana), Bagni San Filippo (Castiglione d'Orcia), Baia di Sorgeto (Forio), Bullicame (Viterbo), Burga de Canedo (Ourense) and Cascate del Mulino (Saturnia). Free places are marked Free in the lists, and their pages say what is there and what isn't.