Prince Alfred Park Pool

Overview

Perhaps the most accessible swimming pool on this list, a visit to Prince Alfred Park Pool should be mandatory for every visitor to (or resident of) Sydney. Designed by Neeson Murcutt Architects as part of the invigoration of Prince Alfred Park in 2013, a swim here invites immediate invocation of a long, hot Australian summer at the pool. Built cleverly among a 'folded landscape' of native grasses to both protect the green space of this inner urban area and provide swimmers with some protection, the facility is, at once, confined and imposing. Yellow umbrellas and palm trees make this architectural space a little less serious than most, but no less impressive.

For the locals of inner Sydney who can't quite muster a trip to the coast for a swim, Prince Alfred Park Pool is an easy alternative. It's the buttercup yellow sun umbrellas that bring the Riviera vibe, as well as the lawns strewn with sunbakers and cute cafe, Meadow, cheerily aiding post-swim recoveries. The facilities nabbed two National Architecture Awards in 2014, and the 50-metre pool is always at that jump-right-in temperature.