--- title: "Olympia-Schwimmhalle Swimming Pool Munich, Germany | Have Goggles, Will Travel" description: "Pool review, photos and information for Olympia-Schwimmhalle, Munich. A bucket list swim in the legendary 1972 Olympic swimming pool." canonical_url: "https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/pool/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich" meta: "og:description": "Pool review, photos and information for Olympia-Schwimmhalle, Munich. A bucket list swim in the legendary 1972 Olympic swimming pool." "og:image": "https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich.jpeg" "og:title": "Olympia-Schwimmhalle Swimming Pool Munich, Germany" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/llms.txt) ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich pool photo](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=1280,h=544,f=webp,q=30,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich.jpeg) 307 # Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich Munich, Germany Tuesday, 10 November 2026 ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich pool photo](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=1856,h=788,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich.jpeg) ## Lunchtime swim in the legendary 1972 Olympic pool. Today is another bucket list swim! The famous 1972 Munich Olympic swimming pool! Catch a combination of underground trains from the Hilton Munich City, followed by a quick five-minute walk through the Olympic Park in the rain. The swimming hall sits alongside a couple of the other famous Olympic venues, all clustered together beneath the rather spectacular tent-like roof structure. ChatGPT assures me there's lane swimming throughout the day, from 7am until late evening, so plenty of opportunity to fit in a lunchtime swim before heading back to work. A little history before I get in! The pool was designed by architectural firm **Behnisch & Partner**, working with **Frei Otto**, and forms part of the famous circus-like, tent-roofed Olympic complex. During the 1972 Games, the venue hosted swimming, diving, water polo and the swimming element of the modern pentathlon. The swimming performances here were quite remarkable. Olympic records were broken in all 29 swimming events, with 20 new world records set during the Games. Most famously, American swimmer **Mark Spitz** made history by winning seven gold medals, setting seven world records along the way. Quite something to think I'll be swimming in the very same pool! The facility opened to the general public in 1973, with its original Olympic spectator capacity of around 9,000 reduced to 1,500. The complex has been under a historical preservation order since 1998. Now 54 years old, it still looks the part. Granted, the structure is a little weathered in places, but it's still hugely impressive. The building has undergone substantial modernisation over the years, including work on the roof in the 2000s and a major refurbishment between 2016 and 2021, upgrading the technical infrastructure and pools whilst preserving that distinctive 1970s architecture. Interestingly, Munich has recently been selected as Germany's candidate city for a future Olympic Games, potentially in 2036, 2040 or 2044. It would be rather special to see the Olympics return here. Given the building's protected status, I wonder what that would mean for the swimming hall. It turns out the current proposal is to install a temporary 10-lane competition pool in a planned event arena near Munich Airport, rather than redevelop this historic venue. Probably a sensible approach, although it would be wonderful to see Olympic swimming return to this very pool. Anyway, time for a swim! Arrive at reception and briefly interrupt the receptionist's rather vigorous knitting to pay the bargain price of **€6.90** for a full-day pass, which includes a locker card. Take a moment to admire the pool from the upper viewing area near the entrance. It's a fantastic sight looking down over the competition pool, with its huge sweeping roof, spectator seating and enormous glass walls. Head down the stairs, complete with an underwater-themed ceiling, into the changing village. There are rows of huge lockers, each with its own hanger and, more importantly, everything is clean and functional! Quick change, then into the showers as is customary in Germany, before heading out onto the pool deck. A little poolside stretch whilst admiring the rather unique circus tent-like structure overhead, then hop into centre lane 4, marked as the 'fast lane', currently occupied by just one other swimmer. I'm not entirely sure of the original pool construction, but it looks like the competition pool has been relined in stainless steel at some point. A little research confirms this was part of the recent refurbishment. I really don't mind these stainless steel pools. They look incredibly clean, and I imagine they're relatively easy to maintain, although there's always a little flex in the floor and walls which feels slightly unusual. The half of the pool nearest the changing village has a height-adjustable floor, set at around 1.5m today. The water is lovely. Perfect temperature, beautifully clear and practically no chemical taste. Exactly how I like it. Aiming for a fairly typical session today, mainly to get some metres on the board for the week. Start the Garmin and push off. I've barely completed the first 200m before the lane starts filling up. Before I know it, there are five or six swimmers sharing the lane and, despite the 'fast lane' sign on the starting blocks, the pace isn't exactly fast! I'm starting to sense that lane swimming etiquette is a little different in Germany! Having to overtake people on practically every length, sometimes managing triple overtakes as I work my way past groups of swimmers. Nobody seems particularly keen to let faster swimmers through at the lane ends, and a couple of swimmers repeatedly push off just as I'm approaching the wall! The lifeguards don't seem especially fussed, so I'll put it down to cultural differences and get on with it. Still, it makes maintaining a decent pace rather frustrating. Swim through an initial 45-minute 3km, then switch to five 200m efforts followed by four 100s to reach the session target of **4.4km**. I suspect the Garmin may have dropped a couple of lengths somewhere along the way, given the amount of stopping, starting and manoeuvring around other swimmers at the lane ends. Still, 4,400m at an average pace of 1:33/100m is a decent lunchtime session, particularly given the traffic! Swim done. Despite the rather chaotic lane swimming, I absolutely love this place. It's a wonderful piece of Olympic history and still a genuinely excellent swimming facility more than half a century after the Games. Clean, well maintained, great water quality and a fantastic setting. And at €6.90 for the day, it's an absolute bargain. Another memorable bucket list swim completed, and an easy **92/100**. Time to head back across Munich to Messe München for **electronica 2026**. - ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich gallery image](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=640,h=480,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich.jpeg) - ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich gallery image](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=640,h=480,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich-olympic-park-mist.jpeg) - ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich gallery image](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=640,h=480,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich-pool-deck.jpeg) - ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich gallery image](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=640,h=480,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich-locker-card.jpeg) - ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich gallery image](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=640,h=480,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich-stairs.jpeg) - ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich gallery image](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=640,h=480,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich-seating.jpeg) - ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich gallery image](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=640,h=480,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich-glass-circle.jpeg) - ![Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich gallery image](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=640,h=480,f=webp,q=75,fit=cover/pool/307/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich-entrance.jpeg) ### Pool Review (92 / 100) This is an impressive competition pool. Everything is very clean, tidy and well spec'd. The pool water is the perfect temperature, beautifully clear and with almost no chemical taste. I am noticing a distinct lack of lane swimming etiquette in Germany! [Follow me on Instagram →](https://www.instagram.com/havegoggleswilltravel/) ### Swim Stats - 4400m swim distance - 1:33 pace / 100m - Garmin Forerunner 965 ### Pool Details - Indoor pool - Pool length 50m - 8 lanes [Visit pool website ↗](https://www.olympiapark.de/en/the-olympic-park/park-overview/olympic-swimming-pool) Olympia-Schwimmhalle Munich [Olympiapark München, Coubertinpl. 1, 80809 München, Germany](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/map?pool=307) [←The Castle Centre](https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/pool/the-castle-centre) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"The challege is simple, swim at least 1km in 1,000 swimming pools, before age catches up with me!","name":"Have Goggles, Will Travel","url":"https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/"},{"@id":"https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/pool/olympia-schwimmhalle-munich#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"Pool review, photos and information for Olympia-Schwimmhalle, Munich. 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