Het Marnix

This is a nice pool, although they put in the “rope” lane lines for public lap swim and saved the good competition lane lines for the swim team that came in after. I also had no trouble buying a wrist band with a VISA card at the kiosk in the lobby. Other nice features included the bar overlooking the pool. If you feel like a beer or soft drink after your swim, it is all available in the cozy restaurant that overlooks the competition pool and the canal outdoors.

Easy to enter. I paid at an electronic kiosk with my VISA credit card. I swam here three times during my weeklong stay in Amsterdam. My lane had three to six swimmers from 7 to 8 AM and then cleared out after 8 with fewer swimmers.

This is a nice facility, clean and well maintained. It is difficult to buy a pass if you don’t have a Maestro card. The facility does not accept cash, debit or credit cards, only the Maestro card. The staff said I should wait in the lobby until another swimmer came along, offer that person the €5.55 in cash and ask if he or she would buy me a wristband pass. I waited about 15 minutes and a nice fellow came along who was going swimming; he accepted my €5.55 and bought the entry wristband for me so I could get in.

Open seven days a week. Lap swim daily from 7 to 9 AM, on Sunday from 7 AM to 12:15 PM. Consult web site for two other daily lap sessions.

An electronic wrist band will get you through the turnstile. Turn right downstairs, grab a hanger, then touch the band to the lock of the public (designated M/F) changing rooms. Touch it on the opposite door to exit, then touch it on the electronic key pad located on the lockers. A locker will be assigned to you. Touch the bracelet to the locker door to open it. To leave the facility, you must deposit the wristband in an opening in the surface of the turnstile that faces you.

I was disappointed. The locker rooms were not clean; the pool has sand and hair; and it was crowded. I would have preferred to swim in the canal.

I give it an A+ for a European public pool: Rebuilt just two years ago, it's brightly lit, spacious, immaculate, smoothly run, and offers a stunning canal view.

The only place near central Amsterdam where you can swim laps.

Talk with a guard before just jumping into a lane – at times, some lanes may be designated for non-freestyle strokes.

The 25m pool is 3 speed-designated, wide lanes, plus a double lane for socializers. The lanes are divided by loose ropes, so the water is very turbulent. The pool gets extremely crowded (10 or more per lane) during lap swim times.

Very nice, reasonable lane lines, polite distribution of fast/slow swimmers.