Piscine de Saint-Gervais

This is a nice pool with amazing views of Mont Joly. When we swam here in September, staff closed four lanes for an aquabike class, and then one more for a private lesson, leaving us with only one lane for five swimmers of varying speeds, but at least they were friendly while doing it!

The complex is clean, modern and well-kept and at an altitude of circa 850 meters (2,800 feet). The pool area is light with large picture windows and views of the Alps.

The main pool is 25m, 6 lanes and at a temperature of 28.2º C. In addition to the 25m pool, there is a large shallow play pool and an outdoor pool (closed in winter) plus saunas. I swam in the early evening (17:30-18:30) in early March and the facility was busy. The main pool was divided as follows: Two lanes for school lessons; two lanes for lane swimming, and the remainder a general play area (this may vary as a day or two previously it appeared that there were four lanes for lane swimming and the remainder for play).

The lanes were separated by wave suppression barriers which gave the water a smooth feel despite surrounding hectic activity. There varied between two and four swimmers in my lane. The lanes are not graded in terms of speed and, other than following an anti-clockwise circulation pattern, lane discipline was almost nonexistent. Having said that, I did manage to complete part of my normal routine at a somewhat relaxed pace without apparent undue duress to myself or fellow swimmers. I felt it wisest to forego the remaining, more vigorous part of my routine.