Anonymous
The "Sporting Village" of Albaro is a great aquatic facility, clean and spacious, if a bit hard to negotiate at first. Italian pools favor a labyrinth of changing, dressing, showering, and drying areas, unlike the simple locker room, shower, and pool arrangement found across the US. Be sure to bring a robe and flip-flops, since Italians keep themselves much more covered up than Americans do. And that includes wearing bathing caps for both sexes, which is mandatory.
Once inside the pools, you'll find them well staffed and organized, though that generally means circle swim once two (ugh!) or more are in a lane. Gutters tend to be rare, especially in older pools, so you'll get lots of good opportunities to perfect your flip turns. But the other swimmers tend to take their lapping seriously, so you're not bound to encounter any difficulties if you play by their rules.
Albaro's 50m pool is outside, covered by a dome except in summer. It tends to be hot and muggy inside, but the water temperature is perfect and makes for a good swim. One of the 33m pools is inside and is the more recreational of the three pools there. The other outside pool and diving area was closed during my October 2017 visit.
Albaro is best reached by the fast #42 bus, which stops directly in front of the pools, and runs from Piazza Ferrari in central Genoa to the hip and pricey Boccadasse district east of Albaro fronting the sea. You can walk directly south from the pools, past the tennis courts, to the Corso d'Italia, the seafront boulevard, which is a great place for an after workout snack and or stroll, though the pools are surrounded by all kinds of cafes and shops. In short, it's a great place for a swim in Genoa.
Once inside the pools, you'll find them well staffed and organized, though that generally means circle swim once two (ugh!) or more are in a lane. Gutters tend to be rare, especially in older pools, so you'll get lots of good opportunities to perfect your flip turns. But the other swimmers tend to take their lapping seriously, so you're not bound to encounter any difficulties if you play by their rules.
Albaro's 50m pool is outside, covered by a dome except in summer. It tends to be hot and muggy inside, but the water temperature is perfect and makes for a good swim. One of the 33m pools is inside and is the more recreational of the three pools there. The other outside pool and diving area was closed during my October 2017 visit.
Albaro is best reached by the fast #42 bus, which stops directly in front of the pools, and runs from Piazza Ferrari in central Genoa to the hip and pricey Boccadasse district east of Albaro fronting the sea. You can walk directly south from the pools, past the tennis courts, to the Corso d'Italia, the seafront boulevard, which is a great place for an after workout snack and or stroll, though the pools are surrounded by all kinds of cafes and shops. In short, it's a great place for a swim in Genoa.