Piscine Olympique Angelotti

This was everything I want from a pool. I went twice in the early afternoon; and all lanes were open to the public; I had one to myself about half the time I was there. Three lanes were reserved for swimmers with paddles/fins, though that wasn’t enforced. Like every pool in France, this one insists on tight-fitting swimwear and caps, but that shouldn’t be an issue for the audience of this site.

The place deserves better showers though. There are too few for a facility of this size, they’re in plain sight of whoever may be walking by and there’s a CCTV camera pointed at the men’s showers. Unsurprisingly, everyone showered with their swimsuits on, if at all.

The pool doesn't open until 9 AM and is always set to 50m.

There was no discipline in the four lap lanes open - people took the lane with the fewest swimmers. But even with five in a 50m lane, passing wasn't a problem.

This beautiful, state-of-the-art, partly open-air swimming complex is worth the trip to Montpellier alone. It's about as perfect as a pool gets.

This is a competition pool in abeautiful futuristic glass building. Hours during the week are 9 AM to 9:30 PM, shorter on the weekends.