Nine of the world’s most amazing swimming pools

Heard about London’s ‘sky pool’ yet? Basically a regular 25m swimming pool suspended between two apartment blocks 10 storeys up, it will form part of a new development near the former Battersea power station.

It’s expected to be ready for action in 2018, and will be entirely transparent and structure free – the only thing stopping all that water from plummeting to Earth will be 20cm of glass.

Not sure if we’d be brave enough to ‘float through the air in central London’ like the developers promise, we decided to take a look at the rest of the world’s biggest, most beautiful and most unusual pools:

Shangri-la Shard, London

There are plenty of height-based superlatives to enjoy atop Europe’s tallest tower, not least for triathletes the continent’s highest swimming pool – 52 stories high. Be grateful it’s not suspended in mid-air…

(Image: Shangri-la Shard)

The Crystal Lagoon, Chile

The city of Algarrobo is home to the world’s largest swimming pool, over 1km long and holding 66m gallons of seawater – equivalent to 6,000 ‘normal’ pools. No need to perfect your tumble turns here.

(Image: Stewart Cook / Rex USA)

Badeschiff, Berlin

Those clever Berliners – they took an old cargo ship and turned it into the city’s only floating swimming pool, complete with heating, roof and sauna. Sehr gut.

(Image: Marcus Grbac)

Blue Lagoon, Iceland

Out of this world – this pool is warmed naturally by a nearby lava flow, and is said to have healing properties thanks to an abundance of minerals. It’s a bit warm though at 37°-39°C, so maybe not ideal for strenuous swim sets.

(Image: iStockPhoto)

Ocean Dome, Japan

No rival for Chile’s Crystal Lagoon, but until its closure in 2007 this held the title of world’s largest indoor pool – 300m long and 100m wide. Party tricks included a retractable roof painted like a beautiful blue sky to give the impression you’re, y’know, outside.

(Image: Max Smith)

Tropical Island Resort, Germany

With the Ocean Dome’s doors shut, that leaves Tropical Island Resort south of Berlin to claim the title of world’s largest indoor pool. Housed in an old aircraft hangar, it also has slides, waterfalls and plants aplenty.

(Image: Bmalina)

Hotel Indigo, Hong Kong

Five-star luxury, contemporary aesthetics… and a cantilevered rooftop pool 29 storeys up. This means that – if you’re brave enough – you can swim beyond the edge of the building to “enjoy” the views below.

(Image: AEDAS)

Hotel Fasano, Rio de Janeiro

With less than 12 months to go until the Olympic Games, it’s only right that we spotlight the best place to take a dip when the world’s best athletes descend on Brazil. Rio’s Hotel de Fasano has a rooftop infinity pool overlooking Sugarloaf mountain and Ipanema beach, and would be our baths of choice.

(Image: Hotel Fasano)

Atlantis Water Park, Dubai

Okay not strictly a swimming pool, but we couldn’t resist including this as it has a) sharks and b) water slides. Win.

What pools did we miss out? Let us know in the comments below!