With temperatures expected to soar to 35°C on Monday, many people who are enjoying a day off will be flocking to open-air bathing spots to cool down. By Monday morning, several places were already fully booked. Luckily, there are several options available.
Monday is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far. Code yellow for heat has been issued across the country, while in some areas, this was scaled up to code orange. Many people are likely looking to lakes and outdoor pools to keep cool.
Tickets for Monday at FLOW, the only open-air bathing spot in Brussels, sold out in a matter of seconds, co-founder of Pool is Cool Paul Steinbrück told The Brussels Times. Spots can be reserved 48 hours in advance.
Credit: Pool is Cool
Most tickets for Tuesday, when temperatures are expected to reach 30°C, have also already sold out. Steinbrück noted that, aside from when the weather is bad, tickets sell out rapidly most days. "The message is clear, I think. There is far too much demand for the amount of space we have, highlighting a clear need for more bathing spots in Brussels."
However, there are more than a dozen communal pools in Brussels, which offer cheap rates to locals. A single ticket usually costs under €5 for adults and children under three swim for free. There are reduced tariffs for those living in the commune and cards for 10 or 50 sessions which also lower the price. These are also indoors, protecting people from direct sunlight.
Ponds, lakes and the sea
There are several open-air bathing spots to choose from just outside of Brussels. However, here too, outdoor swimming has proven popular on this hot day. Hofstade Recreation Park, which has a "beach" set-up next to a lake, confirmed all spots for Monday had been booked.
Recreation park De Nekker in Mechelen, which also has a swimming pond and beach, warned at noon that more than 3,000 of the 3,500 spots that can be reserved had already been filled. The city of Mechelen exceptionally opened its swimming area at the Keerdok on Monday, but here too, tickets have already sold out. At the Recreation Park in Kessel-Lo, which has an outdoor pool with slides, all tickets for Monday and Tuesday have sold out.
Swimming pool at the recreation park in Kessel-Lo. Credit: Provincie Vlaams-Brabant
At the swimming pond Zilvermeer in Mol, in the province of Antwerp (around 1.5 hours drive from Brussels), several spots were still available at noon. It is also still possible to book a spot at the nearby open-air pool Den Uyt.
In Lasne, around half an hour's drive from Brussels, Renipont-Plage is open and accessible without reservation. The Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure site, around a 1.5-hour drive from Brussels, has two officially recognised open-air bathing areas.
Finally, heading to the seaside is always a good option. National railway operator SNCB put on additional trains to and from the coast, and while it is busy on Monday, its spokesperson confirmed to The Brussels Times that passengers will not face queues to take the coastal train.
While it may be tempting to swim in other, more nearby rivers, ponds or canals, this is always prohibited in Belgium unless otherwise indicated.
