Kids in Prague

Radlice Swimming Center, Prague 5

Swimming Activities on 29 July 2008 by Darina

Right when I drove out form the garage the little devil on my shoulder was telling me to head to my beloved swimming place: Petynka swimming centre and not to risk trying a new swimming area. The little Angel on my other shoulder kindly reminded me of my role in finding new places for families visiting kidsinprague.com, so I eventually turned the wheel towards Radlice’s indoor and outdoor swimming complex in Prague 5.

My first obstacle were the road works on Radlicka street. The signs indicated that it was a dead end due to road works but luckily the centre was before the dead end and I actually had no problems parking.I was quite curious to see this centre as I’ve driven around it many times, but I have never noticed any outdoor swimming pool or people lying around on the grass. In few minutes I knew why.

Firstly, after getting the ticket, I had to carry the buggy upstairs to the restaurant area, where I have been told to go. I felt like I was in a railway station cafe circa 1985 (Communist times). From there I made my way to some kind of garden, where I found more stairs, even longer and steeper then the first ones. Oh well….luckily I had only Nicolas with me, I couldn’t imagine dragging my 55 Kg double buggy up there otherwise. Anyway, a nice boy eventually helped me all the way up. After this trial I was imagining a nice, refreshing big pool upstairs, with a smaller pool for babies, preferably with jacuzzi next to it and Cocktail Bar.

Unfortunately what I saw made me inhale deeply and I tried to find some assertiveness to get through this experience. There was just one small swimming pool outside, packed with kids. I could only imagine what the water quality was like. Small means 13mx7m. The whole area looked shabby, uncared for, simply old and used. The larger inside swimming pool was connected to the outside garden by open door, so you could actually go for a swim and sit outside. But who wants to swim inside when the weather is gorgeous.

What seemed to be a problem at the beginning: the minimum depth being 50 cm, descending to 100 cm on the other side, turned out to be a great thing after all. Firstly, I thought I would have to hold Nicolas all the time (instead of leaving him to play nicely in 20 cm of water as we do on Petynka). But in the end it was all right as Nikki loved the water up to his chin and was just standing there grinning. I kind of liked it even better then the shallow water, because here little children can actually swim and touch the bottom with their feet. So it’s perfect for children 2 - 6 that are afraid of the big pool but have outgrown paddle pools. Whilst I adjusted I started to find positives with the whole situation such as a Life Guard being on duty.

To use the showers or toilet I was told to go inside, around the inner pool and down some stairs. The more steps I took down the more I noticed a bad smell like from an old dungeon… The whole shower-toilet experience was unpleasant and I was cursing myself for forgetting my flip-flops. I will be observing my feet for next few days, in case I grow something on them…

We went for lunch at the centre, the majority of the meals were fried or you can order Chinese Noodle soup, but I was smart and ordered a plain salad with grilled chicken steak. It was nice and so was the lady behind the counter. I have now recalled that I have been to this centre several years ago in winter to swim at the inside pool. The water was cold and I never bothered to go back.

The centre offers a wide range of wellness and fitness services, so maybe if you live close, you can try it out. Recently, they have rebuilt the Aerobic Hall and it looked nice thought the glass door. When it comes to wellness, you can visit their webpages at: http://www.wellnessradlice.cz The web pages are in Czech only, but they have a photo gallery that shows you the facilities.

In general it can be OK but don’t expect much. The good thing is that it is right at Metro station Radlicka which is useful. Kids will have fun for sure, but I have been to better places such as Zlute Lazne or my favorite Petynka.

Entrance fee:

Indoor swimming pool:

Basic 90 min stay: 80 CZK adults, 60 CZK kids over 100 cm, free kids to 100 cm
Till 14:00 per 90 min: 70 CZK adults, 50 CZK kids over 100 cm, free kids to 100 cm

Outside swiming pool:

Price depends if you take locker in changing room or not. Without it - its cheaper. If you have pram they will not let you through changing room anyhow.

Without locker:

adult: 120,- Kč / 100,- Kč after 16:00
child over 100 cm: 60,- Kč / 50,- Kč after 16:00
family 2+1: 240,- Kč / 200,- Kč after 16:00
family 2+2: 260,-Kč/ 210,- Kč after 16:00

With locker:

adult: 160,- Kč / 140,- Kč after 16:00
child: over 100 cm 80,- Kč / 60,- Kč after 16:00
family 2+1: 320,- Kč / 280,- Kč after 16:00
family 2+2: 360,- Kč / 300,- Kč after 16:00