Laugardalslaug

Laugardalslaug is the pool Reykjavík uses itself, not a spa built for visitors. Eight hot pots sit at different temperatures, so you work along them until you find the one you can stay in. There are cold tubs as well, a water slide, two play pools and a heated wading pool for small children. The 50-metre outdoor pool is heated all year, which makes swimming lengths outdoors on a cold, bright day an ordinary thing to do here. The water carries little or no chlorine. That is why the washing rules are enforced rather than suggested, and why an attendant is on duty in the changing rooms.

• Shower without a swimsuit before you swim. It is required, and an attendant checks. Screened stalls are there if you would rather not wash in the open.
• Phones are not allowed in the changing rooms or the pool area.
• The pools run with minimal or no chlorine. Scrubbing head to toe at the showers is what keeps the water that way.
• The exterior looks dated. Maintenance shows on the buildings outside; the water and the changing rooms are kept clean.

Most people arrive by car. Laugardalslaug has its own car park, with accessible spaces and a wheelchair-accessible entrance. From the car park you go in through reception, pay there and carry on to the changing rooms; the pools are straight out the other side. The complex sits in the Laugardalur park area, along with a botanical garden and a small zoo, so a swim fits easily into a longer afternoon out here.

Better: a cold, clear day. The outdoor pools and the hot pots are heated all year, and the colder the air, the better the contrast between the water and the walk between tubs.

Avoid: treating it as a quick stop between other plans. The hot pots, the cold tubs and the steam bath are the reason to come, and the shower and changing routine is part of every visit.