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Comment by tomw1808 | Hacker News Reader

Vienna is very swimmable. Not right now, because its cold and rainy, but on a hot summer day thousands of people gather and swim in the Danube every single day. It's amazing, the water is relatively clean, small fishes inside, its a joy for children and adults alike.

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Vienna swimming is amazing. I was just swimming in Vienna Alte Donau a few days ago, before it started raining.

Because the Donau and Donau-insel are so long, you have many different ways to swim:

- swimming docks (alte donau) https://www.instagram.com/p/C_qMA8loXMv

- artificial beaches (CopaBeach)

- natural swimming (Neu Donau / Donau Insel) https://photos.app.goo.gl/d5iGqKP8uAjyYY81A

- Strandbad Angelibad for a roped off swim area with food and playgrounds

- Alte Hafenschenke where you swim on a tributary to the Donau

- swimming in a pool on a hill with a view of the city (Krapfenwaldlbad)

- swimming in a pool floating on the canal https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAb0gXufXx

- public pools cost only a few euros and have restaurants, slides, grass for picnics, sunbathing rooms (big rooms with no roof) https://www.heldenderfreizeit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07...

You've also got Sausalito-style restaurants on the water all along the river:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_P5_NAodqb

I usually went with the kids to Angelibad before, I really like the vibe and they love the ice cream, playground and kids pool. Now they're getting older, so we're either directly go somewhere to the Donau or hang out in one of the other baths like Strandbad Alte Donau or further down.

I normally don't like sweetwater for swimming and stayed away from the Danube for years. I was expecting the muddy smell and all, but this one's really great - I should've tried it earlier.

Would be nice to get the canal swimmable too.

And enough water in the Wien to even contemplate it :D

You can swim there if you want! there's a picture with ppl swimming in Viennas canal (Donaukanal) on the website and there's a whole association around it which claims 300+ members: https://schwimmvereindonaukanal.org/.

That being said, Donauinsel is still quite close to the center and I personally prefer the relative quietness and greenery around there to swimming in the canal.

It's not so safe.. boats and currents. I prefer swimming in the pool that's floating on the canal:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAb0gXufXx

I suppose it's less safe then a pool, but I don't think there's more current compared to the Danube and there are boats there as well.

Yea, Alte and Neu Donau are safe but Donau and Kanal... I see people do it with a balloon strapped to their waist for visibility to boats, but I wouldn't do it.

Those pontoon ferry boats travel over 30 km/h on the Kanal.

Hah! I never knew that and so far only ever seen drunk people in there.

Ok I didn’t mean that much water!

https://bsky.app/profile/jamestheswift.bsky.social/post/3l47...

Schwimm Verein Donaukanal (Swim Club Danube Canal) is one of the signatories of the Swimmable Cities movement.

According to their FAQ it is very much possible to swim in the canal under certains conditions that they mention as well.

https://schwimmvereindonaukanal.org/FAQ-en-1

Yeah, but I see plenty of potential for improvement to make it more accessible. Start with the information, even many Viennese I've met don't know swimming in the canal is allowed. Putting up some signposts at places suitable for swimming would be great.

I would bet most have no idea.

Also bit further down in Bratislava (even with decreased quality from Morava tributary).

Especially gravel beaches near Hainburg (which is technically not Bratislava) or on the other side between Devin and Karlova ves.

I was in Novi Sad for work a few years ago, they've got a walkable boulevard, artificial beaches and beach clubs set up along the Danube, it looked really nice.

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