Bondi Icebergs Pool

Bondi Icebergs is the pool from a thousand Sydney photographs: a 50-metre lap pool built into the rock platform at the southern end of Bondi Beach, filled with sea water, with the surf crashing over the edge and the whole curve of the beach behind it. What surprises many visitors is that you can swim in it. Public entry is open seven days a week to anyone, not just club members, for a modest fee that includes use of the sauna, and it is one of the great Sydney experiences: swimming laps in cool, clear sea water with the Pacific right beside you. There is a smaller, more sheltered pool behind the main one, popular with children and less confident swimmers. The pool belongs to the Bondi Icebergs Club, founded in 1929 by local lifesavers who wanted to keep fit through the winter, and the club's famous winter swimming tradition is still going; its rules once required members to swim three Sundays out of every four for five years, and on cold winter mornings you will see members diving in as if the water were warm. The club building above the pool has a bistro, a bar with a terrace and the separate Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, a well-known restaurant with a view straight down the beach. The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk starts beside the pool, so a swim at Icebergs is the obvious way to start or finish that walk. Hours follow the seasons, and the pool usually closes on Thursdays for cleaning, though in summer it often stays open when tides allow.

Why it matters: ocean pools are one of the great gifts of the New South Wales coast, built so people could swim in safety beside dangerous surf, and Icebergs is the most famous of them. It is a place where Sydney's beach culture is on full display: early morning lap swimmers, winter swimmers, sunbathers on the concrete terraces, and visitors taking photos from the walkway above. Women were admitted as members in 1995, and the club was redeveloped and reopened in its current form in 2002.

How to do it well: go early in the morning, when the light is soft, the lanes are quieter and the sea is often calmer. On big swell days, waves wash over the pool wall, which looks spectacular but makes swimming rougher; be confident in the water or use the smaller pool. Bring your own towel, as the sauna sessions are shared and time-capped, and pack goggles; the water is clear and you may spot small fish. Check the official site or call ahead for Thursday opening, and expect the pool to close for races and cleaning at times. After your swim, take a coffee or a drink on the terrace, or walk the coastal path south towards Tamarama and Bronte.

Practicals and fit: the pool is at 1 Notts Avenue, Bondi Beach, at the south end of the beach. Buses run from the city and from Bondi Junction station. The fee is modest and includes the sauna; multi-visit passes are available for longer stays. It suits strong and casual swimmers, couples starting the day with a swim and breakfast, and photographers. Families should use the smaller pool for children and keep a close eye on them on rough days.