When it comes to iconic Sydney landmarks the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are well known but the city’s pool culture is less well-known. Sydney has more ocean pools than any other city in the world, and locals love to visit them.

“It’s something that’s really special to Sydney,” says Krisztina Varga, a swim teacher who lives at Wolli Creek and teaches swimming at several of the city’s ocean pools. She has travelled around Australia and hasn’t seen a similar collection of public seawater pools in other cities. “There’s just something really magical about swimming at a beach pool,” she says.

While some of the city’s beach pools have been closed for maintenance, others are open to swimmers this summer and are the perfect way to take advantage of Sydney’s weather and stunning coastline. The Andrew (Boy) Charlton pool in Woolloomooloo Bay is a popular spot for tourists and locals to enjoy swimming with a view and the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre in Green Square is ideal for swimming, water aerobics and even yoga classes.

There’s also the Prince Alfred Park pool, a slice of summer perched in the middle of inner-Sydney and often teeming with buttercup yellow sun umbrellas. You can’t go wrong with a visit here – just be sure to bring a towel.

Another city favourite is Bondi Icebergs, which offers spectacular views and an icy cold dip. It’s also a great place to watch the world’s best surfers. And for those who don’t want to brave the cold, the pools are covered and heated for the cooler months.

It’s not uncommon for large-scale local infrastructure projects to run into trouble with cost blowouts, logistical difficulties and delays. But one Sydney project, a redevelopment of North Sydney Olympic Pool, has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Tink Baker, a councillor on North Sydney’s council, has called the redevelopment of the pool a “bloated vanity project” that was pushed through by a mayoral minute that she describes as political and a load of “absolute bollocks”.

She says the original $10m grant from the federal government that was meant for regional women’s sports went to this inner-city project instead. She believes the money could have built ten women’s swimming facilities in regional Australia, and the gall that the city used it for porkbarrelling is staggering.