Strong swimmers: gyms with pools in Manchester

Manchester Aquatics Centre is open once again, following an 18-month closure for an extensive refurbishment and upgrade. The new centre is smarter, more accessible, and crucially, more environmentally-friendly.

This health club is almost as much a key feature of Quay Street as the Opera House next door. It’s been here since the 1990s and it’s still one of the most popular gym options in this part of town.

Just the tip of this huge, iceberg-like gym is visible from street level. Head down the stairs and you’ll find it’s a much bigger beast than you might have imagined, with an 18m pool, an expansive gym floor, a sauna, a steam room, and two good-sized fitness studios.

This gym on top of The Printworks is probably best known for its pool with views over Corporation Street. There’s much more to it though than a photogenic swimming spot. Especially since it became part of the Nuffield Health Group, which also runs hospitals and medical centres, including one here at Nuffield Health Manchester Printworks.

The Pace Health Club & Nu Spa sits inside the Park Inn by Radisson hotel, on the edge of the city centre, close to Manchester Arena and Victoria Station.

If you’re looking for high-end luxury from your spa day or gym membership, The Spa & Gym at The Edwardian Manchester might be for you. Spread over an entire floor of this stylish Radisson hotel, it’s one of Manchester’s best-looking spa destinations, thanks to its soothing combination of natural oak, glass and marble, and its gorgeous aquamarine swimming pool.

If you like your gym to be the kind of place where you can spend an entire day, hopping from class to treadmill to pool to sauna to cafe, Waterside Leisure Club will fit the bill.

If you want a gym with a pool in the city centre, The Y Club is one of just a handful of options. And if you want it to also have a sports hall, indoor running track, and a whole range of associated sports clubs, it’s your only one.