Icelandic Swimming Culture Receives UNESCO Recognition

A celebration of warmth, water, and the everyday rituals that shape life in Reykjavík and beyond

For anyone arriving in Iceland for the first time, the sight can feel almost magical: an outdoor swimming pool glowing with steam in the middle of winter, snow settling softly on the edges while people soak, chat, and laugh in the warm blue water. For Icelanders, though, this is simply daily life, a ritual so familiar and beloved that UNESCO has now recognised it as part of the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

This inscription, Iceland’s first-ever independent nomination to the list, honours a tradition that is at once practical, communal, and deeply woven into the rhythm of Icelandic society.

It is often said that without geothermal water, nobody would choose to live on this windswept island. That warm energy heats homes, generates electricity, and (perhaps most joyfully) fills the nation’s year-round outdoor pools. Across the Reykjavík capital area alone, 18 geothermal swimming pools offer a daily refuge, from quiet neighbourhood basins to lively family favourites with waterslides and hot tubs.

But the story of Icelandic swimming culture began not with leisure, but with survival. In the early 20th century, too many fishermen and sailors were lost to the sea. In response, Iceland introduced public health laws in 1925 that made swimming lessons compulsory for all children - a legal requirement still upheld today. Pools were built for safety and education, not recreation, yet they quickly became something much more: places where people could meet, relax, and share warmth in every sense of the word.

The first pools were simple teaching facilities, but Icelanders transformed them into welcoming social spaces. Over the decades, waterslides, steam rooms, shallow play areas, and a generous constellation of hot tubs appeared. Modern pools prioritise accessibility and affordability, ensuring that everyone, children, elders, people with disabilities, early-morning lap swimmers, and evening soakers, can participate.

The result is a culture where “going for a swim” rarely means doing laps. Instead, it means soaking, chatting, cooling down, warming up, exchanging stories, and letting time stretch out a little. In the hot pots, neighbours catch up, strangers become acquaintances, and the weather forecast is discussed with near-religious dedication. Even on the coldest mornings, the pools are full of life.

UNESCO’s recognition affirms what Icelanders have long understood: swimming pools here are not merely facilities. They are democratic, year-round gathering places that reflect values of equality, well-being, and social connection. In the water, everyone arrives exactly as they are, meeting one another on level ground.

The inscription celebrates a tradition powered not only by geothermal energy, but also by the quiet, daily acts of community that unfold in the pools; children learning to swim, elders moving gently through warm water, and friends lingering long after sunset in conversation that drifts like steam into the air.
This places Iceland alongside other living cultural practices honoured by UNESCO, such as the French baguette, Finnish sauna culture, and Diwali. Yet Iceland’s entry feels uniquely its own: a recognition of warmth in a cold climate, of resilience shaped into ritual, of a simple activity that binds a nation together.

For visitors, the most important packing tip is surprisingly simple: bring a bathing suit. The approach to the pool may be brisk, but the reward is immediate. Thanks to a strict showering culture, the water is clean and lightly treated, inviting long, leisurely soaks.

Whether you’re gliding through lanes at sunrise, sinking into a hot tub after a day of exploring, or watching snowflakes melt on the surface of the water, you’ll be participating in one of Iceland’s most cherished traditions. The UNESCO listing celebrates this remarkable cultural heritage but the real understanding comes only when you slip into the water yourself.