Where to swim: the EU countries with the best bathing waters
At home or abroad, Europeans can safely enjoy a swim this summer as 96% of bathing sites tested meet the EU's minimum quality requirements.
Most of us enjoy taking a dip on a hot summer’s day, but how can we be sure that it is really safe to go into the water?
EU countries are obliged to monitor water quality at both coastal and inland swimming spots and report back to the European Environment Agency. The Agency then produces a detailed annual report based on the previous year’s data, classifying the various bathing locations as excellent, good, sufficient or poor.
European Environment Agency 2025 report on bathing water quality
This year’s European Environment Agency report, based on 2025 findings, confirms that the quality of the EU’s bathing water has improved markedly in recent decades.
In 2025, over 85% of bathing waters at over 22,000 locations across the EU, Albania and Switzerland, were judged to be excellent, while 96% met at least the minimum standards. This means that most bathing waters were free from bacterial contamination harmful to human health.
Some 1.5% of the EU’s bathing waters were of poor quality however, and the report indicates that water management measures for those sites were not always adequate or not being effectively implemented.
Why the bathing water quality rules matter
Bathing water quality matters because people can fall ill with stomach upsets, ear, eye and chest infections, and sometimes other more serious infectious diseases, from swimming in water contaminated by bacteria.
The first European law on bathing water quality was passed 50 years ago in 1976, and local and national authorities have been monitoring bathing water quality under the current Bathing Water Directive for 20 years.
Water samples are taken before and during the bathing season, testing for E. coli and intestinal enterococci, bacteria that are indicative of faecal contamination from sewage or manure. Bathing water quality is then classified as ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘sufficient’ or ‘poor’ based on bacterial levels detected.
This enables authorities to prohibit bathing in waters that are not safe for swimming.
EU countries’ bathing water quality ratings
The EU countries with the highest number of bathing sites with excellent water quality - 95% or more - were Cyprus (100%), Greece (97.1%), Bulgaria (96.9%) and Austria (96.5%).
The EU countries with the lowest number of bathing sites with excellent water quality - 70% or less - were Slovakia (70%), Belgium (67.9%), Hungary (64%), Poland (58.7%) and Estonia (56.9%).
