Lists can be very tricky! Especially catchy ones like the one I just used.
So let me be clear; these are the best swimming sites in Europe based on water quality as per the annual bathing water quality report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission, which compares the quality of bathing water sampled at more than 21 000 coastal and inland bathing sites across the EU, Switzerland and Albania.
These countries all have a high proportion of sites with excellent bathing water quality. Across Europe, just under 2% of bathing sites failed to meet the Bathing Water Directive’s minimum standards for water quality and were rated ‘poor’.
This year’s Top 5 Swimming Sites in Europe are…
- Cyprus
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Greece
- Croatia
Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said:
“At some point we are all tourists, passing some time on the beach. It is obvious that clean and safe bathing waters are important for us to stay healthy and the good news is that bathing waters continue to improve. So next time you take a dip, remember that the EU played a part in keeping your bathing water safe and clean!”
Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director, said:
“I am glad to see that the quality of Europe’s bathing waters is consistently very high and continues to improve. It shows that policies work and contribute to our quality of life when they are ambitious, well-defined and well-implemented.”