Water quality at Europe’s favourite swimming destinations

15 popular islands, coasts and lakes, with all 2,299 of their official EEA bathing waters summarised by 2025 class, area, long-term record and recent change. Pick a destination to see every site, the Poor ratings and where to check today’s notices.

MallorcaSpain · 113 sites · 68.1% Excellent MenorcaSpain · 30 sites · 80% Excellent Ibiza & FormenteraSpain · 48 sites · 66.7% Excellent Costa BravaSpain · 86 sites · 94.2% Excellent Algarve coastPortugal · 106 sites · 93.4% Excellent French Riviera (Alpes-Maritimes)France · 151 sites · 63.6% Excellent CorsicaFrance · 223 sites · 75.8% Excellent SardiniaItaly · 664 sites · 96.8% Excellent Lake GardaItaly · 128 sites · 99.2% Excellent Istria (Croatia)Croatia · 217 sites · 95.9% Excellent CreteGreece · 177 sites · 98.9% Excellent RhodesGreece · 52 sites · 75% Excellent CorfuGreece · 66 sites · 100% Excellent HalkidikiGreece · 90 sites · 98.9% Excellent Lake BalatonHungary · 148 sites · 85.1% Excellent

Destination comparison table

Destination	Country	Type	Sites	Excellent	Poor	Excellent 2015–2025
Algarve coast	Portugal	Coast	106	93.4%	0	95
Corfu	Greece	Island	66	100%	0	44
Corsica	France	Island	223	75.8%	20	132
Costa Brava	Spain	Coast	86	94.2%	1	76
Crete	Greece	Island	177	98.9%	0	154
French Riviera (Alpes-Maritimes)	France	Coast	151	63.6%	3	41
Halkidiki	Greece	Coast	90	98.9%	0	85
Ibiza & Formentera	Spain	Island	48	66.7%	0	24
Istria (Croatia)	Croatia	Coast	217	95.9%	0	197
Lake Balaton	Hungary	Lake	148	85.1%	0	83
Lake Garda	Italy	Lake	128	99.2%	0	126
Mallorca	Spain	Island	113	68.1%	3	56
Menorca	Spain	Island	30	80%	0	17
Rhodes	Greece	Island	52	75%	0	37
Sardinia	Italy	Island	664	96.8%	1	608

“Excellent 2015–2025” counts sites with an unbroken Excellent class in all eleven seasons of the record.

How the destinations are defined

A destination page includes the official bathing waters reported by one country whose coordinates fall inside a boundary drawn around that island, coast or lake. Boundaries deliberately leave out neighbouring waters that a simple rectangle would catch — for example Lake Ledro and Lake Idro next to Lake Garda, or the Greek mainland opposite Corfu — and coast pages only count sea and lagoon sites. A destination is published only when it holds at least 12 official records.

Inside each destination, sites are grouped under the nearest of several reference towns by straight-line distance. That makes it easy to see, for example, whether one part of an island has more Good or Sufficient sites than another, without implying anything about municipal borders or travel time.

What the numbers can and cannot tell you

The annual EEA class summarises microbiological sampling over several seasons. It is a good guide to how a site usually performs, but it does not show today’s temporary bans, storm-water pollution, algae or jellyfish. Every destination page links to the national authority that publishes those notices. For background on the thresholds behind each class, read how bathing water is classified, and check the bathing season dates before planning an early or late-season trip.