Museu da Água

Praça das Amoreiras, 10
Lisboa


Opening hours:

Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed on Sundays and holidays

Free entrance on following days:

22nd March - World Day of the Water
18th May - International Day of the Museum
1st June - World Day of the Child
5th June - National Day of the Environment
1st October - National Day of the Water

Guided visits must be previously booked by phone or fax


The Water Museum (Museu da Água) was opened on October 1987. It presents the history of the water supply to the Lisbon and explains the work details of that system. In 1990 the Water Museum was aworded the Council of Europe's Museum Prize.

The Museum's exhibition contains four historical and monumental buildings:

The Águas Livres Aqueduct - the 18th century aqueduct, which is considered as the one of the most impressive works in the hydraulic engineering, and one of the rarest systems of water supply which preserved to current times in such a good condition. It is placed along the Alcântara Valley, and consists of 35 arches, from which the most spectacular ones reaches even 65 meters of height and are the 29 meters wide.

The Mae d'Água das Amoreiras - a water reservoir designed by the Hungarian architect Carlos Mardel in 1746. It has the capacity of 5 500 m3 and is 7 meters deep. It was used to distribute the water collected by the Águas Livres Aqueduct.

Patriarchal Reservoir - the former most important water reservoir used to distribute water to the downtown Lisbon, designed in 1856 by the French engineer and built between 1860 and 1864. It has a capacity of 880 m3.

The Barbadinhos Steam Pumping Station - this exhibition contains the photographs, documents, plans and other objects which perfectly presents the evolution of the water supply to the city of Lisbon from Roman times up to the present.