Water Museum

The Mãe d’Água (Mother of Water) das Amoreiras reservoir was built to collect, store and distribute water brought into Lisbon by the Águas Livres Aqueduct. The reservoir dates back to the 18th Century and was designed by the Hungarian architect Carlos Mardel. Inside the building is a huge water cistern seven and a half metres deep with a capacity of 5500m3. The tank controlled the flow of water before flowing onto the city's fountains, factories, convents and palaces.

The whole cavernous space has a tranquil feel and the air is refreshingly cool. It's possible to enter the aqueduct for a short distance. Visitors can also climb to the top of the building, where there is a roof terrace offering panoramic vistas over Lisbon. The reservoir was classified as a national monument since 1910. Mãe d’Água is located next to the Amoreira gardens, another relaxing space, where the Aqueduct terminates.

Tuesday – Sunday: 10h00 - 12h30/13h30 – 17h30, Monday: CLOSED
Adult: €5.00, Concessionary: €2,50, Child under 12: FREE

Loreto Gallery

From the reservoir, the water flows onwards and is distributed through a network of channels consisting of five galleries, most are subterranean and run for almost twelve kilometres. One of these, the Loreto Gallery, can be visited along the stretch between the Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras and the garden of the São Pedro de Alcântara.
Booking: +351 218 842 429 | mda.epal@adp.pt |  Website

Getting to the Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras reservoir

706, 709, 711, 727, 738, 758
24E
Rato (Yellow line)

10 Praça das Amoreiras, 1250-020 Lisbon, Portugal.
38° 43' 16.1" N | 09° 09' 20.7" W

The Barbadinhos steam pumping station was in operation from 1880 to 1928 and was the essential element behind the expansion of Lisbon’s domestic water supply. The museum houses original steam pumps and Victorian steel machinery, considered fine examples of Lisbon’s industrial heritage. It is at Barbadinhos where the Water Museum’s permanent exhibition is located. The exhibits highlight the role water played during the Lisbon’s history, science, technology and sustainability. Classified, since 2010, as a Public Interest Set.

Tuesday – Sunday: 10h00 - 12h30/13h30 – 17h30, Monday: CLOSED
Adult: €5.00, Concessionary: €2,50, Child under 12: FREE
Lisbon Card: -50%

Getting to the Barbadinhos Steam Pumping Station

735, 794,706, 712, 782
Santa Apolónia
Santa Apolónia (Blue line)

12 Rua do Alviela, 1170-012 Lisbon, Portugal.
38° 43' 09.9" N | 09° 07' 10.3" W

The Patriarcal Reservoir lies underground in the Jardim do Príncipe Real park. Also known as the Praça de D. Pedro V Reservoir, it was built between 1860 and 1864 to extend the water supply to the downtown area of Lisbon. It was designed by French engineer Louis-Charles Mary. The reservoir has a capacity of roughly 900,000 litres and was constructed to regulate water pressure and flow rate. The reservoir has an octagonal shape and the vaulted roof is held up by thirty-one pillars over nine metres tall. Above the roof sits a late with a waterspout for airing the water before entering the cistern below. The lake is protected by polygon-shaped iron fencing and is a central feature in the gardens.

Three subterranean galleries begin from the reservoir. The eastern route joins up with the Loreto gallery. A second sent water onto Rua da Alegria and the third heads west towards Rua de São Marçal. The Patriarcal Reservoir was decommissioned in the late 1940s. It has been part of the Water Museum since 1994 and the museum promotes and conducts free and guided tours. It's possible to walk through the tunnels to Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara albeit having to stoop over much of the way.

Tuesday – Sunday: 10h00 - 12h30/13h30 – 17h30, Monday: CLOSED
Adult: €3.00, Concessionary: €1,50, Child under 12: FREE

Getting to the Patriarcal Reservoir

758, 773
Rato (Yellow line)

Praça do Príncipe Real, 1250-184 Lisbon, Portugal.
38° 42' 59.9" N | 09° 08' 54.7" W

The expansion of Lisbon in the early 18th century precipitated the need to improve the water supply to the city. The aqueduct was commissioned by the then ruling monarch King João V. Construction began in 1732. The first completed section came into service in 1748. For the main part, it followed the route of a former Roman aqueduct. Águas Livres means 'Free Waters', yet the cost of construction came from taxes levied on food products. The challenge of the architect Manuel da Maia was to design a structure that will carry water 19km (12 miles) from its source at Mãe de Ãgua Velha in Belas to the Mãe de Água das Amoreiras reservoir in Lisbon. Several secondary sections were later added. Expanding to around 60 separate sources from the hills that surround the city. Extending the network of channels to 58km (36 miles). It was the largest construction project of its day and is considered the most complex hydraulic engineering water supply system of the 18th century.

The aqueduct is made up of 109 stone arches, the most impressive span the Alcântara Valley (best seen from the Campolide train station), the tallest of which rises to a spectacular 65m (213ft) from the ground with a span of 29m (95ft), the tallest stone arch in the world. These arches were designed by Carlos Mardel, whose impressive construction survive the 1755 earthquake that did so much damage to other parts of Lisbon.
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