Museu de les Aigües celebrates one million visitors with open days and a previously unseen exhibition for World Water Day

The Museu de les Aigües de Veolia has surpassed one million visitors and is celebrating with special activities for World Water Day. Unprecedented exhibitions and debates on the future of water set the agenda. The museum is consolidating its position as a cultural benchmark in a key year for Barcelona.

This weekend, the Museu de les Aigües de Veolia is celebrating World Water Day with three days of open doors, from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 March, just after reaching one million visitors in more than 20 years of history. The programme includes an opening event inspired by the Naciones Unidas slogan «Where water flows, equality grows», experimental workshops and guided family visits that focus on the importance of water in the past, present and future, in a context of climate change.

This weekend, people living in and around Barcelona have an unmissable date: the Museu de les Aigües de Veolia is opening its doors with a special programme to celebrate one million visitors and World Water Day. The proposal combines historical memory, social reflection and environmental education, inviting visitors to discover how water management continues to set the pulse of the city.

The start of the activities brought together municipal representatives and Veolia experts alongside local associations, at a gathering where the future of water management was debated. Attendees included the regional minister for Transición Ecológica, Sílvia Paneque, and the mayors of Sant Boi de Llobregat, Rubí and Cornellà de Llobregat, as well as the deputy mayor for Derechos Sociales de L’Hospitalet. Representing the company were Daniel Tugues, Felipe Campos and Ignacio Escudero, reinforcing the institutional commitment to water as an essential resource.

One of the weekend's main attractions is the opening of the photographic exhibition 'Along the paths of water', an unprecedented collection by Francesc Català-Roca. The images transport visitors to a time before domestic supply networks, showing everyday life and the effort involved in using water, with particular attention to the role of women in these historical contexts. The tour covers both urban and rural settings throughout Spain.

The year 2026 places the museum at the heart of the cultural agenda, coinciding with Año Gaudí and the Congreso Mundial de la Arquitectura. Two of its heritage jewels, Cascada Gaudí and the Amargós y Samaranch building, take centre stage and reinforce the museum's value as an essential space for understanding the history and present of the city.

Located in Cornellà de Llobregat, the Museu de les Aigües is far more than an exhibition space: it has established itself as a meeting point for reflection on water and its impact on urban life. Its programme combines educational activities, temporary exhibitions and events that connect past and future. The restoration of Cascada Gaudí and the enhancement of its industrial architecture have made it a benchmark for those seeking to understand Barcelona's relationship with its water resources.