Dams, aquaducts and sewers.

if you are Looking at France there are lots of Roman sites dealing with water supply - aqueducts, dams etc. Turkey has some wonderful Roman cisterns right in Istanbul. Crete has some Roman baths and cisterns at Aptera, near Chania (an interesting city to visit for lots of reasons - how about dinner in a restaurant that used to be a Turkish bath?) Roman baths - water supplies, heating for water and baths , sewers, cisterns are scattered all over Italy. The UK also has some good example of Roman plumbing - Bath for example you can still see the lead pipes that supplied water to the baths from the hot Springs. There is a book Roman Aqueducts and Water Supplies by A. Trevor Hodge that covers the whole topic and is well illustrated. Let me know off line if you need more information -

Thanks Lesley, your reply was really helpful. I'll see if I can get a hold of the book.

Robyn , I understand that your plans are in the broad stroke phase ,but if you find yourselves in a position to be in Provence , a visit to the Pont du Gard near Avignon is well worthwhile . The extant section of the acqueduct is spectacular and the adjacent museum complex gives a very extensive overview of Roman engineering . It was quite an experience. As well the Roman baths in Bath , England were also fascinating . Please keep these in mind and happy travels !!

While somewhat different, but still related to the whole water theme, your friend might find the whole draining/flood control process of the Netherlands fascinating. You may know that much of the land there was once under water, below sea level, etc., but there is a constant canal draining process (the old style windmills original purpose, but now electrical pumps), and there is now a huge automated dam (think flood wall) that is a technology wonder....left open for boat/shipping access, but can be closed off in a threat. Google Netherlands flood control, and you can read way more than I could squeeze into this limited space. If your time in Europe is limited, perhaps, save the Netherlands for another time, since I noticed you are considering next fall. The Netherlands, while pretty anytime, are incredibly beautiful in the spring, when all the bulb fields are full of color. Another thought would be seeing Pompeii in Italy. How that ancient city dealt with plumbing issues (and many other issues) was definitely amazingly way before its time. Whenever we get back from vacation, our photos include various drains, sewer covers, etc. that my spouse found fascinating....LOL.

I know you didn't mention Spain as an area of travel, but when you talk about aquaducts, the first place that comes to mind is Segovia with their almost 2000 year old Roman aquaduct that was in use well into the 19th century

One thing Segovia, Spain, is known for is the giant Roman aqueduct. I recently read about the Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany and would like to see it one day. Google it for pictures - it looks pretty cool! Edited to add: looks like Jack was posting as I was typing about Segovia!

There is a sewer tour in Paris. Not my thing but others on this board found it very interesting.

Thanks for all the responses – they have given me a few ideas to think about. When I googled the Magdeburg Water Bridge I found a website called Amusing Planet with lots of weird and unique things on it. I thought the pictures of the bridge were really interesting and it would be something to look at seeing. Also of note was "The Sunken Bridge of Fort de Roovere" in The Netherlands. Thanks again.

I agree Pont du Gard is amazing well preserved aqeduct. When you get done visiting the aqueduct, you can rent a canoe or tube upriver and float underneath it