December 8: The Festival of Lights in Lyon, France

Winters in the city Lyon are generally really cold, but every year during 4 days around December 8th, you will  find millions of French and foreign visitors outdoors in the evenings to enjoy the joyful and unique event of the «Fête des Lumières». You could be standing by the riverside on the Presqu'Île opposite the Vieux Lyon to look up at the illuminations of the basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière, or be on the square Place des Terreaux to see the light shows on the facades of  the beautiful buildings and on the Bartholdi fountain. Several streets of Lyon are for pedestrians only, here you can also enjoy several street performances and food vendors. And then take a look at the windows of private homes, people will have put small lanterns («lumignons») on their window sills, which creates quite a spectacular effect when you wander the streets.

Originally Lyon had prepared a huge celebration in 1852 on September 8th (the Nativity of the Virgin Mary)  for the inauguration of a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary on the Fourvière hill. A flood of the Saône river destroying the sculptor's workshop delayed the inauguration to December 8 (which coincides with the date of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, but this date was  first adopted by the Pope as a Church dogma in 1854).  Fireworks and illuminations of the buildings were planned... but only to be threatened by heavy rains, so the locals came up with the idea of  putting candles in their windows, an improvised way of celebrating that was continued year after year. 

In 1989 the municipality of Lyon decided to create a bigger, public event with illuminating the facades of the city, the «Fête des Lumières» was born, and 10 years later the festivities were prolonged to 4 days. Internationally famous artists create over 70 creations with light, lasers, projection mapping and more, the city becomes a huge site for expression and creativity.

The festival of Lights of Lyon has inspired over 70 other cities and towns worldwide to be part of the non-profit organisation LUCI, the Lighting Urban Community International Association», using light as «a tool for social, cultural and economic development». 

In 2020 the Covid sadly cancelled the festival in Lyon, but hopefully you can go sometime in the future. Just an advice: book your hotel well in advance! In 2019 there were 2 million visitors..  And be sure to enjoy a meal in one or several of Lyons's 1600 restaurants.

Watch: Festival of Lights in Lyon