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Festival of Lights
All the information about this unmissable event of Lyon!
Major events
Last updated date : 22/03/2025
When Lyon is dressed in lights, everybody comes down into the streets to take in the sights. The facades of the city’s most beautiful buildings spring to life under the lights of projectors and the people of Lyon take part by placing ‘lumignons’ (small lanterns) on their windowsills and balconies on the 8th of December. Lyon’s greatest celebration awaits you from 5 to 8 December 2024!
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Presentation of the Festival of Lights
4 evenings to shine!
From the tradional lumignons (small candles) which locals place on their balconies, to the various visual and interactive shows that are put on around the city, the Festival of Lights is an absolute must for anybody looking to discover Lyon.
Immerse yourself in this major celebration that is free and open to all!
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2024, an anniversary year!
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights), the 2024 event is focussing on the memories of those who have experienced it over the years. Six iconic works from previous editions that marked the collective imagination with their originality and visual appeal have been selected. Festival-goers will be able to (re)discover:
- I Love Lyon and the Louis XIV statue under a snow globe, a work by Jacques Rival presented in 2006 and 2007.
- Les Anooki, the loveable characters that explored the facades of Saint-Paul station, the Opera House and Place Bellecour, are returning at Tête d’Or park!
- Le retour du petit géant (Return of the Little Giant), a huge, colourful, swirling fresco that lit up the facades of the Museum of Fine Arts and the City Hall in 2008.
- Paseo d’hiver (Winter Promenade), a crystal sky and a gallery of arabesques offering an enchanting perspective of Rue de la République. Work by Faniuolo.
- Laniakea - horizon24: ten years after it was first shown on the same spot, Laniakea horizon24 is returning to Place Antonin-Poncet.
- Jacobins - act 4: this work allows the time to gaze, from a distance or close up, at the fountain on Place des Jacobins draped in a myriad of colours.
A look back at the 2024 Festival of Lights
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Classics and new arrivals at the festival
The 8th of December is the day of the Festival of Lights. If you want to experience the event the traditional way, follow the ‘montée aux flambeaux’, a procession beginning each year at around 6:30 pm, from the square in front of Lyon Cathedral up to the basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière on the eponymous hill.
In addition to the six works mentioned above, attractions not to be missed in 2024 include the always eagerly awaited illumination of the cathedral. This year, you can see Julian Hölscher’s Mother, which will use colours to transform the cathedral into a landscape where the elements of nature dance to the music.
The basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière will also come to life with Fourvière en voix, a light show filled with 3D animations and accompanied by a soundtrack including vocal music, opera and jazz.
Two cultural institutions will be joining the festival for the first time, the Auditorium-Orchestre national de Lyon and the Musée de l’Automobile. At the auditorium, the Lyon-based plastic artist Nawelle Aïnèche invites us into an immersive experience like no other. Outside is a huge installation in the form of a cumulus cloud woven from video tapes.
At the Henri Malartre Automobile Museum, discover Post-idols. Two unique totems will stand in its magnificent grounds: light sculptures that change as you approach them!
Finally, the festival will be involving children with special opening hours and activities provided. At Sergent-Blandan park, for example, kids can let loose at the Boum de lumières (Party of Lights) starting at 5:30 pm. Get ready to dance, create or play in a magical fairground atmosphere.
Get ready for four dazzling days beginning on Thursday 5 December.
The origins of Lyon’s Festival of Lights
The story behind Lyon’s Festival of Lights
The origins of the Fête des Lumières go back to the inauguration of the gilded statue of the Virgin Mary on Fourvière.
The inauguration was initially scheduled to take place on the 8th of September 1852, but was delayed until the 8th of December when the Saône broke its banks and flooded the workshop of the sculptor Joseph-Hugues Fabisch.
When the big day arrived, heavy rains threatened the planned illuminations, but as evening came the skies cleared and the locals spontaneously placed small lanterns (known as ‘lumignons’) on their window sills – the ‘Fête des Illuminations’ was born!
This tradition has lived on and every 8th of December, the people of Lyon light up their windows and take to the streets to admire their beautifully lit city.
In 1999, the 8th of December became the ‘Fête des Lumières’ that we know and love.
It now lasts for four days and attracts visitors from all over the world.
This tradition lives on and, every 8th of December, the people of Lyon put lights on their windowsills and go out into the streets to see their city transformed by lights.
In 1999, the 8th of December became the Festival of Lights as we know it, now lasting four days and attracting visitors from around the world.
Getting around during the Festival of Lights
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Public transit
24 park-and-ride facilities to get to the city centre; 4 metro lines.
Metro A or D stop Bellecour to be at the heart of the party.
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