During the cold, dark and gloomy winter months in Europe, Amsterdam brings light and cheer to the hearts of locals and tourists with its annual Light Festival. Not that Amsterdam needs a light festival to get any prettier – but it certainly does brighten up those long winter nights.
What is it?
Light artists create LED light installation artworks which can be spotted all over Amsterdam city mostly along the Herengracht (Patricians’ Canal)! It runs from 5pm-11pm, so don’t expect to see the lights during the day!
The Light Festival runs from December to almost the end of January each year so there is plenty of time to check out the installations!
Guided walks run along the light trail called the Illuminade. And it wouldn’t be Amsterdam if it didn’t also run boat tours (called Water Colours) of the light trail along the canals, right? As the event has finished for this winter – check out the official Youtube video showing the illuminations!
Also, a shout out to Google, as this year google maps showed where each illumination’s location was on the map of Amsterdam. So whilst you could go and get an official map from the promoters, you could also find the lights just by using your Google Maps app on your smart phone! Very cool.
Let There Be Light
We recently spent a Friday evening riding the full grachten gordel (Canal Belt) and areas near the Amstel that had the ‘Water Colours’ light installations. As we live in Amsterdam, we don’t always take time to appreciate the city. Busy lives, hey. With an event like this in Amsterdam we got back to appreciating the beautiful architecture!
Worth the trip?
So you probably want to know if the light festival is worth travelling to Amsterdam for. Well, I’d say no. I wouldn’t venture to Amsterdam just for this. Though if you’ll be in Amsterdam for the winter months – it is certainly a must do for your Amsterdam itinerary!
Here are some photographs of the light installations to whet your appetite for next year – enjoy!
Have you been to the Light Festival? Tell me about what other city-wide installations you’ve seen! I’d love to hear!
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Australian expat, married to a Dutch guy, living in Amsterdam. Previously lived in London for 3 years, too! Lover of travel, coffee, brunch, beaches, fresh flowers, and family. Now a new mum, navigating life with a baby!
