The Festival of Lights in Lyon Turns the City into a Magical Twinkling Canvas (Get the Full Guide for 2025)

Paris may hold the title of City of Light, but in December, the Festival of Lights in Lyon sees that title whipped away. For a few days each year, Lyon becomes a light spectacular as it puts on a show unlike anything you’ve ever seen. We’re not just talking about one color-washed building; we’re talking about several districts across the city.

But why? Well, like everything in France, there is a story attached to it. This story is set during a tumultuous period in Lyon and showcases the resilience of the townfolk despite recurring floods.

Skip forward a couple of centuries, and you have an event that lights up the city and has become famous worldwide.

When is the Festival of Lights in Lyon in 2025?

Fête des Lumières celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th. I’ll explain more in a minute. The Light Festival runs for four days..

For 2025, the dates are Friday, 5 December, to Monday, 8 December.

It’s a great way to start your Christmas celebrations, and although there aren’t any of the main Christmas markets close by, Pérouges in Bugey has a pretty good one that’s worth a look at.

It’s also a fabulous place to go if you love food because it’s the gastronomic capital of France. The “bouchon,” a type of traditional restaurant found in Lyon, is exactly what you imagine: wooden tables with red checkered tablecloths and hearty dishes such as “quenelles” (cream fish dumplings), “andouillette” (a type of sausage), and “coq au vin” (chicken cooked in wine).

The city is also featured in one of my favorite movies, Paris Can Wait, set in France.

The History of Lyon’s Festival of Lights

As I mentioned, there is a story behind this festival, one that dates back to 1643. It was a time when the plague was rife, and cities and towns in France were being struck down and, in some cases, wiped out.

So, the people of Lyon prayed to the Virgin Mary to save them. By some miracle, the city survived. 

After this, each year, a local ceremony was held at Fourvière church to give thanks to the Virgin for saving them. The date chosen was September 8th, which coincided with the Nativity of the Virgin.

Just over two hundred years later, in 1852, the Lyonnais (the people of Lyon) decided to erect a bronze statue in the Virgin’s honor on Fourvière Basilica. They chose September 8th as the inauguration date.

But it seemed the fates weren’t with the Lyonnais because the River Saône flooded the city. Unfortunately, it also flooded the workshop of the local caster, Joseph-Hugues Fabisch, the man responsible for creating the statue, so the event was postponed to December 8th, the day of the Virgin Mary.

Once again, the weather intervened, and storms broke out. The planned fireworks were canceled, and Cardinal Bonald, taking one look at the skies, decided it was wise to cancel all the events scheduled to take place.

However, that wasn’t the end of the matter. The city of Lyon had the last word. Determined to see the event go ahead in one way or another, the Lyonnais lit candles and placed them in their windows.

Local historian Louis Jacquemin wrote, “Suddenly, outside a collection of unknown windows, lines of fire appeared… The city was ablaze in an instant”.

In the 1960s, competitions for the best-decorated shop windows, particularly among food stores, began signaling the start of the Christmas season and celebrating the religious festivities of December 8th. 

The Modern Day Fête des Lumières

In 1989, Lyon initiated its first Light Plan, illuminating 300 sites and monuments across the city. By 2002, Lyon had founded LUCI, the Lighting Urban Community International, which connected 65 cities worldwide to promote urban, economic, and social development through lighting.

Following the Paris attacks on November 13th, the Lyon authorities canceled the 2015 Festival of Lights due to security concerns. Only the facades along the Saône River were illuminated in memory of the victims, with their names projected onto the walls.

Lyon residents were encouraged to light extra candles and place them in their windows on December 8th, resulting in over 200,000 candles being sold and distributed in schools as a gesture of solidarity.

Where To See the Lights

Each year, a new theme is revealed, transforming the city into a dazzling canvas of light and color. Unlike other city-led events, this festival thrives on the creativity and innovation of artists worldwide. The artists propose themes that resonate deeply with cultural, social, or environmental sentiments. 

The city’s role is to facilitate this artistic expression, providing a backdrop for an event shaped and reimagined each year by contributors’ diverse ideas and artistic interpretations.

The city produces a map of the festival so you know where to find the various installations, since there are many of them. If you don’t know the city, it’s easy to get lost and miss things, so you’ll definitely need the map once it’s out. The official festival website has all the details.

Below are some of the main spots around the city where you can see the lights.

Place des Terreux 

Place des Terreaux kicks off Lyon’s Festival of Lights, drawing around a million visitors during the four-day event. The grandeur of City Hall, the Fine Arts Museum, and the iconic Bartholdi Fountain provide a historical canvas for light artists to unleash their creativity in dazzling displays.

City Hall, established in 1646, showcases an equestrian statue from 1827 on its façade. The Palais Saint-Pierre, dating back to the 17th century, has been the home of the Fine Arts Museum since 1801. 

The square’s Bartholdi Fountain, created in 1892 by the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, was initially intended for Bordeaux. It symbolizes the tributaries of the Garonne River flowing into the sea. It was eventually installed in Lyon and became a historic monument in 1995.

Place & Théâtre des Celestins 

The Théâtre des Célestins was built on the site of the old Célestins convent at the end of the 18th century and first opened its doors in 1792. After a devastating fire in 1871, Gaspard André redesigned the theatre. It was again engulfed in flames in 1880-1881, prompting another reconstruction in the Italian style, which it retains today.

Place des Jacobins

Place des Jacobins is in the center of Lyon’s Presqu’île, surrounded by busy shopping streets. The square is named after the Jacobin monks of the Order of Saint Dominic, who once occupied a building just south of it. In 2013, the area underwent significant renovations, including the creation of a pedestrian zone around its stunning fountain.

Place Bellecour

Place Bellecour, spanning 62,000 square meters, is the largest pedestrian square in Europe. Dominated by a striking statue of Louis XIV mounted on horseback, it also features a newer statue honoring Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and his famous character, the Little Prince. 

Grand hôtel-Dieu

The Hôtel-Dieu stands along the Rhône. Initially constructed in the 12th century, it served as Lyon’s primary hospital until 2010, when it underwent a comprehensive seven-year restoration to restore it to its historic splendor.

Today, the Hôtel-Dieu’s central courtyard draws approximately 100,000 visitors annually during the four-day Festival of Lights. Since 2005, the site has been a creative space for artistic endeavors led by Alain Bénini, a hospital architect from Lyon. 

In 2012, the courtyard featured an installation titled “Correspondances” that focused on the theme of written words, and in 2013, it hosted “Caresse Climatique,” a display representing all four seasons.

Saint Jean Cathedral 

Saint-Jean Cathedral is in Lyon’s medieval and Renaissance old town. It was constructed between 1180 and 1480 and showcases a blend of Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. It was designated a historic monument in 1862. 

Due to space constraints, the area around these churches was densely built with tall, narrow buildings connected by Lyon’s iconic traboules.

During the Renaissance, particularly in the 15th and 16th centuries, Lyon thrived as King Charles VII granted the city the right to host four major annual trade fairs, attracting foreign bankers and merchants, including many from Italy. 

These newcomers contributed to the cityscape with elaborate private residences, such as the hôtel de Gadagne, which impacted Lyon’s architecture and lifestyle. Saint-Jean Cathedral, with its Renaissance details, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

Top Tips on Planning Your Trip

My biggest piece of advice is to plan ahead. You can’t just rock up on a whim, as you won’t get accommodation. I booked a year in advance and still paid a pretty hefty price for my accommodation.

Many residents leave the city and rent out their homes for the event, as they don’t want to deal with the tourists when it is so busy.

If you can, I’d suggest staying near the Part-Deux Train station, as cars are banned from the city during the event. That way, you won’t need to worry about struggling too far with your luggage.

Lyon has a great metro system with four lines (A, B, C, D) that extend across the city, connecting various districts and key locations like Vieux Lyon and Part-Dieu.

Getting to Lyon

By Plane: Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport is the city’s international gateway, about 30 km from downtown Lyon. It offers direct flights to numerous destinations across Europe, Africa, Canada, and Asia. Once you arrive, the RhônExpress tram connects the airport to the city center.

By Train: Lyon has three main train stations: Lyon Part-Dieu, Lyon Perrache, and Lyon Saint-Exupéry TGV station. Direct high-speed TGV InOUI trains can whisk you from Paris to Lyon in about two hours.

By Car: The journey from Paris takes about 4.5 hours via the A6 motorway. Having a car is perfect if you want to visit the countryside or other regions outside the city during your stay.