For 4 days every December, the Pageant of Lights in Lyon makes the town sparkle. The Fête des Lumières is the biggest lights pageant within the nation. The origins are a lot darker than the current day present says native Anna Richards.
Renaissance portraits belting out Britney Spears’ Child One Extra Time on the façade of 200-year-old buildings are simply one of many issues that entice crowds to Lyon’s Fête des Lumières. A five-day celebration of sunshine, some two million guests embark right here yearly to see the installations, which change every year.
Technically, I’ve been attending the Fête des Lumières for 12 years, when as a contemporary confronted 20-year-old I drank a lot mulled wine {that a} projection of Le Petit Prince (written by Lyonnais native Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) appeared to fly over the Hôtel de Ville in gradual movement. I’ve missed a good few within the intervening years, however 5 festivals later, I’ve picked up loads of tips about how finest to expertise the celebrations like an area.
A Mild within the Darkish
The Fête des Lumières right now is all about neon lighting, the scent of roasting chestnuts and cinematic projections, however the origins are rather more modest, and rather more macabre. Within the seventeenth century, the south of France was ravaged by plague epidemic after plague epidemic, and Lyon was no exception. In the course of the winter of 1628-29 a violent outbreak of plague had worn out virtually half the town, a struggling nonetheless uncooked when the plague got here knocking on Lyon’s door as soon as once more in 1643. Terrified that historical past would repeat itself, on September eighth 1643, Lyonnais residents climbed up Fourvière Hill by candlelight to hope to the Virgin Mary for salvation. Their prayers had been answered, and the plague by no means unfold.
The truth that the Fête des Lumières takes place round December eighth, and never in September, isn’t because of inaccurate file holding however to a flood. Over two centuries later, sculptor Joseph Hugues-Fabisch who had a workshop on the banks of the River Saône was commissioned to create a sculpture of the Virgin Mary to sit down atop of Fourvière Hill.
Shortly earlier than the sculpture was because of be unveiled on September eighth, the Saône burst its banks and flooded the workshop. With the time it took to restore the statue, its inauguration was pushed again to December eighth, when it was mounted on Fourvière by way of a procession, with locals all lighting candles of their home windows to mild the best way. Consequently, 1852 is usually thought-about the true ‘begin’ of the Fête des Lumières.
Pageant of Lights in Lyon
In its current type, the pageant dates from 1999, with the total pageant programme unveiled a month or two earlier than. Though the installations themselves change, lots of the websites keep the identical year-on-year, with projections on Lyon’s most well-known buildings, together with the Hôtel de Ville, Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Vieux Lyon, Fourvière Basilica, Place Bellecour and within the monumental city park, la Tête d’Or.
Typically, the pageant runs from Thursday to Sunday on the weekend encompassing or closest to December eighth, the anniversary of the disclosing of the Virgin Mary statue, however this yr, with the eighth falling on a Monday, it spans Friday December fifth to Monday December eighth. in the event you’re crowd-adverse, arrive a day earlier than, when the manufacturing groups take a look at all of the lights installations. You’ll get the total present (albeit maybe not as slick as in the course of the pageant), and it’ll solely be you and the locals.
All the lights reveals are fully free, however lodging in the course of the pageant could be extortionate. E-book early, and in the event you miss motels within the metropolis centre, keep someplace on the finish of the metro line. Saint-Genis-Laval or Vaulx-en-Velin la Soie, for instance, won’t be essentially the most taking place quartiers, however you’re solely a 20-minute straight metro journey out of the centre of city. Many locals additionally up and depart for the weekend, renting out their lodging on Airbnb. These are sometimes unlawful sublets, so whereas they are often cheaper, proceed with warning.
Equally, eating places near the motion (on the Presqu’île or in Vieux Lyon) danger bursting on the seams. E-book early and search for eating places in quartiers the place the pageant isn’t happening. The sixth, third and seventh arrondissements are throughout the River Rhône from the motion and have loads of world delicacies, the whole lot from Iranian and Indian to Ethiopian, in addition to French bistros with previous world allure, like Brasserie Roseaux.
My finest tip? Don’t rush it. If you happen to’re in Lyon for the total pageant, don’t attempt to see each set up in a single night, however select two or three in the identical a part of city earlier than heading for dinner. A really moderately priced tram and metro ticket, TCL en fête, means that you can take as many journeys as you need from 4pm onwards for simply €3.60, however naturally, public transport is crowded and turns into an elbow conflict. Bikes are banned in a lot of the town centre in the course of the pageant, as are vehicles, and even pedestrians are sometimes topic to one-way streets. By getting round on foot, you’ll possible uncover a few of the smaller lights shows alongside the best way. Wrap up heat, you’ll be spending a very long time outdoors and sub-zero temperatures are commonplace right here right now of yr.
Till the pageant will get underway, there’s no saying which the most effective shows will likely be. Final yr I significantly appreciated the snow globe across the statue of Louis XIV on Place Bellecour and the aquarium-style spectacle with floating neon sharks on Place Sathonay. For views, climbing as much as Fourvière Basilica to see the town lit up from above is a should. You’ll get to see the well-known gold-coated statue of the Virgin Mary which practically bought swept away by the floods, and provides a little bit thanks for Lyon’s salvation from the plague epidemic too.
Discover out extra at fetedeslimieres.lyon.fr/en; visiterlyon.com
©identify of the photographer /ONLYLYON Tourism & Conventions
Anna Richards is a author & guidebook creator residing in Lyon. Her work has appeared in Lonely Planet, Nationwide Geographic and lots of extra.
Need extra France?
Uncover extra fabulous locations in France with our free journal The Good Life France
Love France? Have a hearken to our podcast – the whole lot you need to learn about France and extra!
All rights reserved. This text will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten (together with translated) or redistributed with out written permission.
