The festival of lights in Lyon

I am passionate about photography, otherwise this blog would not have been born. And for a person who likes to take pictures, the Lyon light festival is the perfect place to practice or improve on night photos.

Having heard a lot of positive things about this annual Lyon event, and especially knowing how successful it is, we thought it wise to book accommodation almost 4 months in advance. Luck was on our side as we were able to find a beautiful Air B&B in the center of Lyon. I can't advise you enough to anticipate and look for accommodation as close as possible.

The day before the Festival of Lights, after having grabbed our tripods and cameras, we went there.

Why the day before? For several reasons.

The first, which is not immediately obvious, is that it is interesting to be locked in the city. During the event, roadblocks are set up everywhere. The city becomes entirely pedestrian for a few hours. So we took advantage of this to put our car in one of the underground parking lots during our stay.

Second advantage to come the day before? To come before the party. This is not necessarily obvious either, but such a big event needs to be prepared. And who says "work with light" also says "night tests". And that's perfect, because during the evenings before the event, the technicians are busy perfecting their installations and settings. It is therefore the best time to get an idea of the rendering of the different works before the hour by observing them working.

The festival of lights is a free event proposed by the city. And when popularity and gratuity come together, it gives us a crowd. A lot of crowd. If you're ochlophobic, forget it. Even though the Festival of Lights is back in a large part of the city, you'll run into a lot of people.

In order not to be caught off guard on the big day, I strongly invite you to get as much information as possible by visiting the dedicated Fête des lumières website. You will find there the complete list of the works, their locations, the places put in light, as well as the different markings set up. Also keep in mind that the event doesn't last long (only a few hours if you come only for one evening).

So one word of order: anticipation. What, did I already say that?

It is quite a logistic to move so many people in such a short time, it is also necessary to know that some streets become one-way. By being there the day before, it allowed us to prioritize what we wanted to see on D-day, and it also allowed us to get to know the area before the crowd.

The D-day came, we wait this time for the green light to go on the spot. We take care to equip ourselves from head to toe. The festival of lights takes place in winter season, and at this time of the year... it is cold. Also, remember to equip yourself with walking shoes, they will be your best friends. You will be walking most of the evening without necessarily realizing it.

A last check on the batteries of the phones and the camera, and here we go!

Just as we had expected, the spectators are there in droves. And it is at this moment that we are enormously relieved to be back on familiar ground. Our scouting the day before and our anticipation beforehand allowed us to take advantage of all the animations we had selected without any problem. We even took the opportunity to eat at the Christmas Market. It was the ideal occasion to taste the Aligot with truffles and pancakes with chestnut flour. A treat!

In the end, when the lights went out, our stomachs were conquered as much as our eyes. We were able to fully enjoy our evening, and fill our heads and our memory cards with a lot of memories. As for me, I strongly hope that my feedback will help you enjoy the Lyon Festival of Lights in conditions as favorable as they were for us if you follow these few tips.