Lyon par nuit. We’re in the deepest, darkest depths of midwinter but the streets are thronging with people: tourists, local families and office-leaving commuters all happily rubbing shoulders. They cradle hot chocolates and hug themselves against the cold but, most of all, they look up and marvel at the winter night. I’ve come to join them in France’s third-largest city to witness the Fête des Lumières, the annual festival of light that illuminates Lyon in an artistic glow each December. The self-guided trail of light art installations makes for a spirit-lifting nocturnal journey through the city alongside the annual Christmas market. It’s big business too, the four-night festival accompanied by a global symposium about the use of light in urban planning.
The festival celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019 and has inspired spin-off events in places as diverse as Quito, Bucharest and Shanghai. Indeed, the British cathedral city of Durham now hosts its own bi-annual Lumiere festival.
“Lyon is the mother of all light festivals,” said the event’s white-haired creative director Jean-François Zurawik. “For me,” he added, “the battle between light and darkness has always been fundamental to the human condition.”
Back in time
But how did Lyon, or Lugdunum as it was founded by the Romans in 43 AD, become the global centre for light art? The answer dates from the Middle Ages when the Lyonnais first placed lighted candles in their homes, praying to the Virgin Mary to save the city from the plague. They reprised the gesture in 1852 when, during a winter of severe storms, the statue of the Virgin Mary at Fourvière cathedral came under threat.
Bu hikaye France dergisinin December 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye France dergisinin December 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Paindemic In Paris
For American actor and writer Alexander Burnett, a shortage of bread at his local boulangerie was one of the biggest challenges of lockdown in his adopted home city
VEULES-LES-ROSES
Between the white cliffs of the Côte d’Albâtre and the bucolic landscapes of the Pays de Caux, discover a village that combines coast and country,
Taking the BISCUIT
France is known for its exquisite pâtisserie and extravagant gâteaux but the not-so-humble biscuit deserves recognition too
PICTURE PERFECT PISTE
After a decade away from the slopes Janet Brice finds her ski legs in val d'arly, a hidden gem in the shadow of Mount Blanc
Let there BE LIGHT
Lyon’s annual Fête des Lumières brightens up the darkest of December nights in spectacular fashion, finds David Atkinson on a winter visit to the Rhône capital
Shop ‘til YOU DROP
In the first of our new Insight guides, Helen Parkinson delights in the French shopping experience
Floating YOUR BOAT
Spending a day on the River Seine in Paris, Heidi Fuller-love samples some of the city’s top entertainment that can be enjoyed afloat
Creamy Dijon Chicken With Bacon And Spinach
Enjoy this hearty dish from Bisous & Brioche, a cookbook shot on location in Burgundy
A Moveable Feast
Philip Sweeney embarks on a voyage gourmand along the Vallée de la Gastronomie travelling from Dijon to Marseille
BOND RETOUR 7
To celebrate the return of everyone’s favourite globe-trotting British intelligence officer in No Time to Die, Helen Parkinson rounds up five of James Bond’s top cross-Channel escapades