It’s a true tradition, this great city in France shines brightly during the holidays.
As Christmas approaches, certain cities in France are transformed into veritable light shows, creating magical atmospheres that lend themselves well to the magic of Christmas, like the Lyon Festival of Lights which takes place over a long weekend at the beginning of December, or Colmar, which lights up its canals and half-timbered houses during the holidays. But it is a medium-sized provincial town that is breaking all records with around twenty of its historic sites illuminated every evening, until January 5, 2025.
It is an absolutely grandiose and free event which highlights the heritage of this French city and whose success has continued over the years. Unique illuminations take place throughout a pedestrian route, enhancing 21 historic sites, allowing you to discover the city in “another light”, at night. Details of bridges and wash houses enhanced by light, colorful metamorphoses of squares, museums, media library, church and iconic cathedral listed as a UNESCO heritage site… Every corner of this city shines with a thousand lights!
All these architectural jewels highlighted are located just an hour from Paris, on the occasion of the exceptional and free device called “Chartres en Lumière”, an event which begins in the spring and ends at the beginning of the following year in this city of Centre-Val de Loire placed in the spotlight for 9 months, making it the largest heritage highlighting operation in the world. As the holidays approach, Christmas-themed scenographies are installed occasionally, like the royal portal of Notre-Dame Cathedral dressed in a succession of colorful scenographies telling the story of the arrival of Christmas.
These illuminations allow you to rediscover the cathedral also through two scenographies, “Chartres, from yesterday to tomorrow”, which traces the history of the Chartres territory from the fields of Beauce to current innovations and “Nef de Lumière”, which offers an interpretation of the rise of Christianity and the sciences and arts which contributed to the construction of cathedrals.
Other major buildings, such as the media library, the Chartres theater, the Saint-Pierre and Saint-Aignan churches, the Montescot hotel, the Saint-André collegiate church, the Museum of Fine Arts or even the bridges and wash houses on the banks of the Eure, are revealed to the visitor as they wander through the medieval streets of the heart of the town. Chartres en Lumières also has the advantage of being easy to access by train or motorway, located one hour from Paris, for a rejuvenating and soothing weekend, easy to organize.