Chartres en Lumières: 13th Festival of Light in Chartres

Event Description

Chartres en Lumières 2016 is a wonderful opportunity to see the beautiful sights and monuments of Chartres lit up, bringing the streets of Chartres to life at night. Located just one hour from Paris, Chartres is part of the LUCI, an organisation which promotes urban light shows and festivals in towns across France. These unique events allow visitors to see and explore the heritage, monuments and cultural venues of France’s cities in a new light.

Twenty-six monuments will be highlighted by spectacular light shows; images and video will be projected onto walls and across buildings and courtyards, spotlights and lamps will showcase sites like never before.

Each of the 26 locations will host a variety of exciting events, ranging from art exhibitions workshops to music concerts and large-scale art installations; events at each site can be viewed on the official map.

Creatives are encouraged to submit their architectural video masterpieces as part of the Chartres video mapping contest. Three winners will be chosen by a jury of professionals and the public, who will be invited to vote for the winner at the finale of the festival.

The Chartres tourist office offers a variety of deals to make the most of the festivities including:

Guided tours: visitors are shown the impressive light shows across must-see venues and monuments – additional option to view the crypt of the Cathedral by candlelight.

Daily programs: based around the theme ”lights”. A special VIP package includes one/two nights stay inclusive of tailor-made events based around the sights of the light show. Additional programs include; cultural & historical tours, bicycle tours and many more. The full schedule and reservation details can be found here.

The Chartres light shows take place in locations across Chartres, view the trail on the official map here.

Image Credit: _1010694 by rimkat28/Flickr