Lyon Fête des Lumières

B's cousin is going to school in Lyon, so we went to visit him this past Saturday. It was also the last day of the Fête des Lumières, plus B's aunt and partner where going to be in town from Valence.

After arriving in Lyon at 1:30, we unloaded our suitcases and blow-up mattress at B's cousin's apartment, then headed for downtown. We saw the Hôtel de Ville et Opera, then crossed the Saône to visit old Lyon.

We wanted to eat lunch in one of the famous "bouchons", or Lyonnaise restaurants, but we weren't the only ones with that idea, so we ended up eating andouillette sandwiches and hot chestnuts on the street.

Photo copyright my husband

This is the view of what you see at the end of a "traboule".
What is a traboule you say?

Une traboule est une voie réservé aux piétons, souvent étroite, débutant par un couloir d'entrée et traversant un ou plusieurs bâtiments pour relier une rue à une autre. Typiquement lyonnais, le premier qui l'utilise fut Nizier du Puitspelu, dans un journal, publié en 1894. En fait il ne cita que le verbe trabouler. Pour lui ce mot ne s'employait que dans l'expression "une allée qui traboule, une allée qui traverse".

If you want more info on the sites to visit in vieux Lyon, check out this website.

Once the sun went down, the lights came on, and between 6pm and our dinner reservation at 8pm, we walked around downtown Lyon looking at the the light shows.

Photo copyright my husband

This shows the Basilica de Fourvière with the sign "Merci Marie". My French in-laws all said the Fête de la Lumière was a religious festival to thank the Virgin Mary for having saved Lyon from the black plague. There were a number of buses from other countries (Spain, Italy, Czech Republic...) with people who came for a pilgrimage. Locals put candles in their window on December 8th (the official day) throughout the region. The website I used for the info on the traboules says the festival was kind of an accident when a ceremony to celebrate a new church bell was canceled due to the weather and people put candles in their window as a way to celebrate despite the storm. Seeing as how there's a huge "Merci Marie", I think I'll go with the first version and let the second be a coincidence.

Photo copyright my husband

A fountain in front of the Hôtel de Ville "painted" with the light projections.

Photo copyright my husband

Théâtre du Céléstins with 3D projections. This was accompanied by music and 3D animations that changed.

In anticipation of the crowds, the city had lots of extra security in the metro and on the streets, and in many occasions we were forced to go around a building or enter a square from one way and not the other. The flow of pedestrians was clearly thought out.

My overall experience of the Fête de Lumières was mediocre though. While the projections themselves were cool (many more than pictured here), they were only in certain locations. This meant watching a 'show' in one place, then shuffling through the incredibly crowded streets to the next location, repeat as needed. The streets were really really crowded, and at times I wondered if it was really worth it to get bumped and pushed so much. It didn't help that it was also really cold.

Has anyone else visited the Fête des Lumières? I wasn't there on the 8th, so I wonder if a) there were more light shows and b) there were fewer people compared to Saturday.