Now the nights in Amsterdam are much longer than the days -sunrise is at about 8:30 AM and sunset at 4:30 PM- the days are dark. And I'm looking forward to that part of the year when there is daylight from 4 AM to 11 PM here in town.
Despite the lack of daylight there is plenty going on here in town. One of the noticable things is the mid winter Amsterdam Light Festival.
This festival exists for a couple of years now, I think since 2013. At this festival, there is a route in the canals (mainly Herengracht, Amstel river and the waterfront at the Central Station) where the artwork is displayed.
Of course you should see it when the sun is down. You can walk the routes -put on some comfortable shoes since the whole route is several kilometers/miles long- or take a boat tour. I prefer walking and visit a cafe here and there along the way.
This year there is also a route on land between the Amstel river via the gardens and parks until the Amsterdam zoo. The distance is a bit more than one kilometer (a little less than a mile) I think there are more sculptures in town but I haven't been there yet and the display of sculptures on land is closing after this weekend. The sculptures on the canals will stay until January 22nd.
You can find more info here and for those who will not be in Amsterdam I made some pictures. The pictures are just snapshots. Many of the sculptures have lights that change of colors or go on and off in a certain sequence - like an animation.
I hope you enjoy it!
Bastiaan
P.S. I saw someone else also wrote about this topic. Good he/she mentioned it earlier. I made my pictures when the festival just opened and almost forgot to share them here...
These are pictures from the route near the parks:
These are from the canals:
Update! I've added two pictures of last year and one from longer ago, because I like these.
The two below are from 2015:
This one is from 2013:
P.P.S.: I made these pictures myself and own the copyright. You can use these for non-commercial purposes if you mention and link to this post. Otherwise contact me.
Oh wow, I love lights in the dark. It's something I should definitely visit one year :-)
Yes, you should do that! Amsterdam in winter is quite different than in summer. Summer is better but also much busier.
It's the fact that it's busy that keeps me away from major cities most of the time. A day trip is definitely an option though. Last time I've been in Amsterdam was when I was a little kid, going to Nemo, the science museum thingy :-)
If it's only a day tip that I should definitely check it out here some day. I know how being busy can keep you away. There are towns in the country that I should visit again and somehow that rarely happens.
I know exactly what you mean. There's many places I still want to take my camera to, but hardly ever have the time or energy for it! Though sometimes you just have to plan ahead and go, however you feel at that moment!
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