It is January and the Christmas decoration and lights are slowly disappearing from the streets. Luckily, Lucerne has a bright event coming up: the Luzern Lichtfestival 2024! The Lichtfestival (Lucerne Light festival), or LiLu as it is often abbreviated, is celebrating the fifth edition from Thursday January 11 2024 until Sunday January 21 2024. Make sure to not miss this festival in central Switzerland!
Several immersive shows to choose from
One of the most popular aspects of the LiLu light festival are the immersive light shows that can be visited on several locations in the city. This year, the Jesuitenkirche, the Matthäuskirche and Planetarium are the venues for these spectacular light shows. On certain days, the shows are accompanied with live music. The shows in the Jesuitenkirche and Matthäuskirche run daily with regular tickets costing between CHF 15 and CHF 18 for adults. The Planetarium is the venue for ‘Immersive Classic’ on January 20 2024 at 19.00. Tickets for this show cost CHF 50 per adult. For show times where the light show is accompanied with live music, the ticket prices will be higher.
As mentioned earlier, these light shows are incredibly popular, so it is advisable to book tickets well in advance. The shows in the Jesuitenkirche and Matthäuskirche run several times at night and you book a ticket for a particular time slot. Don’t be late, as your ticket is only valid for the time chosen and late arrivals might not be let into the venue.
You can see more details about the shows and book your tickets on the website of the LiLu light festival.
Art installations all over Lucerne
While the light shows described above are definitely worth visiting, a visit to the LiLu light festival can be completely free! There are over 20 light art installations on display all over the city of Lucerne.
Some of the artworks are interactive, which makes exploring all of them even more fun! One exciting location for an light installation is the ‘Wasserturm’, part of the world famous Chapel Bridge. After a year of it not being illuminated (due to the energy crisis), it is now once again part of the LiLu lichtfestival.
Other locations for light installations include the Vögeligärtli park in Neustadt, the old town, Villa Schweizerhof on the shore of the Vierwaldstättersee and Inseli Park. The area around KKL and the train station are also worth visiting. The Europaplatz in front of KKL is the location of the ‘LiLu village’ and the old entrance arch of the train station will have a light show projected on it.
Getting peckish?
Walking and exploring the city of Lucerne might leave you hungry. Not to worry, as there are plenty of nice restaurants in town where you can sit down for a meal. I can for example recommend La Bestia or Blossom Alley at Vögeligärtli, the Wilhelm Tell steam ship and Fondue House du Pont. In you just need a quick bite, there will be bars and food stands available all over the city especially for the LiLu festival. You can find more information on those on the official website of the event.
Central locations all over Lucerne
The light installations are illuminated daily between 6 PM and 10 PM. As Lucerne is an extremely walkable city, you won’t need any public transport to visit the different artworks. The only potential exception is the artwork on the lake by Villa Schweizerhof, as it is a 15 minute walk from the inner city. You can take bus 6 or bus 8 from Schwanenplatz to the bus stop Europe. You can buy bus tickets on the SBB app or ticket machines at the bus stops. If you are staying in a hotel in Lucerne, it is likely your visitor card includes free public transport.
Last year, we absolutely loved going into town during the duration of the festival. Some evenings, it was for an intense explorative night where we tried to visit all the artworks. On other nights, we just went for a casual stroll. Whatever it is for you, the LiLu light festival 2024 will surely help you brighten up your nights!
LiLu Lucerne Light Festival 2023
All over the city of Lucerne in Central Switzerland
Visit from Thursday January 11 until Sunday January 21 2023
Daily between 18.00 (6PM) and 22.00 (10 PM)
https://www.lichtfestivalluzern.ch/
