Amsterdam Light Festival is an annual winter event held in Amsterdam which presents a number of beautiful illuminated artworks and installations around the historic canals. It is part of a packed calendar of December holiday events in Amsterdam.
| The very best way to enjoy a relaxing and close-up look at the works is to book a special light festival canal cruise which run every day. You can also do a 6.5km self-guided walking tour of the 20 artworks. The Amsterdam Light Festival 2025-26 season runs from 27 November 2025 to 18 January 2026. Lights are on daily 16:30-22:00 (Sun-Tue), 16:30-23:00 (Wed-Sat). The theme for the 14th edition of the festival is Legacy. What is left behind in the aftermath of major events; what remains from customs and family traditions. |
The works from 20 international artists have been selected for this year’s festival and are displayed mainly along the entire length of the Herengracht and Nieuwe Herengracht canals.
This diverse and eclectic collection of works are all freely accessible to view and become part of the city landscape during the winter.
The event is run by Amsterdam Light Festival which is a cultural ANBI non-profit foundation. Its aim is to bring light art to enrich the public space for locals and visitors.
Running costs are €3 million per year so you can support the event by taking a canal cruise or buying the walking tour guide.
Amsterdam Light Festival – Cruises
There are numerous options for taking a cruise around the lightworks of the Amsterdam Light Festival. You can choose either a standard covered boat or an open boat with some cruises having drinks included.
You can also take a private small boat tour which is a comfortable and intimate choice for groups up to 10 people.
The cruises generally depart regularly between 16:30 and 21:30 with a duration of around 1 hour 15 minutes. There are various departure points depending on the company selected – this includes Amsterdam Central, Damrak, Amstel and Amsterdam Noord.
Not only do you pass the Amsterdam Light Festival works – but you also get to see Amsterdam’s beautiful canals by night during the atmospheric winter holiday period.
Here are canal boats passing 2 iconic works from the 14th edition in 2025-26 – Swans by UK artist Jon Voss and the dreamlike bridge fresco Metamorfaunes by French artist Luminariste.
Amsterdam Light Festival – Walking Tour
There is a 6.5km clockwise walking route which can be started at Amsterdam Central station – although you can actually start at any point. Each artwork is numbered 1-20 and has its own illuminated info block close by which tells you the name and artist.
You can support the festival by purchasing the light walk and audio guide here for €6.99. You need to download the official Amsterdam Light Festival app and redeem the voucher code to access the guide.
You can also buy paper maps for €7 at the info points during their opening hours (see below).
Here are some tips for going on the light festival walking tour:
- Wear comfortable walking shoes
- Watch out for bikes and traffic when crossing onto the road
- Take care at the edge of the canals – you don’t want to do a swimming tour!
- Keep your camera/phone steady when taking photos and experiment with night mode
Along the Herengracht there is a light work at every canal block – usually on one particular side of the canal.
You can either get up close to the artwork itself or view it at a distance from the other side of the canal – which will give you a broader perspective and the lights reflecting on the water. Or do both if you want!
Another way to enjoy the lights is to take a cycle tour with a guide which lasts 90 minutes.
Amsterdam Light Festival 2025-26 Artworks
Here is a full listing of the Amsterdam Light Festival 14th edition (Legacy) works:
| Number | Name | Artist |
| 1 | THE SUN | Zenisk Lighting Studio |
| 2 | FRACTURE POINT | Filip Roca |
| 3 | WHALE FALL | Xinyi Wang |
| 4 | MAKING WAVES | Jos Agasi & Noortje van den Eijnde |
| 5 | UNDER PRESSURE | Pavol Truben |
| 6 | ORB | Spy |
| 7 | O.T. 1407 | Steffan Reiss |
| 8 | I CONTAIN MULTITUDES | Marinella Senatore |
| 9 | TEN THOUSAND THOUGHTS | Esther Rolinson |
| 10 | KWANTUMFANTUM MULTIVERSUM | Beeldjutters |
| 11 | ABRI MAXIMAAL | Jop Vissers Vorstenbosch |
| 12 | WINDOWS | Lynne Leegte |
| 13 | METAMORFAUNES | Luminariste |
| 14 | SWANS | Jon Voss |
| 15 | RHAPSODIA | M Moser Associates |
| 16 | CORAL LUMINANCE | Henry Hu |
| 17 | SOLID VOID | Vendel & De Wolf |
| 18 | ANTENNA SUD | Michela Bonzi |
| 19 | KEEP ME WARM | Thomas Bendiksen |
| 20 | ALL THE LIGHT YOU SEE | Alicia Eggbert |
To get a flavour of the event here are a few images from this year:
Amsterdam Light Festival Info Points
There is an official information point located at the Blauwbrug bridge near Amstel 33 (eastern side).
It is open 16:30-21:00 (Thu-Sun) and daily between 20 Dec 2025 and 4 Jan 2026.
Note: Info points closed on Christmas Day (25 Dec) and New Year’s Eve (31 Dec). The festival lights turn off at 21:00 on 31 Dec.
There is a 2nd info point at A Beautiful Mess at Oosterdokskade 227 at the Booking.com office building on Oosterdok.
There’s no doubt that these light works help bolster the holiday spirit during the dark winter months. We walked it in the early evening and there was a nice atmosphere along the route.
Whether you live here or are on a visit to Amsterdam, we highly recommend taking a canal cruise or a walking tour around the Amsterdam Light Festival.
This article was first published on 1 December 2025.
Links on AmsterdamTips.com may pay us an affiliate commission.
