The 15th Amsterdam Light Festival runs from Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027, with the artworks lit every day from 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. (on 31 December until 9 p.m.). About 20 light artworks are placed in, above and alongside the canals of the city centre, on a new route for this anniversary edition. Looking at them is free. You can walk the 4.5 km route with the festival's paid app, from about €7, or see it from the water on a canal cruise, from €29.75.
This guide covers the 2026–27 route and theme, the difference between walking and taking a boat, tickets, hours, and the practical details that make an evening on the canals in December more comfortable.
The Magere Brug over the Amstel on a winter evening. Image: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Amsterdam Light Festival 2026–27: dates and hours
- Festival dates: Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027.
- Lights on: daily, 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- New Year's Eve (31 December): lights off at 9 p.m.
- Cruise departures: every 30 minutes between 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; exact times are in the ticket shop.
The festival runs every day, including the Christmas holidays, so you can fit it into almost any winter trip to Amsterdam. It gets dark early in late November and December, so the artworks are already lit by the time most people finish sightseeing.
What's the theme for Edition 15?
This edition marks 15 years of light art in Amsterdam. For the anniversary, the organisers asked local and international artists what they want to present to the residents and visitors of the city, and they've laid out a brand new route. The festival says more details of the artworks, plus free events and side programming along the route, will be announced on its website and Instagram.
The festival is run by the Amsterdam Light Festival Foundation, an independent non-profit cultural foundation with a small year-round team. Each edition takes about 15 months to prepare. Artists from around the world submit ideas through an open call, an independent jury helps choose them, and some works are invited directly. After the festival, some artworks join the foundation's travelling Light Art Collection.
Is the Amsterdam Light Festival free?
Yes, the artworks themselves are free to see. They stand in public space, and you can walk past them at any time while the lights are on. What you pay for is the route and the stories. There are no information signs at the artworks, so without the app or a guided cruise you won't know where they are or what they're about. The foundation gets little government funding and relies on ticket sales to pay artists, so buying the route also supports the festival.
A warning from the organisers: unofficial "free maps" online often have wrong locations. Use the official app or a printed map from the information points.
Canal houses on the Amstel lit up at night, December 2017. Image: Alf van Beem, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Walking the route: the Light Walk
The walking route is about 4.5 km and takes about 1.5 hours at an easy pace. You can walk all of it or just part, and the artworks aren't placed in a fixed order, so start wherever suits you. The festival suggests Amstel 1 or Waterlooplein as good starting points for first-time visitors.
To get the route, download the free Amsterdam Light Festival app (available from mid-November in the App Store and Google Play) and buy the Light Walk in the app. It includes a GPS route map, an audio guide, background on each artwork and artist, and offers at restaurants along the way. The festival's own pages give two prices for the Light Walk, €6.99 and €7.99, so check the final price in the app. The map can be bought from 24 November, and once bought it stays available for the whole festival, so you can study it at home and walk it over several evenings.
Kids Walk: a version for children aged about 7 to 12, with simple texts, fun facts, quiz questions and a scavenger hunt with a small prize at the end. Its price hadn't been set at the time of writing.
No smartphone? The information points sell a small number of printed route maps, meant for visitors without a working phone.
A canal bridge lit at dusk, looking through the arch along the water. Image: APK, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Seeing it from the water: canal cruises
The festival was designed to be seen from the canals, and a cruise passes by, through and under all 20 artworks. A cruise takes about 75 minutes, or about 90 minutes with companies based further from the route. Tickets start at €29.75; children aged 4 to 12 pay half price and children under 4 travel free.
There are four types of cruise:
- Canal boat: large covered boats with glass windows and roofs, heated, with a toilet on board. The festival's audio guide plays on board, or a live guide tells the stories. Capacity is usually 60 to 80 people.
- Open boat: smaller open sloops for 12 to 50 people, with a guide or skipper on board. You get the clearest view of the artworks; blankets are provided, and in extreme cold the boats can be partly covered.
- Boat including drinks: partly covered boats with unlimited drinks served on board.
- Private or group boat: historic boats, dinner cruises and private hire, booked directly with partner boat companies.
Booking tips:
- Tickets for Edition 15 went on sale on 1 October 2026 in the festival's ticket shop. Booking there makes sure you sail with an official partner that passes all the artworks; partner boats carry festival flags or stickers, and the jetties have festival flags.
- Each ticket is for a set date and time slot. You can change it up to 24 hours before departure, but you can't cancel it.
- Be at the departure point 15 minutes early. Departure points differ by company and are listed in the ticket shop.
- Not every boat is wheelchair accessible; check with the boat company before booking.
A glass-roofed canal cruise boat moored on the Rokin at dusk. Image: Frank Markesteijn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Walk or cruise: which is better?
Walk if you want to see the city at your own pace, take photos from the bridges and spread the route over more than one evening. It's also the cheapest option. Take a cruise if it's raining, if you're with young children or anyone who can't walk far, or if you want to see the artworks from the water: many stand in or hang above the canals. A good compromise is to cruise on your first evening and walk part of the route on another.
Other ways to see it: bike tours and food walks
By bike: guided bike tours run in small groups of up to 12, with a local guide who talks about the art, the theme and the city. Tickets went on sale in October 2026. If you cycle the route on your own with the app, the festival asks you to stop and get off your bike to look at the artworks.
With food: the festival sells combined food-and-art tickets. The festival's Taste page currently lists an Oyster Walk (€39.50, Thursday to Saturday, six oysters and two drinks collected from four restaurants along the route, app included) and dinner-plus-cruise evenings for €79. Check the "Taste" page for this edition's options.
With your own boat: the app includes the route map and the special nautical rules that apply during festival hours. Part of the route is closed to unmotorised craft, and the festival strongly discourages paddleboards, rowing boats and canoes.
A canal in the old centre at dusk on a January evening. Image: Jorge Láscar from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Information points
The festival has information points at Amstel 1 and near Amsterdam Central Station. They're open Thursday to Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., and daily during the Christmas holidays (19 December to 3 January), except 25 and 31 December, when they're closed.
Getting there
- Public transport: the stops closest to the route are Amsterdam Central Station and Waterlooplein. Many cruises leave from around Central Station. Plan trips with the 9292 journey planner.
- By bike: you can rent a bike at most train stations and many hotels, and there are bike racks and parking along the route.
- By car: the festival advises against driving into the centre. The City of Amsterdam lists parking garages and Park and Ride (P+R) sites on the edge of the city.
Accessibility: the route itself is accessible, but it runs through the historic centre with uneven pavements and steep bridges.
Kattenburgergracht on a snowy winter night, January 2021. Image: Fons Heijnsbroek, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Tips for a winter evening on the canals
- Pick your evening. If you prefer fewer people around you, go on a weekday or early in the evening, soon after the lights come on at 4:30 p.m.
- Dress for standing still. An hour on an open boat or on a bridge is colder than it sounds. Bring a hat, gloves and a warm layer, even if you plan to stay inside a covered boat.
- Charge your phone. The route, the audio guide and your tickets are on it, and cold drains batteries fast.
- Mind the bike lanes. When you stop to look at an artwork, step off the cycle path.
- There are no festival toilets. The City of Amsterdam publishes a map of public toilets, and cafés along the route are an option.
If the weather turns
Amsterdam winter evenings are often wet and windy. In heavy rain, book a covered canal boat; the large boats are heated and have a toilet. The festival says sailing is almost always possible, even in poor weather. If a cruise is cancelled, the boat company contacts you to rebook. If the whole festival is cancelled through force majeure, tickets bought in the official shop are refunded within four weeks after the festival.
When to go
Any evening between 26 November and 17 January works. The information points are open every day during the Christmas holidays (19 December to 3 January), which helps if you want a printed map or advice, and early January is the last chance to see this edition before it closes on 17 January. Avoid planning a late walk on 31 December, when the lights go off at 9 p.m.
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