Light festival
Amsterdam Light Festival 2026-27
Amsterdam Light Festival 2026-27 runs from 26 November to 17 January. Dates, light hours, the walking route, canal cruises and prices, from the organiser.
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Every winter, Amsterdam Light Festival turns the canals of the city centre into an open-air gallery of light art. Edition 15, the festival’s fifteenth, runs from Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027, with 20 artworks by Dutch and international artists placed in, above and alongside the canals on a brand new route.
The artworks stand in public space and are free to see. The organiser, a non-profit foundation with little public funding, sells the ways to learn more about them: the Light Walk in the festival app, with the route map and an audio guide, and cruises with its partner boat companies. There is no information at the artworks themselves.
The lights are on every day from 16:30 to 23:00, and until 21:00 on 31 December. You can walk the route at any time while they are on; cruises run in the evening and are booked for a set time. Below are the dates, the route, the boats and the prices as the organiser publishes them, and any festival events in the listings this week.
Dates and hours
Edition 15
Edition 15 runs from Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027. The artworks are lit every day from 16:30 to 23:00, and on 31 December the lights go off at 21:00.
The festival information point is inside Amstel 1, at Waterlooplein 6. It is open Thursday to Sunday from 16:30 to 21:00, and every day during the Christmas holidays from 19 December to 3 January, except on 25 and 31 December, when it is closed.
The walking route
About 4.5 km
The walking route is about 4.5 km and takes around an hour and a half, depending on your pace. The artworks are not in a set order, so you can start anywhere and walk all of it or just a part. If it is your first visit, the organiser suggests starting at Amstel 1 or Waterlooplein.
The exact route is only in the festival app, which is free to download from mid November. The route map and audio guide come with the Light Walk, which you can buy in the app from 24 November and which also carries offers at restaurants along the route. A Kids Walk for children aged 7 to 12 adds a quiz and a scavenger hunt. The organiser warns that free route maps found online do not have the right information, and it sells a small number of printed maps at the information point for visitors without a smartphone.
The route runs through the historic centre, with uneven pavements and steep bridges, which the organiser asks visitors with limited mobility to bear in mind.
Canal cruises
About 75 minutes
A cruise along the route takes about 75 minutes, or about 90 minutes with boat companies based further from the route. Cruises leave every 30 minutes between 16:30 and 21:30, and each company has its own departure point, which the festival ticket shop lists.
There are four kinds of cruise: covered canal boats with large windows, heating and usually a toilet, which play the official audio guide; open boats with a guide or skipper and blankets on board; boats with drinks included; and private or group boats, booked with a partner company. The audio guide on the canal boats is in Dutch, English and German. Partner boats carry the festival’s official partner logo, and the organiser says booking through its own ticket shop is the way to be sure a cruise passes all the artworks.
Tickets are for a set date and time. They cannot be cancelled, but can be changed up to 24 hours before departure. Food and drink you bring yourself are not allowed on board. Not every boat is wheelchair accessible; the organiser names Blue Boat Company as having accessible boats, to be arranged with the company in advance.
By bike or by your own boat
Guided bike tours take small groups of up to 12 people past the artworks, with a local guide. Cyclists can also use the festival app on their own, stopping to get off the bike to use it.
If you have your own boat, the app has the route, the artwork information and the nautical rules, which change during festival hours because of the extra traffic on the water. Part of the route is closed to boats without a motor, and the organiser strongly advises against going by SUP, rowing boat or canoe.
Tickets and prices
Cruise tickets start at €29.75. On most cruises children aged 4 to 12 pay half price and children under 4 go free, and a CJP card gives 25% off a cruise. There are no group or senior discounts, and private and group boats are priced by the boat company.
The festival app is free. The Light Walk and Kids Walk are bought inside it, where the price is shown, and paid through your phone’s app store. Cruise tickets have been on sale in the festival ticket shop since 1 October 2026.
Getting there
The organiser asks visitors to come by public transport or by bike rather than by car. Amsterdam Centraal and Waterlooplein are the stops closest to the route, and many cruises leave from around Centraal Station. There are bike racks and parking spots along the route.
How this list is made
Listings are gathered from venue, organiser and ticketing sites and refreshed nightly. The list favours events with confirmed dates and real venues you can find on a map. Summaries are written with AI assistance and checked against the source listing, and prices and dates always come from the listing itself; we never guess.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Amsterdam Light Festival?
A light art festival held in Amsterdam every winter. From late November to mid January, 20 artworks by Dutch and international artists stand in, above and alongside the canals of the city centre, and you can see them on foot, by bike or from a boat. It is run by a non-profit foundation.
When is the Amsterdam Light Festival 2026-27?
Edition 15 runs from Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027. The lights are on every day from 16:30 to 23:00, and until 21:00 on 31 December.
Where is the Amsterdam Light Festival?
Along the canals of the historic centre. The exact route is in the festival app. Amstel 1 and Waterlooplein, by the information point, are good places to start, and Amsterdam Centraal is close to the route as well.
Is the Amsterdam Light Festival free?
Yes, to look at: the artworks are in public space and free for anyone to see. The extras are paid: the Light Walk in the festival app, with the route map and audio guide, and the cruises, from €29.75.
Has the Amsterdam Light Festival 2026 been cancelled?
No. The organiser lists Edition 15 from 26 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, and has had cruise tickets on sale since 1 October 2026.