Festival of Lights Berlin, Germany

The Festival of Lights is an annual light art festival held in Berlin, Germany, during which many of the city’s most famous landmarks, buildings, and public spaces are illuminated with artistic light installations, video projections, and 3D mapping. It transforms Berlin into an open-air gallery and draws large numbers of visitors each evening. The first edition of the Festival of Lights took place in 2005, and it has grown into one of the most prominent light-art festivals in the world.

When and Where It Takes Place

The Festival of Lights is held every October and runs for about ten nights. The 2026 edition, the 22nd, takes place from 9 to 18 October under the motto “Colours of Love”, and the illuminations are switched on every evening from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The light works are staged at numerous iconic locations across central Berlin, including historic monuments, public squares, and modern urban areas. Among the landmarks illuminated are Berlin’s most emblematic sites: the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin TV Tower, the Berlin Cathedral, the Siegessäule (Victory Column), and many more.

Illuminations take place on the façades of buildings, plazas, and streets; entire neighborhoods are staged through light art to invite visitors to stroll and explore.

The event is free to attend: most of the light displays are publicly accessible without charge. Since the festival runs from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., evenings are the ideal time to arrive. The light projections are most striking after dark, and the atmosphere is vibrant yet relaxed.

Besides the free light walk, the organizers offer paid extras: guided LightSeeing tours by bus or boat, and Festival of Lights in Concert, with 3D video art shows and ambient DJ sets inside the Berlin Cathedral (13–17 October 2026). Weekday evenings are usually less crowded than weekends.