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Each year, around Christmastime, Amsterdam offers up beautiful lighted artwork throughout the city…
If you haven’t been to the Amsterdam Light Festival, mark your calendars for next year!
Having heard about and seen some of these lighted art installations near Central Station, I decided that I wanted to see what this festival was all about. Discovering that we would be there for its final night, we decided to purchase tickets for one of the boat tours which cruise along one of the routes.
Two routes are offered each year…this year’s routes, Watercolors, the boat route and Illuminade, the walking route. The artwork presented along these two routes during the two month time span is selected from groundbreaking submissions by light artists from 93 countries and displayed throughout the city’s canals and the city’s Plantage neighborhood.
Since we had been out walking most of the day, we decided that it would be nice to relax on one of the boat tours. Booking a five o’clock departure, we had hoped to be completed in order to have an early dinner. Starting out near the front of Central Station, we cruised along the front of the station and out into the IJ before circling back to our starting point. Finally, we headed into the canals and admired the beautiful pieces along the way.
Though we thoroughly enjoyed the tour, there are some things I would like to point out.
Doing a bit more research after my tour, I discovered that there are some companies that offer boats with open top. Although it may be a bit too cold for some, they do offer blankets and warm drinks. Our boat was packed to capacity and sometimes hard to get a photograph through the boat windows. We were, however, allowed to go out to the back of the boat and take photos in the open air.
Next year, I do think that I would book a different boat company, but also take advantage of the Illuminade route. Being able to take your time and enjoy each piece, up close, is surely worth the price of achy feet!
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Amsterdam Light Festival
- https://amsterdamlightfestival.com/en/
- Hours: Amsterdam Light Festival Water colors route, December 1, 2016 until January 22, 2017, 1700-2300. Illuminade route, December 15, 2016 until January 8, 2017, 1700-2200. Refer to the website for Amsterdam’s Light Festival 2017-2018 schedule.
- Many boat companies offer tours starting near Central Station and prices vary among the companies.