Mons turns on its lights for winter illumination trail

The biggest light festival in Wallonia, Mons en Lumières, is lighting up the Hainaut capital during its third edition this weekend.

Until 25 January, the city’s historic centre is transformed into a glowing nocturnal landscape thanks to the light trail featuring 17 installations and projections by Belgian and international artists.

One of the region’s winter cultural highlights, more than 260,000 visitors have already experienced the event since its launch in 2024.

From its departure point in Place Léopold, the 3km route wends through cobbled streets, atmospheric squares and some of the city’s landmark sites, including the towering belfry and ancient Collégiale Sainte-Waudru.

Each installation is designed as a surprising encounter, a suspended moment that offers an alternative perspective of Mons' rich heritage and culture.

A collaboration between the city’s university UMONS and this year’s guest, the university museum MUMONS, the event echoes its current exhibition Electric! and revolves around a poetic theme: Entering the Light. A Need to Illuminate the World.

The trail coincides with another major highlight in Mons’ cultural life: the closing weekend of the international exhibition David Hockney. The Song of the Earth at cultural pole and fine arts museum CAP.

As a show that is designed around a poetic and illuminating journey blending painting by the British artist and music by Gustave Mahler, it serves as a natural dialogue with the illuminations.

For the city, Mons en Lumières is a chance to show off its urban renewal, as well as its cultural vision. The family-friendly experience is entirely free.

If you miss the trail this weekend, the event also has another showing during a second weekend at the nearby SPARKOH! site in Frameries on 13 and 14 February. This former industrial site is now a hub of knowledge and discovery for families, designed for children aged three and up.

Photos: (main image) Tetra Module Nicolas Paolozzi Baptiste Martineau MEL2026 ©Ville de Mons/Oswald Tlr; Dans la lumiere Amelie Kastermans Emilie Derville Fabien Laisnez MEL2026 ©Ville de Mons/Oswald Tlr;  Heliotrope Collegiale ©Luminariste; Lampe moi ©TILT-2