The Ville de Luxembourg has presented its “Winterlights” programme for the upcoming holiday season, which will brighten up the capital city starting this coming Friday and carry on through to the start of the new year, at a press conference.
Mayor Lydie Polfer, City Councilman, Patrick Goldschmidt, Head of the City’s Festivities and Markets Administration, Marc Weydert, Luxembourg City Tourist Office Director, Tom Bellion, along with guests of honour, the French Ambassador to Luxembourg, Guy Yelda, and two members of the Alsace Tourism Board announced the long list of plans.
The streets of the city will receive sumptuous festive lighting throughout the three central markets and there will be three big Christmas trees, each lit differently – one on the Place d’Armes (all white), one on the Place de Paris (all colours), and one on the Place Guillaume II (Alsace colours). This Friday 21 November, the Christmas lighting will be inaugurated and the City’s shops on Rue Philippe II and Avenue de la Porte-Neuve will stay open until 21:00 for “Late Night Shopping”.
At 17:00 on Friday also, Mayor Lydie Polfer will officially open the St. Nicholas Market at Place de Paris and the following day at 11:00 and 11:30 respectively, the Christmas Markets on the Place d’Armes and the Place de la Constitution (Golden Lady) will be officially opened.
135 chalets will be available across the three markets, selling hand-made crafts, decorations, jewellery, candles, as well as serving up food for all tastes, including local traditional cuisine (Gromperekichelcher, soups and grilled sausages), and various mulled wines.
This year, Luxembourg has chosen the Alsace Tourism Board to assist in the planning, given the French region’s historical significance in Christmas market traditions, and welcome a part of Alsace onto the Luxembourg scene. Alsatian products and typical chalets will be present at the Place de la Constitution, where there will also be a giant Ferris wheel, and creative crafts workshops for both children and adults.
One of the big highlights this year, will be the “Knuedler on Ice”, which will run from 6 December to 1 February 2015. The partially-covered ice skating rink will be set up on Place Guillaume II in front of the Hôtel de Ville. The rink will be decorated with a Christmas tree and many lights. Adjacent to the rink, there will be a heated area for spectators with a number of chalets selling hot drinks and snacks. Furthermore, the ice skating rink will be open on 24, 25 and 26 December, as well as on New Year’s Eve, when there will be music and entertainment provided from 20:00 until 01:00.
In addition, the LCTO is also organising various musical attractions and concerts at the three different Christmas markets in Ville de Luxembourg.
For a full list of the seasonal programme and further details, please visit www.winterlights.lu and for the detailed list of musical shows, please see www.lcto.lu.
Photos by Hugo Fulco
