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"Cathedral Light Shows" in France: A) Wow! B) Who is/are the genius people behind them?

We just came back from a glorious 16 days in France: Bookended in Paris, with stops in Bayeux/Normandy, Rouen, and a wonderful week on the Canal du Somme.

Along the way, we saw great multimedia projected shows in Rouen and Bayeux, plus a calmer but still lovely projection on the Amiens cathedral. A unique aspect of Bayeux's production was the projection onto their "Tree of Liberte'," in the courtyard near the cathedral.

These all reminded us of the superb show in the Palace of the Popes courtyard in Avignon last year.

So, we have to ask: Is this an organized, centrally planned effort on the part of "France Tourism Leaders?" Or, rather a grassroots thing that is leaping up around the country, fed on growing popularity?

In any case, we look forward to seeing more of these eclectic and imaginative shows the next time we are there. We would appreciate stories of other great buildings and shows, such as the video post elsewhere on this site, of Reims 2014.

So many cathedrals, so many possibilities.....

Steve C/Mary M
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Posted by
12040 posts

I also remember one of these projected onto Chartres cathedral. I can't remember a thing about what I ate that night, but I won't forget the view of the lightshow from my table.

Posted by
2161 posts

We were in Chartres last month and really enjoyed the light show on the cathedral. I took videos using both my camera and Ipad and they came out very nice. I was surprised that the Ipad captured the music too - very cool!

Posted by
16895 posts

Thanks for your report! It's probably not so much the result of organization but of competition, as each city makes an effort to attract visitors. Somewhere, a sound and lighting equipment salesman is also earning his commission.