Amiens Cathedral at night

I have often taken guests to see the Cathedral and the ‘light show’ put on in the evening. No one ever knows quite what to expect, and I give few details; I have never managed to capture it in description. But, everyone comes away amazed by the spectacular ‘show’.

Each year on December 31 the show is put on at midnight. This year I joined a small group of die-hards gathered in front of the Cathedral with bottles of champagne and plastic cups and saw in 2009. Still an amazing experience even in temperature below zero. In summer vast crowds gather every evening as it is getting dark and the narrated (French and English) show gets going. Well worth a visit.

Amiens Cathedral before and after being lit up Medieval style

During Summer and December the front façade of the Cathedral is lit up, as experts imagine it looked in medieval times. During the cleaning of the church in the 1990s the restoration team found traces of paint amongst the stone carvings, and so there is good, solid evidence for this. Now, in the evenings from mid June to mid September and December, large-format coloured slides are projected onto the façade, showing colour in minute detail.

The three portals before and after after being lit up

Amiens Cathedral is the tallest complete Cathedral in France. The images above who the three portals on the western Faade, the photographs below show detail of the central portal, which shows Christ in Majesty presiding over the Day of Judgement, supported by an array of saints.

Portal detail, before and after being lit up

You can get more information and pictures about the cathedral on Wikipedia.

Photographs by Peter Maggs