There’s something inherently cozy about outdoor winter festivals: hot drinks, warm fires, dark wintry nights, and everyone stuffed into thick puffy coats with wool hats pulled below their ears. And perhaps no winter festival is cozier, livelier, or more atmospheric than Montréal en Lumière.

Montreal’s festival of lights brings warmth, glow, and outdoor fun to 2+ weeks of the city’s winter. It transforms the Quartier des Spectacles and its Place des Festivals into a hive of happy people enjoying delicious local food, free outdoor family activities, and art, art, art. From music and theatre to dance and light installations, the festival celebrates a rich collection of local and international artists.

In short, there’s a lot to do throughout the festival’s schedule of events. As chef, lifelong Montreal resident, and host Jean-Michel LeBlond implies, it’s difficult to describe the event in words. Luckily, this video captures everything there is to see and do at Montréal en Lumière.