--- title: "Contes & Lumières 2026: dates, programme & getting there" description: "4 Dec – 3 Jan 2027, Mâcon. Mâcon's month of Christmas lights, parades, tales and concerts, free and open to all." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/events/contes-et-lumieres-macon lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-09 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/events/contes-et-lumieres-macon.png --- # Contes & Lumières > Contes & Lumières: Mâcon's month of Christmas lights, parades, tales and concerts, free and open to all. Contes & Lumières is Mâcon's Christmas festival: a month of illuminations, street parades, shows, storytelling, workshops and concerts across the town centre. It is aimed at families but pleasant for anyone passing through the Mâconnais in December. ## Key facts - Type: Christmas - Mâcon - 1 h 16 from Beaune - Free entry - When: Friday, 4 December 2026 – Sunday, 3 January 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser) - Usual timing: Early December to early January - Nearby: [Ursulines Museum, Mâcon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-des-ursulines-macon) - Entry: Free - Organised by: [Ville de Mâcon](https://www.macon.fr/) - Official website: [macon-tourisme.com](https://www.macon-tourisme.com/blog/temps-fort/contes-lumieres/) - Where: Mâcon · Saône-et-Loire - Location: 80 km south of Beaune · Saône-et-Loire - Coordinates: 46.3069, 4.8287 - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 16 · 103 km - €275 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Add the vineyards: our [full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day). ## History The festival returns every December, with a new programme each year published by the town and its tourist office in the late autumn. The town presents it as its own Christmas season: in 2025 it opened on Saturday 6 December with L’Envol, an evening parade of herons, peacocks and swallows, lights and music by the Remue-Ménage company, while municipal teams dressed the main courtyard of the Hôtel de Ville in lights. ## What to expect Expect parades through the streets, shows, storytelling for children, workshops and concerts, spread across the weeks before and after Christmas. In 2025 the season also brought a village of illuminated bubbles hiding small fairy-tale worlds on Place aux Herbes from late November, a Christmas market on Place Saint-Pierre and Place Saint-Nizier from 10 to 24 December, open until 8.30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and a 150 m² synthetic ice rink on Place Saint-Pierre. ## Tips for the day Most events are free; in 2025 a day pass for the ice rink cost 2 euros. The detailed programme appears in late autumn on the tourist office site. If you come by car, the free Monnier and Saint-Clément car parks on the edge of town are linked to the centre by the free N1 shuttle, every 9 minutes from Tuesday to Saturday until 7.30 pm. Mâcon is about an hour from Beaune; an evening visit for the lights and parades pairs well with dinner in town and a ride home. ## Did you know? The festival runs for a full month, from the first weekend of December into the New Year. ## Around Contes & Lumières What to combine with Contes & Lumières on the same day, nearest first. ### Other events in December 2026 - **Runs Friday, 6 November 2026 – Sunday, 31 January 2027** · [Les Fééries de Noël de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/feeries-de-noel-dijon): Chalets, vin chaud, an ice rink and a big wheel across the heart of Dijon. (Christmas · Dijon) - **Runs Friday 6 November – Thursday 31 December 2026** · [Les Nuits d’Orient et d’ailleurs](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/nuits-d-orient-et-d-ailleurs-dijon): Dijon's winter festival of music, dance and art from the Orient and beyond. (Culture · Dijon) - **Runs Friday, 13 November 2026 – Tuesday, 5 January 2027** · [Lumières à Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/lumieres-a-beaune): Light projections on Beaune's landmarks, every evening in summer and from the Vente des Vins to early January. (Culture · Beaune) - **Runs Monday, 16 November 2026 – Tuesday, 16 February 2027** · [Noël à l’abbaye de Fontenay](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/noel-a-l-abbaye-de-fontenay): A giant crèche, illuminated gardens and a Christmas market at a UNESCO-listed Cistercian abbey. (Christmas · Marmagne) - **Runs Saturday, 28 November 2026 – Sunday, 10 January 2027** · [Exposition de crèches et féerie de Noël](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/exposition-de-creches-flavigny-sur-ozerain): About ninety nativity scenes light up the windows of a medieval hilltop village through the Christmas season. (Christmas · Flavigny-sur-Ozerain) - **Wednesday 2 – Sunday 6 December 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Beaune Blues Boogie Festival](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/beaune-blues-boogie-festival): Five nights of boogie-woogie, blues and swing in Beaune's theatres and wine cellars. (Music · Beaune) ### Nearby - **Tuesday 3 – Sunday 15 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Les Symphonies d’Automne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/symphonies-d-automne-macon): Mâcon's festival of the voice, built around an international competition for young opera singers. (Music · Mâcon) - **Friday 16 – Sunday 18 April 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Salon des Vins de Mâcon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/salon-des-vins-de-macon): A tour de France of wine in Mâcon, on the weekend of the historic Concours des Grands Vins de France. (Wine festival · Mâcon) - **A Friday and Saturday evening in late May; in 2026, Friday 29 and Saturday 30 May, from 6 pm to 1 am.** · [Les Mâcon Wine Note](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/macon-wine-note): Two evenings of Mâcon wines and live music at a pop-up wine bar on the banks of the Saône. (Wine festival · Mâcon) - **A weekend in mid-June; the 2026 ride was on 13 and 14 June.** · [La Vélo Gourmande en Sud Bourgogne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/velo-gourmande-en-sud-bourgogne): A gourmet cycle ride through the Mâconnais, with tastings and chefs' dishes at every stop. (Food & markets · Mâcon) - **From late June to late August; the town's programme for 2026 ran from 24 June to 30 August.** · [L’Été Frappé](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/l-ete-frappe-macon): A free summer-long festival of concerts and shows in the streets and parks of Mâcon. (Music · Mâcon) - **Sunday, 18 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [La Tournuscimes](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/la-tournuscimes): Burgundy's biggest organised walk, on foot, by mountain bike or on horseback through the autumn Mâconnais. (Sport · Chardonnay) ### Villages - [Pouilly-Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/pouilly-fuisse) (7 km away): Burgundy's great southern white, grown beneath the limestone cliffs of Solutré and Vergisson. - [Saint-Véran](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/saint-veran) (9 km away): Fresh Chardonnay from villages that wrap around Pouilly-Fuissé, beneath the Roche de Solutré. - [Viré-Clessé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/vire-clesse) (16 km away): Two neighbouring villages of the Haut-Mâconnais, joined in one appellation for generous Chardonnay. ### Châteaux - [Château de Chazoux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chazoux) (4 km away): A modest wine estate house near Mâcon that hides richly painted rooms and a landscaped park. - [Château de Vinzelles](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vinzelles) (7 km away): Two neighbouring castles above Vinzelles, linked by a vat house with great wooden wine presses. - [Château de Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-fuisse) (7 km away): The Vincent family's historic estate in Pouilly-Fuissé, home of the appellation's only monopole premier cru. ### Things to do - [Ursulines Museum, Mâcon (Musée des Ursulines)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-des-ursulines-macon), 1 km away: Mâcon's museum of art and archaeology, in a 17th-century convent, with rooms devoted to Lamartine. - [Église Saint-Pierre de Mâcon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-pierre-macon) (1 km away): Mâcon's largest church, a neo-Romanesque landmark whose twin spires rise above the Saône. - [Pont Saint-Laurent](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/pont-saint-laurent-macon) (1 km away): The oldest bridge across the Saône, joining Mâcon to the Ain on twelve stone arches. ### Restaurants - [La Huchette](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-huchette-replonges) (4 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Bresse produce with a Mediterranean accent, just across the Saône from Mâcon. - [L’O des Vignes](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/l-o-des-vignes-fuisse) (7 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A Meilleur Ouvrier de France cooking in the heart of Pouilly-Fuissé. - [La Table de Chaintré](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-table-de-chaintre) (7 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): One menu a week, one husband-and-wife team, in a former village grocery near Mâcon. ## Questions about Contes & Lumières ### When is Contes & Lumières 2026? Contes & Lumières 2026 takes place in Mâcon: Friday, 4 December 2026 – Sunday, 3 January 2027. ### Where does Contes & Lumières take place? Contes & Lumières takes place in Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire). ### Is Contes & Lumières free to attend? Yes, entry to Contes & Lumières is free. ### How do you get to Contes & Lumières from Beaune? Mâcon is about 1 h 16 from Beaune by road (103 km). The easiest way is a private driver: from €275 for the whole car, up to 4 guests, with no parking to find and nobody at the wheel after a glass of wine. ### Can we book a private driver for Contes & Lumières? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you enjoy Contes & Lumières and drives you back. For the busiest weekends, book a few weeks ahead. → [Full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) ## Book - [Book a driver for this day](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:ursulines&date=2026-12-04): No parking to find, no one left as the designated driver: everyone enjoys a glass. Your driver waits and drives you back: no parking to find, and everyone can enjoy a glass. ## Sources - - - [The full events calendar](https://www.cote-privee.com/events) --- Canonical page: