Right outside of Brussels, in a park that surrounds a beautiful castle, the Château de la Hulpe, a beautiful event takes places each year to make winter a bit less depressing and grey: the Lanterna Magica.
I went with some friends about two months ago, in the cold month of December, to fight off the winter blues, and truly loved it.
Basically, the park is completely decorated with different types of lights and ambiences, which all follow a walking path (2.5 km) that leads you all across the park, next to the castle and then back. There are lights, music and animations – as obviously this also attracts a lot of families with kids – and the overall atmosphere is truly magical.
The point is to go there in the evening when it is already pitch-black anyways, and follow the path. There was a beautiful musical staircase, glittering flowers on a small lake, colourful (and a bit creepy) gnomes, hanging lights in huge trees and all of this was reflected on the large lake at the centre of the park.
I realise that the way I describe this is not great, and definitely doesn’t do justice to the event, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves!
Overall, I thought that the idea was absolutely amazing, and it kinda felt like you were really walking in an enchanted and magical forest at night. Apart from the crowds, the main downside to it was the very muddy path, which distracted a bit from the gorgeous surroundings.
I loved this experience and I thought it was a really nice way to do something a bit different and make the most of the very short days we have in winter.
Lanterna Magica: practical info
The event takes place each year in autumn. In 2023, the Lanterna Magica – Autumn Symphony edition will be open from October 20 to December 10, each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and during some holidays.
The walk is about 2.5 km, so the length of the experience will mainly depend on how much time you spend to see the light shows and wander. There are also food stands at the beginning/end, so you can very well stay for a couple of hours or even less.
You can buy the tickets via the official Lanterna Magica website. It costs 20.50 euros per adult and 15.50 for kids/seniors. You also have the possibility to buy a cute lantern to walk around with (11 euros) and to book a shuttle bus from the La Hulpe train station to the park (3 euros).
