If you find yourself in South France, and if you are even as far away as 3-4 hours from the Provence village of Les Baux de Provence – one day you will deeply regret not spending double this time to travel here and experience this attraction!
What is Carrières de Lumières ?
Les Baux de Provence is a medieval village perched high on a limestone outcropping in the Provence countryside,
But that is not the amazing bit.
Carrières de Lumières is a stunning, amazing, breathtaking attraction, open to the public and located deep underneath the city, in a huge cavern where, centuries before, limestone was excavated. Even the chance to stand in this place and experience the colossal magnitude of the limestone quarry is amazing:
The limestone hall is probably larger than a football field, and the ceilings are nearly 20 meters tall.
But this is still not the amazing bit.
The amazing bit is what happens when they turn out the indoor lights, and when huge digital projectors flood every square centimeter of walls, floor, and ceiling with animated artwork synchronized with rich stereo music in the background. As the light show begins you are free to walk around. These few stills do not do the experience justice:
These are not random pictures of art, but rather art that showcases particular medieval artists. When I visited, the theme was based on the works of Hieronymous Bosch (1450-1516), Brueghel (a family from 1525 to around 1719) , and Guiseppi Arcimboldo (1527-1593).
You can only begin to appreciate the power of this place when you see the live motion and hear the music. I tried to capture of a bit of that here at these links: