Visiting Fabrique des Lumières in Amsterdam

What to do during a weekend in Amsterdam? That’s what Julia and I wondered when we spent a few days in our capital city. We wanted to do more than just shopping and eating.

 But also wanted to do something that can only be done in Amsterdam. In the end we chose the Fabrique des Lumières, an art exhibition, but slightly different from a normal exposation. The paintings are projected on the wall, so it feels like you can walk right through them. 

Atelier de Lumières Paris

The concept of the Fabrique des Lumières Amsterdam is from the same creators as the Atelier de Lumières in Paris. When I was living in Paris, this exhibition could already be visited in the French capital. Unfortunately I didn’t go there. (Maybe you have been there or seen the museum pass by in the Netflix series Emily in Paris). So when Julia suggested going to the Fabrique des Lumières in Amstedam, I immediately agreed with her.

Fabrique des Lumières in Amsterdam

During our visit to the Fabrique des Lumières, two exhibitions were running. One of Dalí and one of Gaudí. The museum consists of one large space where you can sit down to view the exhibition. There are some benches, but many people also choose to sit on the floor. The digital “show” starts twice an hour. We chose a comfortable spot and quietly waited for the show to begin. Artworks by Dalí appeared in life-size on the wall and the music playing in the background, matched with the artwork. We watched both exhibits while sitting in a nice spot. When the Dalí exhibit was restarted we walked around and took pictures. The Fabrique des Lumières is very photogenic. (And it provides great pictures for Instagram and my blog!)

Westergasfabriek Amsterdam

One of the buildings at Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam has been renamed the Fabrique des Lumières. Until recently, I had never been to this part of Amsterdam and I must admit I was positively surprised. We got there in the early evening and walked across the Westergasfabriek terrain to the museum. The atmosphere was nice and the terraces were full. If we didn’t book a time slot for the museum, and closing time wasn’t in two hours, we would have gone somewhere for a drink. At least we do have a good reason to come back. 

Buying tickets for Fabrique des Lumières Amsterdam 

We bought our Fabrique des Lumières tickets online through the museum’s official website. For this we paid €16 person and had access to the Dalí and Gaudí exhibition. We could choose a time slot in advance. On the day itself, we changed the time slot from early afternoon to early evening. Once we were in the Fabrique des Lumières we could decide how long we wanted to stay.

Adres and opening hours

Fabrique des Lumière can be found at Pazzanistraat 37, 1014 DB Amsterdam and for current opening hours I refer you to the museum’s website. The location is easily accessible by public transportation. We took the bus to the busstop Van L.Stirumstraat. From there it’s about a five-minute walk to the Fabrique des Lumière.

Do I recommend to go to the Fabrique des Lumières in Amsterdam?

Without a doubt I would say yes! Fabrique des Lumières in Amsterdam is definitely worth visiting. Although I am absolutely not an art lover, I found this museum to be a really cool experience. The artworks of Dalí and the buildings of Gaudí are presented in a completely different way than in a typical museum. Well, I have to admit that I find Gaudí’s work more impressive and am not really a fan of Dalí. Maybe with work by another artist it will be even more impressive. When new exhibitions comes up I am definitely considering coming back again. It seems like the ideal spot for a date in Amsterdam. 😉

*This article was written in september 2023