St Johns County

30th Season of St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights Concludes with Another Successful Year

This year marked the 30^th anniversary of the City of St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights, which began on Nov. 13 with Light Up! Night and concluded on Jan. 28. For the past three decades, the downtown historic district of the City of St. Augustine has glowed in white lights to celebrate the holiday season.

Thirty years ago, St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights was established to stimulate economic development downtown during a typically slow time of the year. Those efforts worked. This year, more than 10,000 people assembled downtown in the Plaza de la Constitución to celebrate the start of the holiday season during Light Up! Night, and thousands more people visited downtown St. Augustine for the following months as the display continued.

Nights of Lights has received national and international attention throughout the years, which has helped the light display gain popularity. This year, Nights of Lights once again received recognition for its holiday spirit with the following accolades:

HGTV shared its top 50 favorite small towns to visit for Christmas, one in each state, and St. Augustine was recognized as one of the top small towns in Florida with a big Christmas spirit. Joe Sills and Meredith Rosenberg of HGTV wrote, “No American city has done Christmas longer than St. Augustine. Founded in 1565, St. Augustine remains the oldest active city in the continental United States. And its palm-lined holiday festivities are the stuff of legend. St. Augustine goes all-out for Christmas, decorating historic streets and gardens with millions of twinkling holiday lights. The town is adorned with millions of festive lights during its Nights of Lights. From November into January, the city’s historic, Spanish Colonial architecture is set aglow by the spirit of the season in one of the most breathtaking displays of holiday lighting in the world.”

U.S. News recognized St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights as one of the top 25 Christmas light displays in America. Marisa Méndez from U.S. News wrote, “More than 3 million lights illuminate St. Augustine’s historic district in Florida, including must-visit sights like the Lightner Museum and St. George Street. If you’d rather explore with a guide, you can sign up for a tour of the lights with a local company like Old Town Trolley Tours or the Red Train Tours from Ripley’s. Once you’ve seen the lights, admire the Villa Zorayda Museum’s holiday decor or watch the daytime Christmas Parade on Dec. 2. Previous visitors say this is a terrific time to visit St. Augustine because the lights are spectacular. Perusing Nights of Lights is free for all – though tours and any goodies you wish to purchase from downtown vendors will cost you.”

Condé Nast Traveler recognized St. Augustine as one of the 23 US Cities That Go All Out for Christmas. Caitlin Morton of Condé Nast Traveler wrote, “Christmas in St. Augustine is truly something to behold. The holiday season kicks off this year with the city’s annual Christmas Parade, then continues through January 28 with the famous Nights of Lights festival. During the celebration, St. Augustine glows with three million tiny white lights over the Bridge of Lions and through 20 city blocks in the historic district. Bonus: You can enjoy the whole show without wearing a coat and gloves, because, you know, Florida.”

St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights receive new accolades each year with some of the highlights from previous year’s including: