Illumi is being heralded as the biggest village of lights IN THE WORLD! Located in Montreal, a city that loves outdoor winter activities, Illumi has found a great home. But is it really worth the visit? Is it really fun for everyone? Here is what you need to know before you go to Illumi.
Note: all advice is based upon our visit. You may go on another day with different weather and have a completely different experience.
When is the best time to visit?
We picked 5 p.m. so we could go straight after kids school. We were so happy! When we arrived there was no line up to get in. Going at 5 p.m. means you aren’t overrun by people and can easily maneuver the site. As we left there were lines ups for the shuttle, to get in and you couldn’t take a photo without a crowd of people in the shot.
BONUS tip: When you go early take the photo of the light tunnel that you go through as you leave. When we arrived there was noone there… when we left we couldn’t get a nice photo without way too many people in the shot.
Is the Christmas Tree impressive?
We drive by this tree every week on the way to my daughters skating. To be honest, it’s impressive from affar, let alone up close. The 47-metre statue is heralded as being as tall as the Statue of Liberty… but that’s without the copper base.
It really is impressive when you are standing at the base looking up and the slight change of color that you almost don’t even notice until it’s completely changed color. There are also light installations all inside that you can sit on or swing. Oh and for kids there is a Nintendo Switch igloo that you can go in to warm up and test out the games.
The Market
We went on a Tuesday before Christmas and the market was only half opened. There was coffee and food available, but not much for shopping. Sadly the mulled wine wasn’t open either. One thing that surprised us, and to be honest we almost missed, was the Import Dragon tent. We went in to warm up and found some really great toys at all prices. AND they gave each kid a little toy of shopkins, trashies or a cute squishy in a blue case.
Is it too Cold?
This is really hard for me to answer. Maybe it’s because we spend so much time in arenas, but we are a family who loves spending time outside in winter! There are heaters put up around, but to be honest we didn’t see notice much difference in helping you warm up. The real trick is to go into the igloos for nintendo, food or imports dragon. These are all heated and will help you warm up.
Also, it can’t be said enough to DRESS APPROPRIATELY! My husband didn’t have on warm enough clothes and like a kid I had to listen to him complain he was cold and wanted to go home, while the kids were fine!
Walking
Be prepared to walk. My daughter and myself loved the walking and didn’t mind the cold. My husband and son on the other hand did not. Wear waterproof footwear and watch where you are walking. When we went there was not snow covering cords and we tripped up a few times from them sticking up. The walk itself they say is 60-90 minutes, but we were there for around 2 & 1/2 hours, and we still didn’t see everything.
Drive Thru
Thanks to COVID, Illumi adapted to keep the city of lights going while everything was locked down. For this year, they are offering the option of either walking through or driving. You will want to check the schedule and rates to see availability and pricing.
Pups included
If your looking for something to do with your favorite canine companion you’ll be happy to know that for the 3rd edition there are ‘Doggie Nights’ where you can walk through the New Dazzling World of Lights with your dog on a leash. You’ll want to go on Monday December 6th or Thursday January 20th for ‘Doggie Night’ sponsored by Mondou and you can bring your puppies!
Note: If your going in your car – dogs are allowed in you car at anytime, but not allowed to exit the car, so if your planning on parking to get a churro or hot chocolate after you may want to think again.
The Lights
The actual number of lights and the glow from them is impressive. Many have animatronics and each area has different music. The way they have it set up is that each section has an entirely different feel. You are with the white pandas, then move onto red spiders or multi-color Savannah it all changes perspective. It really is a one-of-a-kind experience.
My husband was disappointed that there wasn’t an overall theme. He thought all of the 9 sections would tie in together into one story, but it each section was independent on it’s own.
BONUS tip: When you enter the site ask for a map so that you can see where all the different sections are so you won’t miss out. Each section has mutliple entry points, so it’s possible you can completely skip one without noticing.
Our favorites were: pandas, lammas, dragon and the Asian soldiers that my daughter kept posing with.
I wrote about Illumi earlier and the thing I was most looking forward to was ‘The Brightest Star’. I understood it to be screen which shows the journey of siblings looking for the light that makes Christmas to come alive. It was said to catapult you into a nighttime outdoor world of fantasy…. however, when we were there, it was not working. They did get it up and running as we were leaving, but it was only playing every half hour and I couldn’t talk my husband into staying.
Santa’s House
This one we hadn’t even thought about before going. Since we had the VIP tickets with a quicker line we decided to check it out. The reality is that there is usually 2 Santa’s there, but this night there was only one, but they still let us use the VIP line… apparently when there is only one Santa available, they don’t use the VIP line. The line was short and Santa was inside the cutest little wood cottage. The elves were helpful and we got a fun photo for memories. Oh and each kid got a chocolate which was a win for them!
Parking
A lot of people have been complaining about the parking for Illumi. We went at 5 p.m. and had no problem parking in P1, which would have been about a 10-15 minute walk to the site. We didn’t walk thought because the shuttle was there. For us the shuttle was prompt and quick, but I know as we were leaving there was a much bigger line of people waiting. My kids were SUPER excited for the train and it was a great way to start the outing.
BONUS tip: there is a FREE shuttle from metro Montmorency. When you come out there is someone there to help guide and direct you where to get the shuttle. If you take this option, you can see Illumi for around $20!
Food
I know we went on a Tuesday and it was super cold…. but I was hoping for more on the food side. When we first got in, half of the market was closed and that included food… and it was only as we were leaving that we saw that we had entirely missed the food area!
Raclette cheese sandwiches… hot cheese on a sandwich… who doesn’t love that!
There are churros in a few places, which are great by the carrousel while you wait.
And of course the Quebec traditional ‘tire’ maple sugar on a stick/taffy was a MUST for my kids. There is also a place where you can have s’mores on a campfire too… but my kids were all about the taffy!
VIP… worth it?
To be honest, my kids are 10 & 12 and have no problems walking around or keeping warm. But we had the VIP tickets and we went having no idea what it offered. You could also get VIP+ which included the buffet, at an added cost.
Having said that they LOVED the hot chocolate and stroop waffles from the VIP lounge and they probably made back the price of the ticket in those alone! But not as much as my husband loved getting warmed up and the coffee.
From what I could see here are the benefits of VIP:
- VIP access line at entrance (especially useful if you are going at peak evening time)
- Access to heated VIP tent with unlimited hot chocolate, coffee, stoopwaffles and HEATED BATHROOMS! NOTE: We didn’t but you can also get access to the buffet (around $40).
- VIP line to Santa’s House
- VIP line to the Carousel
- One thing my kids loved was the VIP bracelet… they wore them for weeks!
- Someone said if you have VIP you have priority parking in P1.. but I didn’t try this myself.
Do you have any advice before you go to Illumi?
