Les Nuits Blanches de la Forêt de Lyons

Music under the stars of Europe's largest beech forest

Since 2023, the first weekends of September have resonated with unique music in the heart of the Lyons state forest, the largest beech forest in Europe with its 10,700 hectares of ancient beech trees. The festival Les Nuits Blanches de la Forêt de Lyons, created by the association Iterculture, offers three exceptional musical evenings blending classical, neoclassical, and minimalist music in breathtaking locations.

The concerts unfold in two exceptional settings: the Lyons-la-Forêt arboretum, a magical clearing in the heart of the forest where music mingles with the sounds of nature under a starry sky, and the Saint-Denis church of Lyons-la-Forêt, a listed historic monument whose acoustics and dim light offer an ideal setting for intimate recitals. This duality between the forest outdoors and sacred architecture gives the Nuits Blanches a unique atmosphere, between contemplation and musical emotion.

International artists in a Norman setting

The festival champions a program of international excellence, bringing together leading musicians around classical and contemporary repertoires. The 2025 edition, the festival's third, is dedicated to the American composer Philip Glass, an emblematic figure of minimalism and the world's most performed living opera composer.

For this edition, the Opéra Orchestre de Normandie Rouen conducted by Keren Kagarlitsky opens the festivities on September 6th with a symphonic concert in the forest. New York pianist Anton Batagov, a major figure in international minimalist piano, offers a recital dedicated to Philip Glass in the Saint-Denis church on September 13th. Japanese pianist Maki Namekawa, a leading interpreter of Glass's work, closes the festival on September 20th with the composer's 20 Piano Etudes.

A total sensory experience

Les Nuits Blanches de la Forêt de Lyons are not just a concert festival: they offer a total sensory experience where music dialogues with nature, architecture, and the declining light of dusk. The forest concert, amidst the ancient beech trees, transforms the arboretum into an open-air concert hall, while the recitals in the listed church, lit by candlelight, immerse the audience in rare musical intimacy.

The choice of Lyons-la-Forêt — a village listed among the most beautiful villages in France, a holiday resort for Maurice Ravel who composed part of his works there — anchors the festival in a deep musical and artistic tradition. With its positioning between classical and contemporary, nature and heritage, the Nuits Blanches establish themselves as one of the most poetic and original musical events in Normandy.