Lumiart Dubrovnik 2026: the festival of light, 16 to 18 October

The sixth Lumiart, Dubrovnik's festival of light, takes over the Old Town for three evenings, from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October 2026. The Dubrovnik Tourist Board organises it with the studio Pixel Design and the support of the City of Dubrovnik (Slobodna Dalmacija, official site). In August the festival was announced for 23 to 25 October (DuList); the organisers now list 16 to 18 October, so check the date if you planned your trip around the old one.

What you will see

Stradun, the Sponza Palace and other spots along the walls, squares and palaces get 3D mapping projections, light installations and audiovisual works, with electronic music (DubrovnikNet). The concept is optics, geometry, mirrors and the study of light. Last year's edition, in early November 2025, used 13 locations in the Old Town, projected onto the palace façades along Stradun and the fortifications, lit up the three big towers and changed the installations from one evening to the next (HRT). The 2026 programme with exact locations and times had not been published by 9 October.

Who was Marin Getaldić

Marin Getaldić was born in Dubrovnik on 2 October 1568 and died there on 11 April 1626. A mathematician and physicist, he worked on optics and on applying algebra to geometry. He built a parabolic mirror 66 centimetres across, now in the National Maritime Museum in London, and tested burning mirrors in a cave below the city that is still called Bete's Cave after his nickname. He also served the Republic of Ragusa as an envoy to Constantinople and was commissioned in 1604 to build the Podzvizd tower in the Ston walls (Wikipedia).

The same weekend in Dubrovnik

Lumiart falls on the last weekend of the Good Food Festival, which runs from 5 to 18 October with set festival menus in the city's restaurants and guest-chef dinners. On the morning of Saturday 17 October the Dubrovnik Table turns Stradun into one long table from the Pile Gate to the clock tower, with food from the city's hotels, restaurants, bakeries and pastry shops; in the evening the same street becomes a Lumiart stage. Dates and bookings are in our Good Food Festival guide.

What it means for visitors

• The festival takes place in the open streets and squares of the Old Town; the organisers have not announced tickets. It starts after dark, and the nightly times will be in the programme.
• Mid-October suits a Dubrovnik evening: afternoons still reach about 21 degrees, and by evening the cruise passengers have left the Old Town. Our October guide has the details.
• The Old Town is closed to cars. City buses stop at Pile Gate, the main entrance next to Stradun.