Take A Glittering Tour Through Amsterdam's Light Festival

Temporal Tower door Todd van Hulzen Studio Louter - Copyright Janus van den Eijnden  To brighten those long Northern European winters, the Amsterdam Light Festival will be back again for year three: illuminating the canalled street of the city from December 6th to January the 19th. For those visiting Amsterdam this holiday season, we've compiled a few of our favorite, must-see installations below:

Big Tree door, Jacques Rival - Amstelsluis. Copyright Janus van den Eijnden.

Big Tree: Colorful Tree Over the Amstel is the latest installation from French artist Jacques Rival. Constructing a large metal structure over one of Amsterdam's most famous waterways, the artist has tricked-out the piece with 64 colored LED tubes meant to resemble tree branches. For more info on this piece (or to take a water tour!) you can click here.

Created by legendary inventor, philosopher, and designer Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983, United States), the dome represents Buckminster's "ideal form" for architecture.Originally displayed in Los Angeles (1981), the piece is now in the Netherlands for the first time.

Canonicalization, Shih Chieh Huang. Copyright Janus van den Eijnden Canonicalization of a Seductive Mind: Sea Monsters in the Wertheimpark is the brainchild of Taiwanese/American artist (and marine biologist) Shih Chieh Huang. Based on "the adaptability of organisms living in hostile environments" Huang had created a colorful world populated by funky creatures created out of household appliances and LED lighting.

Kalman 

Reflections door Teresa Mar op Hermitage/ Light Spectacle at the Hermitage. Copyright Janus van den Eijnden

Created by Austrian artist Teresa Mar, this light projection spans the entirety of the 100-meter long facade of the Hermitage Amsterdam. Inspired by nature and art, the installation is also an homage to the museum's current exhibition on Gaugain, Bonnard, and Denis (A Russian Taste for French Art).

Pas encore mon histoire, Vincent Olinet. (c) Joris van Kesteren "My work in Amsterdam..is a fairytale bed floating on the canal," says Olinet. "The bed continues throughout the festival, so it will be one with nature. The location of this artwork, Red Light District, gives a special meaning to the intimate and personal feeling that you give a bed."

Unveiled in 2010 to celebrate the Chinese New Year at Customs House, Sydney, Australia, these Digital Tigers were "adopted" by the Word Wildlife Fund to essentially act as mascots in the fight to save tigers. Combining traditional lantern making techniques with digital design and fabrication technology, the installations are made of recyclable materials like aluminum and barrisol, and contain low energy LED lights. For a complete, illuminated walking route, you can visit visit Amsterdam Light Festival's website here.