Each winter, more than three million white lights wrap historic downtown St. Augustine in a soft golden glow. The 2026-27 Nights of Lights season opens on Saturday, November 21, 2026, and the lights shine every evening through Monday, January 18, 2027. This is the 33rd year of the celebration, which began in 1993.
Here is what to know for the season, from Light-Up! Night to the ways to see the lights, plus a few private tiny homes to come back to after an evening downtown.
When is Nights of Lights 2026-27?
The City of St. Augustine sets the season to run from the Saturday before Thanksgiving through Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed on the third Monday of January. For 2026-27, that means:
- Opening night: Saturday, November 21, 2026, with Light-Up! Night.
- Final night: Monday, January 18, 2027.
- Nightly: the lights come on each day at dusk and stay lit into the early morning hours.
- Walking the lights is free.
Light-Up! Night: Saturday, November 21, 2026
The season begins with an evening of music downtown and the ceremonial flip of the switch. Admission is free.
- 4:00 p.m.: the celebration opens in front of St. Augustine City Hall, 75 King Street, on the grounds of Parque de Menendez.
- 5:30 p.m.: the festivities move to Plaza de la Constitución on Cathedral Place, where the All-Star Orchestra plays holiday favorites from the gazebo stage.
- About 6:30 p.m.: dignitaries lead the countdown from the gazebo, the switch is flipped, and more than three million lights illuminate the city.
- Until 7:30 p.m.: the All-Star Orchestra keeps the holiday music going after the ceremony.
While you’re in the Plaza, look up. Visit St. Augustine shares a local tradition that one red light is hidden among the three million white ones, and one account places it somewhere in Plaza de la Constitución.
Ways to see the lights
Nights of Lights is both a walking event and a tour event. You can stroll the lit streets on foot for free, or see the lights by carriage, trolley, red train or golf cart, and most tours carry a fee. Visit St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights calendar also lists evening sails on the water and a free guided walking tour of the lights.
The City of St. Augustine encourages visitors to use its free park-and-ride shuttle during the season, and it will add the 2026-27 details at a later date. Visit St. Augustine also has a guide to free parking and shuttles for the season.
Where to stay for Nights of Lights
After a night under the lights, come home to a private retreat of your own. Our tiny homes sit together on a quiet property of pine and palmetto about three miles from historic downtown St. Augustine, and the Historic Recording Studio is a short walk from town.
Pueblito Del Mar – Tiny Village, for groups of up to 15
Bring the whole group for the holidays. When you book Pueblito Del Mar, the entire village is yours: four private tiny homes (Casa Caliente, Casa Gaucho, Casa Fuego and Casita Isabella) gathered around one plunge pool. Everyone has their own front door and their own bathroom, with five bedrooms, four hot tubs and room for up to 15 guests. Evenings gather in the screened outdoor living room at Caliente or out by the plunge pool, with dining under cover for the whole group.
Link: https://ancientcityvacation.com/product/pueblito-del-mar-tiny-village/
Historic Recording Studio, a short walk from town
Stay where the music was made. The Studio is the original site of FishTank Recordings, and it keeps its original layout, with floating floors, studio glass and walls shaped for sound isolation, plus original art and playable instruments. It sleeps five across two bedrooms, and the fenced backyard has covered seating, a fire pit and a plunge pool. It’s a short walk into town, with a trolley tour stop just across the street.
Link: https://ancientcityvacation.com/product/historic-recording-studio/
La Casa Caliente – Spa, two queen lofts and a plunge pool
A glass-walled tiny home under the pines, with two sleeping lofts at opposite ends, each with a queen bed. Out back, a screened outdoor living room holds a long sectional, outdoor dining and a hot tub under the same roof, and the plunge pool on the deck just outside is reserved for Caliente guests. Sleeps five.
Link: https://ancientcityvacation.com/product/la-casa-caliente-spa/
Casa Gaucho, the roll-up bedroom wall
Warm reclaimed pallet wood, a vaulted ceiling and a bedroom whose fourth wall is a garage door. Roll it up and the queen bed opens straight onto a covered deck with a clear roof and a private hot tub. There’s a full kitchen with an oven, a full-size refrigerator and a butcher-block island, a fire pit in the clearing, and room for four.
Link: https://ancientcityvacation.com/product/casa-gaucho/
Casa Fuego – Spa and Casita Isabella – Spa, made for two
Two studios for an anniversary, an elopement weekend or a quiet holiday trip for two. Each has a queen bed and a pull-out loveseat in one open room, a kitchenette, a private hot tub and an outdoor fire pit, and each sleeps up to three. At Casa Fuego, the hot tub sits a step off the covered lanai. Bring your own firewood for the fire pit; Publix is about 5 minutes away. At Casita Isabella, string lights hang over the deck and spa for evenings outside.
Links: https://ancientcityvacation.com/product/casa-fuego-spa/ and https://ancientcityvacation.com/product/casita-isabella-spa/
Whichever home you choose, you can see the lights downtown and be back at your own place the same evening. You can book any of them directly at ancientcityvacation.com. For more places to stay in town, see our guide to where to stay in St. Augustine: https://ancientcityvacation.com/where-to-stay-in-st-augustine/
