World festivals by month: how to plan unforgettable trips

Holidays are more than time off—they’re a doorway into living culture. Each celebration, whether a dazzling carnival, a noisy street festival or a time‑honored rite, reveals local customs, echoes of history and religious roots. Travel during big festivities changes the role of a visitor: you stop watching from the sidelines and slip into a citywide performance that can sweep up an entire nation.

This guide to the world’s festivals brings together the planet’s most compelling events. From Rio de Janeiro’s famed Carnival to Mexico’s mystical Day of the Dead, from Europe’s intimate Christmas markets to India’s kaleidoscopic Holi—these are the moments every fan of distinctive journeys should consider. You’ll find how to prepare, what to take with you and how to make the experience unforgettable.

January

The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is one of the world’s largest and most breathtaking winter celebrations, held annually in the Chinese city of Harbin. It usually opens in early January and runs through late February, drawing millions of visitors with towering ice and snow sculptures.

Harbin, in northeast China, is known for frigid winters that can sink to −30°C—perfect conditions for a festival on this scale. At its heart is the ice city, where huge blocks cut from the Songhua River become colossal buildings, bridges, castles and entire streets. At night, colored lights turn the scene into a storybook city. Nearby stand monumental snow compositions crafted by professional artists and sculptors. Throughout the festival you’ll also find winter sports, ice and snow sculpture contests and light shows. It’s hard not to feel you’ve stepped into a frozen city of light.

February

Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival (Brazil) is the world’s biggest and best‑known carnival, drawing millions and transforming the city into a roaring, radiant festival. Held 40 days before Easter, it starts on the Friday before Lent and runs through Ash Wednesday—though street revelry often spills beyond the official schedule.

The Sambadrome is the carnival’s beating heart, hosting spectacular parades by the city’s samba schools. This purpose‑built stadium holds around 90,000 spectators. The main event features the top 12 schools vying for the championship, each presenting a meticulously staged show of dancers, musicians, floats and costumes. Themes often explore social or historical stories through choreography, song and design.

Performers wear vibrant, extravagant outfits with lavish headpieces and richly detailed ornamentation—some weighing up to 30 kilograms, more artwork than attire. Beyond the official parades, hundreds of blocos—street processions and parties—pulse across the city. The energy is infectious; it’s easy to lose track of time.

The Venice Carnival (Italy) is among the most celebrated and elegant carnivals on earth, famous for sumptuous costumes, enigmatic masks and an atmosphere that evokes the city’s past. Festivities begin about two weeks before Lent and end on Ash Wednesday, drawing visitors from around the globe. Masks—worn to conceal identity and social status—are the carnival’s signature, paired with opulent costumes inspired by the fashion of the 18th‑century Venetian Republic.

With roots reaching back to the 13th century, the carnival once blurred social lines, letting people of any background mingle freely. Anonymity brought a sense of liberty and joy, and you can still sense that playful freedom in today’s celebrations.

The Taiwan Lantern Festival is a vivid, crowd‑pleasing celebration of the Lunar New Year that marks the end of the New Year holidays on the 15th day of the lunar calendar. The festival is known for magnificent lantern installations, parades and cultural performances that draw locals and travelers alike.

Lanterns are the star: thousands of them, from classic red lanterns to intricate art pieces. Each year the main lantern depicts the animal of the Chinese zodiac that symbolizes the new year. The festival is laid out in themed zones, and one of its most stirring traditions—especially popular in Pingxi—is releasing sky lanterns.

Cutting‑edge technology meets heritage here: projection shows, laser installations and interactive light displays turn the city into a futuristic park of light. The blend of old and new gives the festival a character all its own.

March

The Basel Carnival (Basler Fasnacht) is Switzerland’s largest—and arguably its most unusual—carnival. It begins on the Monday after Ash Wednesday and lasts exactly 72 hours. Unlike many carnivals famed for brightness and pomp, Basel’s hallmark is the nocturnal Morgestraich. At 4:00 a.m., the city falls dark and participants step into the streets with glowing paper lanterns, creating an otherworldly procession.

Holi (India), the festival of colors, is one of India’s most joyous celebrations. It welcomes spring, marks the triumph of good over evil and signals renewal. Holi is celebrated across India and in communities worldwide, usually in March, for two days depending on the lunar cycle.

At its core are colors: people toss bright powders (gulal), coating themselves and everyone around them in a rainbow. The ritual suggests equality and fellowship—under color, age, gender and status recede. Water play joins the fun, soaking the streets in color and laughter.

On the eve of Holi comes Holika Dahan, the ceremonial burning of the Holika effigy, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. Throughout the period, people dance to traditional music, sing folk songs and join open‑air festivities. It’s a celebration that feels both timeless and exuberant.

Las Fallas (Valencia, Spain) is a singular Spanish festival held in mid‑March, dedicated to Saint Joseph, the patron of carpenters. It fuses art, fire, tradition and raucous celebration. Its showpiece is the colossal ninots—figures crafted over the course of a year and then burned in the festival’s blazing finale. These artworks often satirize politicians, celebrities or everyday scenes, ranging from caricature to richly detailed sculpture.

The Flower Offering parade, one of the festival’s most moving moments, takes place on March 17 and 18. Valencians in traditional dress bring flowers to the Virgin Mary, weaving a towering floral statue in the square. Each night fireworks light up Valencia’s sky from the Turia Park, and the “Night of Fire” crowns the pyrotechnics in the night leading into March 19. No wonder the city slips into a new rhythm for a few unforgettable days.

St. Patrick’s Day (Dublin, Ireland) is the country’s biggest national holiday, observed on March 17 in honor of the nation’s patron saint. It showcases Irish heritage with parades, music, dance and plenty of good cheer. While the day is marked worldwide, the largest festivities unfold in Ireland, especially in Dublin.

The centerpiece is Dublin’s parade, marching through the city center and drawing tens of thousands of spectators. Marchers include bands, street artists, dancers and floats adorned with Irish symbols and mythic figures. Green rules the day: people dress in green and pin on shamrocks, and famous landmarks such as the Spire and the Custom House glow emerald after dark.

April

The Tulip Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands) celebrates one of the country’s defining symbols. Held in April across Amsterdam and its surroundings, it draws visitors eager to see fields, gardens and parks awash in color. The headline venue is Keukenhof, though tulips dot many corners of Amsterdam as well.

Open only in spring, Keukenhof becomes a vivid mosaic of more than seven million tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other spring blooms. Across the city, streets, squares and museums are adorned with floral compositions and installations. The scale and care are striking—nature curated like art.

Easter in Jerusalem (Israel) is among the most significant and emotionally charged events for Christians worldwide. The holy city is where, according to the Gospels, the last days of Jesus unfolded: the Last Supper, his passion, crucifixion, death and resurrection. Each year thousands of pilgrims come to trace his path and join the solemnity of Holy Week and Easter.

It begins with Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem. Pilgrims follow the Palm Sunday Route from the Mount of Olives to the Old City, carrying palm branches as described in Scripture. The mass procession unites believers from many countries in a shared moment of remembrance.

On Holy Saturday, crowds gather in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—where, by tradition, Jesus was crucified, buried and rose again—for the Holy Fire. During this rite, the Holy Fire is said to miraculously ignite at Christ’s tomb and is then passed by clergy to all present, symbolizing the Resurrection. Easter Sunday brings the celebration of that Resurrection.

Pilgrims also visit other sacred sites: the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations, Mount Zion and the Room of the Last Supper. The city becomes a living map of faith and memory.

May

The Cannes Film Festival (France) is one of cinema’s most prestigious gatherings, held each year in Cannes on the French Riviera. Founded in 1946, it has become a premier platform for premieres, creative exchange and coveted awards. Directors, actors, producers, journalists and film lovers converge from around the world.

The red carpet is Cannes’s most recognizable tableau. Global stars make their way up the steps of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès before the flashbulbs—a ritual that embodies the festival’s polish and poise.

Cannes presents a broad slate of sections and competitions. Its top honor, the Palme d’Or, goes to the best film in the main competition and is one of the most influential awards in cinema, often reshaping a director’s international trajectory.

The Flamenco Festival (Seville, Spain) is among the genre’s most important events, staged every two years in Andalusia’s capital. For several weeks Seville becomes a flamenco epicenter, gathering leading performers, dancers (bailaores), singers (cantaores) and guitarists. Major performances unfold in historic venues such as the Teatro Maestranza and the Alcázar of Seville, where intensity and craft take center stage.

The Festival of Flowers (Córdoba, Spain) is a radiant May tradition devoted to the art of decorating patios. Unique to Córdoba and woven into local heritage, it attracts thousands who come to admire blooming courtyards awash with fragrance and color.

The Patio Competition is the main event: homeowners spend months preparing their courtyards to impress juries and guests. Judges consider not only the quantity and quality of flowers, but their placement, harmony and overall aesthetic effect.

Beyond the competition, the city fills with music, dance and food markets. Traditional Andalusian musicians perform across Córdoba, and celebrations spotlight flamenco and Spanish folk dance. The city practically turns into an open‑air gallery.

June

The Glastonbury Festival (United Kingdom) is one of the world’s largest and best‑known music festivals, held each June in England at Worthy Farm in Somerset, near the town of Glastonbury. Since 1970, it has grown into a cultural phenomenon that fuses music, art, theater and activism—long a byword for freedom, diversity and creative expression.

Music is the marquee draw, with performances on numerous stages. Glastonbury brings global headliners and acclaimed acts across genres—rock, pop, indie, electronic, hip‑hop, folk and more. The Pyramid Stage is the iconic centerpiece.

Vast camping areas sprawl around the site, creating a pop‑up community where thousands live and mingle for days. That shared, temporary city is part of the festival’s magic.

The White Nights Festival (Saint Petersburg, Russia) is one of Russia’s brightest cultural occasions, staged during the famed white nights when darkness barely descends. The season brings major concerts, opera and ballet productions, street festivals and citywide celebrations. Events run annually in June and early July, when the nights are lightest.

At its core are performances by leading Russian theaters, with the Mariinsky Theatre playing a key role in the program.

The international music program “Stars of the White Nights” gathers top orchestras, soloists and conductors from around the world. Scarlet Sails is one of the festival’s most anticipated spectacles, dedicated to school graduates. Throughout the white nights, free street concerts, festivals and performances fill squares and parks, drawing locals and visitors into a shared celebration.

Special night tours explore the city’s historic quarters, and romantic boat rides weave along rivers and canals. Palaces, bridges and embankments take on a distinctive glow as the sun barely dips below the horizon—an unforgettable backdrop for a city made for promenades.