The number of popular festivals and cultural events taking place in regions, cities and towns around Europe can run the gamut from funny, oddball and even bizarre, to culturally rich and centuries-old traditional, offering opportunities for an unexpectedly cool travel experience at a gorgeous destination.
Generally, traveling somewhere is itself the goal of a trip. Sometimes, though, traveling with a purpose makes the trip even more worthwhile. Attending a competition or a concert, participating in a marathon, festival, cooking class, language course or environmentally-responsible activity offers the perfect excuse to visit unexpected, beautiful places and a way to add spice, inspiration, authenticity — and lots of fun — to a trip.
Would you fancy chasing a wheel of cheese down a hill, throwing tomatoes at other people, or participating in a wine-fueled marathon through beautiful French castles? Europe offers events and activities for all tastes, all year long.
Selected from various travel experts’ advice, consider this selection of peculiar, eclectic and worthy festivities that will leave a lasting memory of your next European holiday.
Food-related festivals are rated highly in most rankings, with wine, tomatoes or cheese taking central roles in some of the most popular.
In the northern province of La Rioja, Spain, on June 29 — San Pedro’s Day — a battle with wine will be unleashed at the Haro Wine Festival, where a 400-year-old neighborhood feud serves as the excuse for thousands of locals and tourists to reenact the battle with more than 130,000 liters of wine as their singular weapon.
First, enjoy a night of dancing with the locals in the town square. The next morning, assuming you’re conscious, trek seven kilometers up a hill to throw as much wine at each other as possible — while wearing white, of course.
Year after year, La Tomatina holds its place as the crown jewel of the most peculiar festivals in which participants hurl food at each other during epic food fights.
A longstanding small-town tradition in Buñol, a village in the suburbs of Valencia, southern Spain,ithas become one of the world’s biggest, messiest and funniest food-fight festivals, with thousands of people that include visitors from around the world hurling literally 120 tons of tomatoes at each other.
Taking place on the last Wednesday of August every year, this year’s Tomatina will be August 26.
The wacky Cheese Rolling competition down Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, England, will take place on May 27, 2024.
Since the 1800s and traditionally falling on each spring bank-holiday Monday at the end of May, it now attracts people from around the world to watch or participate as three-kilo- wheels of cheese are released and
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If you’re a sakura - or cherry blossom - lover, you’ll likely have Japan and Washington DC on your travel bucket lists. But did you know there are countless places across Europe with equally impressive pink blooms to take in this spring?
Explore Spain’s world-famous natural scenery and cultural heritage – and savor its acclaimed cuisine at every pit stop – with a road trip across this beautiful country.
Explore Tunis, Tunisia's dynamic capital in North Africa, where cultural fusion thrives. Wander through the fascinating Arab Medina, alongside European-inspired facades. And on the outskirts is the charming seaside town of Sidi Bou Said, another must visit. Tunisian contemporary culture has been in the spotlight recently with a surge in art spaces, particularly in Tunis and its surroundings. Also inspiring to see are the internationally acclaimed films by female directors, including Under the Fig Trees by Erige Sehiri and this year’s Oscar-nominated Four Daughters by Kaouther Ben Hania.
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Now we’re in March, it seems as if spring might be just around the corner. As the flowers bloom and baby animals appear, it’s a great time to plan a trip to some of Europe’s most beautiful destinations.