Events & Festivals
Discover travel events, festivals, and cultural celebrations around the world.
Dubai Shopping Festival
The Dubai Shopping Festival is the world's biggest retail extravaganza, running from January through February with massive discounts, entertainment shows, fireworks, and live concerts across the city. The month-long festival attracts millions of shoppers from around the world with deals at hundreds of malls and souks.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
The world's largest ice and snow festival transforms Harbin into a fantasy of illuminated ice sculptures every winter.
Hoi An Lantern Festival
On the 14th day of each lunar month, Hoi An's ancient town turns off its electric lights and glows entirely by the light of hundreds of colorful silk lanterns floating on the Thu Bon River. The monthly festival preserves a tradition dating back centuries and creates an enchanting atmosphere throughout the UNESCO heritage town.
Carnival Peru
Peru's carnival season in February and March varies by region, from the water balloon battles of Lima to the elaborate dances and costumes of Cajamarca, considered Peru's carnival capital. The Andean regions celebrate with traditional yunza tree ceremonies and the unique Huayno music that fills mountain towns with festive energy.
Carnival Portugal
Portugal's carnival season features spectacular celebrations, with Torres Vedras hosting the most authentic Portuguese carnival and Loulé in the Algarve presenting a flower-filled Mediterranean-style parade. The festivities include satirical floats, elaborate costumes, and traditional entrudo celebrations rooted in centuries of Portuguese culture.
Carnival Veracruz
Veracruz hosts one of Latin America's most exuberant carnivals, with dazzling parades of floats, elaborate costumes, and nonstop dancing in the streets along the Gulf of Mexico. The week-long pre-Lenten celebration is famous for its Caribbean-influenced music, the mock burning of "Bad Humor," and joyful street parties.
Chinese New Year (Singapore)
Colorful celebrations with lanterns
Chinese New Year (Malaysia)
Lion dances and fireworks
Chinese New Year Singapore
Singapore's Chinese New Year is a dazzling two-week celebration transforming Chinatown into a sea of red lanterns, with vibrant street markets, lion dances, and the spectacular River Hongbao light-up along Marina Bay. The festivities reflect Singapore's multicultural heritage with events spanning the full 15 days.
Chinese New Year Spring Festival
The world's largest human migration sees families reunite for fireworks, dragon dances, and festive feasts across China.
Cologne Carnival
Cologne's three-day street carnival is one of Europe's biggest parties, famed for costumes and "Jecken" revelry.
Croatia Carnival
Croatia's carnival season features the Rijeka Carnival, one of Europe's largest and most flamboyant, with a massive international parade of over 10,000 costumed participants winding through the city streets. The two-week February festivities include masked balls, children's parades, and the symbolic burning of the pust (carnival effigy).
Greek Apokries Carnival
Greece's pre-Lenten carnival season culminates in the Apokries celebrations, with the most famous in Patras where elaborate floats and costumed revelers fill the streets in one of Europe's largest carnivals. The three-week festivities include masquerade balls, street parties, and the spectacular burning of the carnival king.
New Orleans Mardi Gras
The world-famous Mardi Gras in New Orleans features elaborate parades, masked balls, and a carnival atmosphere.
Nice Carnival
One of the world's largest carnivals, held in Nice each February with extravagant parades of giant floats, confetti battles, and flower parades along the Promenade des Anglais. The two-week celebration draws nearly a million visitors with its spectacular artistry and festive atmosphere.
Reykjavik Winter Lights
Tet New Year
Vietnam's most important festival celebrates the lunar new year with family reunions, ancestral offerings, and vibrant street celebrations lasting up to two weeks. Homes are decorated with peach blossoms and kumquat trees, and the night sky lights up with spectacular fireworks over major cities.
Venice Carnival
Historic carnival with masks and costumes
Winter Snow Season
Skiing and winter sports