Time your trip around something special

London, UK

Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare's Globe — London, June 2026

11 JUN – 24 OCT · on now

Shakespeare's sparky comedy of wit and mistaken love, staged in the open air at the reconstructed Globe on London's Bankside — groundling tickets a steal.

Trim, Ireland

Púca Festival 2026 — Halloween's birthplace, Trim & Athboy

29 OCT – 1 NOV

Four nights of fire, music and Samhain tradition in County Meath, where Halloween began: a lantern-lit procession through Trim, the lighting of the Samhain fire at Athboy, projections on Trim Castle and a big-top bill topped by The Waterboys.

Oaxaca, Mexico

Day of the Dead 2026

31 OCT – 2 NOV

Oaxaca's Day of the Dead, with candlelit cemetery vigils, marigold altars and costumed comparsas honouring the departed.

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne Cup 2026

3 NOV

Australia's premier horse race, 'the race that stops a nation,' run at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.

Jaipur, India

Diwali 2026

6 NOV – 10 NOV

India's festival of lights, when Jaipur's Pink City dazzles with market illuminations, oil lamps and fireworks.

Nassau, Bahamas

Junkanoo 2026

26 DEC

The Bahamas' spectacular street parade — crepe-paper costumes, goatskin drums, cowbells and brass, from before dawn on Bay Street.

Sydney, Australia

Sydney New Year's Eve 2026

31 DEC

Sydney Harbour's world-famous New Year's Eve fireworks, launched from the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

Ha'erbin Shi, China

Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2027

5 JAN – 28 FEB

China's colossal winter festival of illuminated ice palaces and snow sculptures carved from the frozen Songhua River.

Gonder, Ethiopia

Timkat 2027

19 JAN – 20 JAN

Ethiopia's spectacular Orthodox Epiphany, celebrated with processions and mass baptismal rites at Gondar's royal baths.

Batu Caves, Malaysia

Thaipusam 2027

22 JAN

A dramatic Hindu festival of devotion and penance, culminating in the kavadi procession up Batu Caves' steps.

Venice, Italy

Venice Carnival 2027

30 JAN – 16 FEB

Venice dons masks and 18th-century finery for two weeks of candlelit balls, canal-side pageantry and Piazza San Marco spectacle.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio Carnival 2027

5 FEB – 9 FEB

The world's largest carnival, where samba schools compete in dazzling all-night parades through Rio's purpose-built Sambadrome.

Barranquilla, Colombia

Carnival of Barranquilla 2027

6 FEB – 9 FEB

Colombia's UNESCO-listed carnival explodes with cumbia, mapalé, costumed comparsas and flamboyant float parades in the days before Lent.

New Orleans, US

Mardi Gras 2027

9 FEB

New Orleans' Carnival climax on Fat Tuesday, with krewe parades, beads and masking through the French Quarter.

Sydney, Australia

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2027

20 FEB – 7 MAR

Sydney's flagship LGBTQIA+ pride festival, spanning weeks of events and capped by a glittering night parade down Oxford Street.

Dublin, Ireland

St Patrick's Festival 2027 — Dublin's parade and where else to celebrate in Ireland

13 MAR – 17 MAR

St Patrick's Festival in Dublin, 13–17 March 2027, parade at noon on the 17th, plus Downpatrick, Armagh, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Dingle's 6am band.

València, Spain

Las Fallas 2027

15 MAR – 19 MAR

Valencia erupts with giant satirical sculptures, deafening daytime firecrackers and a fiery finale that burns them all on 19 March.

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town Carnival 2027

20 MAR

South Africa's vibrant street parade of costumes, floats, music and dance along Green Point's Fan Walk.

Mathura, India

Holi 2027

21 MAR – 22 MAR

The Braj region's exuberant Holi, where Mathura and Vrindavan celebrate the festival of colours at Krishna's homeland.

Indio, US

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2027

9 APR – 18 APR

California's marquee desert music festival, two star-studded weekends of live acts and art at the Empire Polo Club.

Bangkok, Thailand

Songkran 2027

13 APR – 15 APR

Thailand's New Year water festival, when Bangkok's streets erupt into the world's biggest water fight.

Seville, Spain

Seville Feria de Abril 2027

18 APR – 24 APR

Seville's dazzling spring fair: a week of flamenco dresses, horse-drawn carriages, sherry and dancing in hundreds of striped marquees.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

King's Day Amsterdam 2027

27 APR

The Netherlands turns orange for the King's birthday, with canal-boat parties, a citywide street market and nonstop music on 27 April.

Fes, Morocco

Fes Festival of World Sacred Music 2027

28 MAY – 5 JUN

Morocco's celebrated festival of spiritual and world music, gathering sacred artists in the historic imperial city of Fes.

Sydney, Australia

Vivid Sydney 2027

28 MAY – 19 JUN

Sydney's after-dark festival of light installations, projections, live music and ideas across the harbour city.

Lisbon, Portugal

Festas de Lisboa 2027

1 JUN – 13 JUN

Lisbon's biggest street party, when June's Santo António festivities fill the old quarters with grilled sardines, music and all-night revelry.

Cusco, Peru

Inti Raymi 2027

24 JUN

Cusco's Inca Festival of the Sun, a grand winter-solstice reenactment culminating at the Sacsayhuamán fortress.

Calgary, Canada

Calgary Stampede 2027

9 JUL – 18 JUL

Canada's biggest rodeo and Western festival, ten days of chuckwagon races, concerts and midway thrills.