Festivals and Events

Dec 5, 2018 • 5 min read

Turn back the sundials to the days of Plato and Sappho, a time which may not have been the same-sex utopia once believed but where sexual freedoms…

Nov 30, 2018 • 2 min read

There’s an abundance of sun on display in San Diego year round, and although temperatures are a bit crisper than usual, winter is no exception. Festivals,…

Nov 30, 2018 • 2 min read

Kyiv may not be the first city that comes to mind for Christmas travel. However, visiting the Ukrainian capital during the festive season may change your…

Nov 16, 2018 • 4 min read

There’s a saying in Bengali that goes, baro mashe tero parbon, literally ‘13 festivals in 12 months’, neatly summing up the importance — and yearlong…

Nov 1, 2018 • 5 min read

The electric atmosphere makes the air sizzle in the hours leading up to Shabbat in Jerusalem. Before the western side of the city shuts down for a full 24…

Oct 26, 2018 • 4 min read

Most visitors to New Zealand schedule their trip during the nation’s balmy summer months, but wintertime heralds a whole new set of attractions across…

Oct 25, 2018 • 5 min read

On a stormy night the schooner Demeter is blown into Whitby harbour. An immense black dog jumps ashore and disappears into the darkness. On board, lashed…

Oct 24, 2018 • 4 min read

From shipping hub to creative quarter, the ever-changing Amsterdam Noord neighbourhood has cemented itself as one of the Dutch capital’s coolest spots…

Oct 24, 2018 • 3 min read

As Fez is the spiritual capital of Morocco, it’s only fitting that the annual Festival of Sufi Culture should take place here each October. Sufism, the…

Oct 19, 2018 • 6 min read

When visitors speak of Belgrade, they often think of its famous nightlife scene. But the Serbian capital has a culturally engaged population, a rich…

Oct 18, 2018 • 5 min read

While the current perception may be that the island of Hawaiʻi was reduced to a lump of cooling lava in the Pacific Ocean, this is simply not the case…

Oct 12, 2018 • 5 min read

Just a 50-minute flight from Bali’s sleek beach clubs, juice bars and yoga studios, Sumba provides a satisfying contrast. An island of raw, natural beauty…

Sep 18, 2018 • 4 min read

It was probably the biggest thing to have happened in Moynaq since the waters of the Aral Sea started to recede in the 1960s. Hundreds of curious locals…

Sep 6, 2018 • 7 min read

Some of the most memorable moments in life are our ‘firsts’: our first time getting behind the wheel, going to a gig or kissing someone. But often the…

Aug 28, 2018 • 6 min read

Few people have heard of Jekyll Island, Georgia. But huge, world-changing things once happened in this tiny spot – one of four barrier islands known as…

Aug 28, 2018 • 5 min read

Oita, a prefecture on Japan's southern-most island of Kyūshū, is world-famous for its incredible hot springs. Towns like Beppu host bathers from around…

Aug 24, 2018 • 5 min read

Set atop a pretty promontory that extends into the Adriatic sea, Zadar has a compact and attractive old town of golden-hued churches and Roman ruins that…

Jul 30, 2018 • 4 min read

Lonely Planet Local Esme Fox first fell in love with Barcelona over 10 years ago on a rail trip around Spain, and nowadays she's lucky enough to call the…

Jul 25, 2018 • 6 min read

The world’s first modern flight wasn’t pretty. On a windy December morning in 1903, Orville Wright released the wire that tethered his wood-and-fabric…

Jul 23, 2018 • 6 min read

The annual Trumpet Festival (held this year from 9 to 12 August) in Guča, Serbia, combines old European heritage with world-class competition – contagious…

Jul 20, 2018 • 5 min read

The FME music festival in Quebec, Canada, just might be the most eclectic music festival in North America, with up to 70 live performers in a variety of…

Jul 11, 2018 • 5 min read

Food means festivity in every culture. Not only is eating usually essential to celebration, but many of the world’s great festivals owe their very…