Festivals in Western Europe
Carnival seasons, solstice fires, and village rituals older than the borders.
Festival of Lights Berlin
October nights when Berlin's landmarks become screens for light art
Púca Festival
Halloween goes home to its Celtic roots with fire, myth and music in County Meath
Lewes Bonfire Night
Burning crosses, flaming barrels and exploding effigies: Britain's wildest November 5
Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels
A Devon town runs blazing tar barrels through its streets on its shoulders
St. Martin's Day
Children's paper lanterns, a rider in a red cloak and roast goose across the Rhineland
Vienna Christkindlmarkt
Punch, pretzels and a skating trail in front of Vienna's neo-Gothic City Hall
Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt
One of Germany's oldest Christmas markets: gingerbread, mulled wine, a golden Christkind
Fête des Lumières
Four December nights when Lyon turns its churches, squares and hills into light art
Edinburgh's Hogmanay
Torches, a castle-lit street party and Auld Lang Syne at Scotland's New Year
Up Helly Aa
Torch-bearing 'Vikings' burn a longship through a Shetland winter night
Cologne Carnival
Six days of costumes, Kölsch and the Rose Monday parade on the Rhine
Basel Fasnacht
At 4am the lights go out and Basel's old town fills with lanterns, fifes and drums
St. Patrick's Festival
Dublin's parade, céilís and a city in green for Ireland's national day
King's Day
The Netherlands turns orange for a nationwide street market and canal party
Cannstatter Volksfest
Stuttgart's answer to Oktoberfest: beer tents, a fruit column and Swabian swagger
Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre
Paris toasts its Montmartre vineyard with a costumed parade and five days of wine
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