List of Traditional Parties & Festivals in Europe

Hey buddies,

Lots of websites give 'the calendar' of events in Europe, but usually they have some drawbacks: (1) they do not give an exhaustive list and (2) the events are not tagged... not commented in a independent way.
So, hereafter I purpose (of course, with the aid of our dearest Travel Helpers for each EU country) to list what are the best events in your country and the dates (say also if the dates are movable, fixed or depending on the lunar calendar) and some comments..... Music Festivals, Beer Festivals, Religious Celebration, whatever! Attracting more than 10.000 people, put in the list! Of course, there are some hidden "pearls" not too big but the type of event one could say 'unforgetable!': nice atmosphere, worderfull location or expressing the pure cultural tradition of a region........ those are more than welcome in the list!

Peter, I'd like to suggest you to make a link in the main TP page with such information.....

Cheers, all!
Cassi

PS: Recommended format -
MONTH, DATE, COUNTRY, NAME OF THE EVENT, COMMENTS.

Hey Cassi,

Why not write an article in The TP travel guide?

Hey,
If I had all this info gathered, it would be a pleasure. But I posted this thread exactly to get this info...
anyway, cheers!
Cassi

I'd like to add the annual Godiva Festival, which takes place over one weekend every summer here in Coventry. This year is the first weekend in July:

http://www.godivafestival.co.uk/

It starts off with a procession from the City Centre led by Her Ladyship, dressed (sadly) in a body stocking not au naturelle, as historical accuracy would demand.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/articles/2006/05/02/famous_people_godiva_feature.shtml

april 30th is queens day in the netherlands, where the streets are turned into a citywide market, the bars and restaurants put up stalls outside, djs are on scaffolding above while ppl dance underneath... its a big street party! everyone wears orange and goes on boats thru the canals... its great!!

Hungary, Budapest: Sziget Fesztivál: http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english

There is also a folklore festival in Východná, Slovakia..... 4-6 july... http://www.slovakheritage.org/Festivals/vychodnahist.htm

Carneval/Mardi Gras is a pretty big event all over Europe. The exact dates vary, depending upon the Easter date and the location. So are the Mardi Gras celebrations in Basel always about 2 weeks later than the one in Cologne. And the style of the celebrations vary a lot, from wild party street festival to authentic folklore masked dancers chasing winter away to fully exploited touristic attraction that is done more for the tourists than for the locals.

Germany's most well-known feast is the Oktoberfest. It takes part in Munich from late September to early October, the actual dates changing each year. http://www.oktoberfest.de/

Cannstadter Wasen - takes place in Stuttgart at roughly the same time as the Octoberfest and offers similar attractions. http://www.cannstatter-volksfest.de/

International Beer Festival - takes place in Berlin in late July or early August for about 3 days.
http://www.bierfestival-berlin.de/

Hanse Sail
Rostock, Germany, early August, sailing of old-fashioned sailing ships
http://www.hansesail.com/

Kieler Woche, June, Kiel, Germany
http://www.kieler-woche.de/eng/summer_festival/summer_festival.htm

Christmas markets - December, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, etc. Recommended places: Riga (Latvia), Salzburg, Dresden, Nuremberg,...

yeah the dresden, nuremberg and heidelberg christmas markets were my favourite! so nice!