Every winter cities around the globe come alive with exciting carnival events, which typically mark Lent (40 days before Easter). These festivities may involve parades, music and dancing performances.
Unleash your inner Venetian this year by enjoying masked regattas and beauty contests, or admire one of Venice’s historic paper-mache float parades that date back at least 1296!
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro’s carnival is world renowned, and for good reason: its parades, costumes and songs are spectacular; in many cases they take years of planning to perfect in design.
Residents of Mexico City regularly celebrate in boisterous street parties known as blocos, where crowds of thousands wave away ideas about personal space while dancing to marching drums, kitchen utensils clacking together, and old-school boom boxes blasting pop music.
The carnival culminates with a two-night extravaganza at Oscar Niemeyer’s Sambadrome stadium, with 12 of the elite samba schools from Special Group parade performing their winning acts during Champion’s Parade night.
New Orleans
Mardi Gras isn’t just one day in New Orleans; it’s an entire carnival season filled with parades and the crowning of a Carnival King. All festivities conclude by midnight on Fat Tuesday as Lent begins immediately afterwards.
At 8 a.m. each Saturday and Sunday morning in uptown New Orleans, two major parades begin: Zulu Parade and Rex Parade. Both feature incredible wooden wagon floats along with beads or other items thrown as participants pass by.
New craze among Krewes is to toss blinking items into the crowd as an attention-getter and to increase throws. This can help draw people’s eyes while increasing throws.
Trinidad
If you want to attend Trinidad Carnival 2023, make sure you book your flights and accommodation as early as possible – it’s best not to wait!
This two-island nation hosts one of the best carnivals worldwide, renowned for its costume designs and Soca music.
Starting in December and culminating with an Ash Wednesday parade, this festival offers a host of events and competitions such as fetes, stick fighting matches, calypso contests, calypso limbo competitions and Panorama, an impressive steel pan competition. Festivities take place predominantly in Port of Spain and its nearby towns.
Binche
Binche carnival is an extraordinary event held annually in a small Walloon town in Belgium, which has received widespread acclaim for its spontaneity and generous financial commitment from local people. Preparation takes months with rigorous rules of conduct being in place as well as extravagant costumes dating back at least 150 years!
On Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), men and boys known as Gilles dress in elaborate costumes with wooden shoes. They parade through the streets throwing oranges at crowds; it is said that being hit by one will bring good fortune for the remainder of the year.
Tenerife
Tenerife hosts one of the world’s largest carnivals each year and draws visitors from around the globe to join in its festive and colorful festivities. Starting January 20, this year’s carnival runs until Pinata Sunday on February 26. Most big shows take place within Tenerife International Centre for Trade Fairs and Congresses, or The Fair Recint.
Staying close to the events is recommended if possible, since many roads close off during carnival and parking is scarce. Staying in Santa Cruz makes it easy to access all venues quickly while taking part in all the fun festivities!
Viareggio
Viareggio Carnival is one of Italy’s most beloved annual traditions. Huge allegorical floats parade throughout February on Sundays plus Fat Tuesday, alongside shows, district parties and historical reenactments. Viareggio’s ‘carristi’ (float artists) use humor and satire to address some of today’s pressing social issues with their creative float designs.
Have you ever witnessed a parade of giant papier-mache politicians, celebrities and other well-known figures before? Don’t miss your opportunity to sample local sweets such as croccanti at evening street festivals!
Fly into Pisa and rent a car or take the train to reach your accommodation in this picturesque coastal town in Tuscany.
A cultural writer specializing in music events, Hannah explores festival experiences, artist spotlights, and tips for making the most of music festivals.