Fantastic Festivals and Carnivals Around the World

Visiting Rio during the Carnival time has long been on our list. We might get lucky to do it in 2016…who knows what the future holds and what pleasant surprises life can spring at you! Rio is far… the journey from India is long and expensive. Little did we know that until we get to Rio, there are other festivals that could be as much fun and are easier to get to! Thanks to Holiday Lettings, a Trip Advisor company for today’s guest post and for introducing us to some colourful festivals! Read on for more…

Fantastic Festivals and Carnivals Around the World

Why not join a colourful celebration when you’re on your next trip? After all, there are festivals from Venice to Valencia that revel in everything from samba to explosives. Holiday Lettings suggests some of the best parties to gatecrash.

Miami Beach’s Winter Party Festival

This is a party with a purpose. The Winter Party Festival hosts events celebrating the LGBT community. They range from elegant cocktail parties to fascinating art exhibitions and culminate with the showcase Beach Party, normally attended by over 4,500 revellers. So far, it has raised $1.2 million for local charities.

Stay in Miami Beach to hit the sands and study the lovely art deco architecture along Ocean Drive. You can tour the Ancient Spanish Monastery, which dates back to the twelfth century but was dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt in the USA. In the evening, there’s an amazing selection of restaurants for you to eat in and trendy clubs where you can continue the party.

New Orleans’ Mardi Gras

New Orleans is one vast celebration come Mardi Gras: music plays loudly, horseback riders parade through the historic streets and torchbearers carry vast beacon-like flambeaux. Glittering floats’ crew members toss beads and other trinkets into the crowds. Can you catch something?

Recover from the celebrations with delicious beignets (doughnuts) for breakfast in the quaint French Quarter. Walk round the Audubon Zoological Gardens, but keep your eyes peeled for the alligators and snapping turtles in its Louisiana Swamp area. Get a different perspective on the city with an evening cruise down the Mississippi on a traditional steamboat.

Valencia’s Las Fallas

Is this the world’s most explosive festival? Your trip’ll definitely go with a bang: 30-metre-high effigies of politicians and celebrities called ninots burn on giant bonfires; fireworks illuminate the night sky; and districts compete to set off the loudest blast of gunpowder. Just don’t expect to get much sleep.

Have a refreshing nap under the palms at the Jardines del Turia park. You might also enjoy the tranquillity of the cathedral: it’s home to beautiful Italianate frescoes and dramatic Goya paintings plus, reputedly, the Holy Grail. Stay in the festival mode with a visit to the Casa-Museo de la Semana Santa Marinera, where you’ll see a collection of costumes and regalia from the town’s traditional Easter parades.

Rio’s Carnival

Samba the night away to the vibrant sounds and dazzling sights of carnival. Join two million people on the dance floor as numerous samba schools seek to outshine their rivals in the main parade. You can admire each group’s carefully chosen theme and multiple extravagant floats.

Sway down to the Lapa district to practice your samba moves at one of the clubs. You can clear your head the next day with a trip to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain and take in the fantastic views over the city. Top up your tan and admire the elaborate mosaic pavements at the iconic Copacabana Beach. And how about a visit to the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue as the sun sets? Gaze up at this 30-metre feat of engineering then down to see the city’s lights come on for an unforgettable experience.

Venice’s Carnevale

Head to Venice for 12 days of costumed chaos, combining baroque dress with quirky traditions. Soak up the unique masked processions and mock-military tournaments and watch opulently decorated gondolas and other boats float down the Grand Canal. You can attend the legendary costume ball, the Gran Ballo delle Maschere, as long as you’ve studied the traditional dance moves.

Venice is magically misty and moody in winter. Take wrong turns in all the alleyways to absorb the atmosphere. Warm up at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on Dorsoduro island and appreciate their fantastic collection of twentieth-century art. For a night at the opera, look no further than a Donizetti or Rossini classic at La Fenice theatre.

So, are you all set to party?

Many thanks to Holiday Lettings, a Trip Advisor company for contributing this post!