10 Must Not Miss Fabulous Carnivals Across the World

This year, party at the world’s most exuberant and colourful carnivals, and soak in the myriad sights and sounds of the festivities. These events are a perfect blend of local traditions and cultures, and contemporary world festivals.

So let your hair down, and go crazy with these 10 superbly vibrant and high-spirited carnivals of the world:

The Rio de Janeiro Carnival, Rio

A list of the best festivals of the world has to begin with the Rio de Janeiro Carnival in Brazil. Get ready to be floored as over two million people take to the streets of Rio, turning it into a splendid gala of dance, music, decorated floats, colourful costumes, elaborate headdresses and sparkling bikinis.

This exuberant celebration is the grandest of all, and a must experience at least once in your lifetime! Join in and learn some Samba as the city’s well-known Samba schools compete and display their best moves in the grand Samba Parade. Apart from that, there are street parties that continue all night, live Brazilian music, and lavish balls held in numerous locations all over the city.  

Book Your Flight to Rio

La Tomatina, Buñol

Ready for the craziest food fight? Held in the Spanish town of Buñol, La Tomatina or the Food Fight Festival witnesses thousands of participants pelt each other with ripe tomatoes, literally painting the streets red. After an hour of tomato fights, which leaves the streets covered in tomato paste, fire trucks and lorries spray down the streets with water, washing the surfaces and helping the participants clean.

We strongly recommend a tomato-proof phone or camera if you wish to capture this madness. Though this incredible experience is short-lived, the celebrations for it start a week before. There is an official pre-La Tomatina party to get this crazy event started, and a La Tomatina After Party to give you that fitting end to a truly epic day! Earlier free for all, this festival is now a ticketed event.

Book Your Flight to Valencia (nearest airport)

Read more: All You Wanted to Know About the La Tomatina Festival in Spain

Mardi Gras, New Orleans

The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated every year with much vigour and enthusiasm in the Louisiana city of New Orleans. Mardi Gras is French for ‘Fat Tuesday’ and is a time to indulge in food, drink and revelries before the fasting period of Lent begins. The festivities kick off two weeks before Mardi Gras, with extravagant parades and themed floats of the most famous krewes rolling through the packed streets.

Add to that costume balls, live music, and traditions such as the wearing of masks, flambeaux parading, bead throwing, and coconut painting. Try the traditional king cake which is available only during Mardi Gras, and is baked with a tiny plastic baby inside. According to tradition, the person who gets the slice with the baby has to buy the next king cake or host the next party.

Book Your Flight to New Orleans

Quebec Winter Carnival, Quebec

Step into a winter wonderland at Quebec, the snow capital of the world. This French-speaking city hosts the largest winter carnival and is sure to give you enough reasons to be outdoors in the extreme cold. There are snow sports and traditional Quebec activities such as dogsled races and canoe races, shows and parties, and parades led by Bonhomme Carnaval, the mascot of this seasonal celebration.

Apart from these, the snow and ice sculptures made by artists from around the world, and the iconic ice palace, which is designed on a new theme every year, are the must-see attractions of this winter carnival. To complete your experience, try the Caribou, a traditional hot alcoholic beverage made with vodka, brandy, sherry and port.

Book Your Flight to Quebec

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, Trinidad and Tobago

The most awaited festival of the Caribbean, this carnival attracts thousands of tourists every year, and is one of the biggest festivals of the world. Its rum-flavoured street parties, flamboyant sequins costumes, limbo dancing, cultural events, parades and stick fighting competitions, make it an annual epic celebration.

Add to that multiple contests, of which the most prominent is that of the Calypso Monarch, one of the country’s greatest honours. Groove to the beats of traditional calypso and soca music and join the frenzy of high-spirited celebrations at this beach paradise.

Book Your Flight to Trinidad

Dia de los Muertos, Mexico

The Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead is celebrated throughout Mexico, honouring the deceased. It features the making of private altars by the friends and family of the departed, and decorating them with candles, marigolds, sugar skulls, and the favorite foods and beverages of the deceased. Some parts of Mexico witness parties in the cemeteries, while others engage in processions, cleaning of tombs, musical and theatrical performances, and visits to the graves with gifts and offerings.

What’s more, some cemeteries host altar and costume contests, and art and craft vendors to add to the festivities. This public holiday is considered unique among world festivals, for its lively way of celebrating the dead.

La Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival, Gran Canaria

One of the most famous festivals in Spain, the Carnival of Las Palmas witnesses celebrations for more than a month. It’s a grand spectacle as parades, magnificent floats, bands, musicians, and costumed revellers fill the streets, and numerous contests are staged, the most important being the election of the Queen and Drag Queen of the festival. Coupled with the island’s fine weather, this multicoloured festival in February lights up the city of Las Palmas, giving it the perfect start to the year.

Carnival of Venice, Venice

Don your masks for the biggest masquerade revelry in Venice! This colourful Carnival is held annually and is most popular among world festivals for its elaborate masks and stunning masquerade balls. Started as a victory celebration in 1162, it now witnesses grand balls, classical music concerts, pub-crawls, cruise parties, parades, and fireworks across the city. Celebrations continue till the wee hours of the morning.

Witness this scenic city come alive with masked partygoers, traditional Venetian wear and extravagant costumes, thronging the Grand Canal and St. Mark’s Square; where this carnival is best experienced. This magnificent celebration continues for two weeks, ending with the ‘La Maschera piu bella’ or the best mask contest.

Notting Hill Carnival, London

A celebration of London’s Caribbean community, this festival is the city’s biggest street party. Join in the fun as over a million people dance in the streets of London, along with colourful costumed performers, elaborate floats, Caribbean music, and resounding sound systems.

There are food stalls along the route with a whole lot of jerk chicken and fried plantain, owing to the Caribbean, especially Jamaican influence. This annual revelry is held on the bank holiday weekend at the end of August every year, and is a fantastic display of the culture and traditions of the Caribbean.

Book Your Flight to London

Read more: 10 Reasons to Visit London in the Winter

Fiesta del Fuego, Santiago

Head to the city of Santiago in Cuba for a week full of surprises and festivities. Held every July, the Fiesta del Fuego or the Festival of Fire brings together an exciting array of arts, showcasing the best of theatre, dance, storytelling, poetry, and live music. Dance to the beats of the traditional conga, as the streets of Santiago come alive with parades, decorated floats, traditional fire processions and acrobats spinning fire torches.

The numerous roadside stalls and temporary bamboo bars serve liquor round the clock, turning the event into a full-fledged street party. The Fiesta del Fuego is most significant among world festivals for its remarkable merging of arts and cultures, as artists and intellectuals from over 18 countries participate, giving the festival its vibrant and diverse character.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it! So which one of these carnivals are you headed to?