When the days get shorter and the weather turns chilly, the city of Sydney, Australia, has a dramatic way of welcoming the winter solstice. Vivid Sydney, a 23-day festival and the largest…
Since its inception in 1991, the biennial Taranaki International Arts Festival has impressed audiences with its stellar playbill of critically acclaimed acts. Hosted in New Plymouth with…
What began in the 1970s as a ploy to bring more visitors to a small town in the Swiss Alps has grown to become the world’s second largest annual jazz festival, behind the Montreal Jazz…
One of the biggest dates in the global film calendar, Cannes International Film Festival is renowned for attracting glitz and glamour, as the world’s most acclaimed filmmakers, producers,…
A magic setup and a refreshing lack of commercial branding defines the Golden Plains experience. The small music festival takes place in March each year, at the Meredith Supernatural…
The all-white uniform, obligatory pitchers of Pimm’s, afternoon tea, Kentish strawberries and cream, world records, unreliable British weather and those famous lawn courts sporting…
SXSW is a barometer for what’s hot, what’s not, what’s in, what’s out in the worlds of film, music and technology. The current nine-day behemoth of an event has grown far from its…
For enthusiasts of Russian and Soviet-made planes, The MAKS International Aviation and Space Salon provides quite a spectacle. This is just as much a serious, government-level buying event…
The Bluff Oyster and Food Festival is indisputably the highlight of the South Island’s culinary calendar. For one day, this tiny New Zealand town with the impressive global reputation…
The UK’s tiny Isle of Wight is known for hosting two things: dinosaur relics and world-class music festivals. Since the departure of Bestival in 2016 — which relocated to Dorset, on the…
The extravagant spectacle that is Carnaval de Rio unfolds in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s Cidade Maravilhosa, or ‘Marvellous City’. The action takes place over the five days preceding Ash…
Hadaka Matsuri (meaning ‘Naked Festival’) is a semi-religious competition held at Saidai-ji Temple in Okayama Prefecture, that sees up to 10,000 men in fundoshi loincloths battle it out…
Bathurst 1000 — known as ‘The Great Race’ amongst fans — is Australia’s ultimate motorsports championship. It began in 1960 as a humble car race that took place on the Phillip…
On a mission to celebrate our human potential, Envision is a festival that inspires different cultures to co-exist harmoniously with each other, and with nature. The event brings people…
Held across three sites at Garden Square inside Melbourne Park, the Australian Open in late January marks the start of the tennis Grand Slam calendar. Alongside the French Open, US Open and…
Detroit is indisputably the car capital of America. At the turn of the 20th century, Detroit formed the beating heart of America’s automotive industrial revolution, and launched the…
What began in 1977 as a clever ploy to attract tourists to the city during the summer season has now become one of the highlights of Australia’s cultural calendar. The annual Sydney…
Those wishing to immerse themselves in Indian culture should look no further than off-beat travel company The Adventurists’ Rickshaw Run. The race, completed in small teams of 2-3 people,…
“Just add mud” seems to be the overarching idea for the organisers who plan Boryeong Mud Festival. Held each summer in the sleepy beach town of Boryeong (population 100,000), the…
St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Started in 2005 in the backyard of a small Melbourne bar, Laneway has exploded to become one of…
Whether flying in or driving to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, visitors quickly become aware that they are taking part in the world’s greatest aviation celebration: seven days of aerobatic…
The precious principality of Monaco on the Cote d’Azur plays glittering host to one of the more glamourous legs of the Formula 1 Race each year. For four days in May, the eyes of the world…
It’s big, crowded and bloated with corporates wanting a piece of pop-culture pie. However the San Diego Comic-Con still manages to attract a growing number of super fans, regular fans and…
Transformational festivals are growing in appeal. While Burning Man is widely known for its large-scale, dramatic temporary city in the Nevada desert, there are many other countries who also…
First held in 2001 with around 8000 visitors in attendance, Primavera Sound now draws crowds numbering more than 190,000. Featuring artists and spectators of all ages and backgrounds, the…
Whilst the name Rhythm & Alps for a festival implies a main stage perched amidst snowy peaks, this lively end of year festival (the South Island’s only one currently) actually…
Many of Italy’s most cherished, postcard qualities seem to come to life during the summer season of arts in Ravello, a village perched atop cliffs on the Mediterranean country’s Amalfi…
This one’s for the partygoers. Formally known as Garden Festival, Love International is high on the summer agenda for music lovers and sun seekers worldwide. Held at The Garden in…
Seeing sky lanterns float ever higher to a soundtrack of chanting monks makes Yi Peng, the Thai festival of light, a special moment in the the country’s traditional lunar calendar. While…
It’s the middle of the night and the sun is shining, what better time to complete a marathon? In Norway’s city of Tromsø, positioned 322 kilometres above the Arctic Circle, the annual…
The new kid on the Aussie music festival block, Beyond the Valley has made a big impact since its inception in 2014 and is fast becoming the way to celebrate the New Year in this part of the…
Riding along roads that wind their way around some of the most dramatic backdrops in the world, shadows of wavering wisps of hair on caramel-toned sand, a forgiving camel as we whizz past…
Full of festive anticipation, Central Europe’s famous Christmas markets will cajole anyone partial to grinch-like behavior into a giddy spin of holiday cheer. Budapest holds Hungary’s…
With circling mountain ranges, clear lakes, fast-flowing rivers and vine-covered hills, Queenstown has the type of terrain and scenery that marathon runners love to compete in. Which makes…
It’s time to hang out by the Danube River on Óbudai-sziget Island, home of the namesake festival in Budapest, Hungary. The leafy, 108-hectare destination north of Budapest city…
Inspiring people to seek out new adventures and meaningful travel experiences.
© 2025 Destinations Magazine