Top 100 Festivals Around the World The 100 most bucket-list-worthy festivals on Earth — the quintessential celebrations everyone recognizes and the coolest, most unforgettable ones to have witnessed, ranked so the festivals worth bragging about rise to the top. From Rio Carnival and Oktoberfest to Burning Man, Holi, and the Harbin Ice Festival.
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1. Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The single most iconic carnival on Earth - Sambadrome parades, two million people in the streets, the festival everyone pictures when they hear the word 'carnival.'
2. Oktoberfest
Munich, Germany
The world's largest folk festival and the definitive beer celebration; six million visitors in lederhosen and dirndls make it instantly recognizable worldwide.
3. Burning Man
Black Rock Desert, Nevada, United States
The ultimate 'wow, you went to THAT?' badge - a temporary art city in the desert built on radical self-expression that people plan years to attend.
4. Day of the Dead
Oaxaca, Mexico
Globally iconic since the films and parades - marigolds, calaveras and altars make it one of the most visually unmistakable cultural festivals in the world.
5. Holi
Mathura, India
The festival of colors is universally recognized; being doused in pigment in the streets of India is on nearly every global bucket list.
6. Mardi Gras
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
America's defining carnival - beads, krewes, masked balls and the French Quarter parade make it instantly nameable by anyone.
7. La Tomatina
Bunol, Spain
The world's biggest food fight; tens of thousands hurling tomatoes is a one-of-a-kind spectacle everyone has seen footage of.
8. San Fermin
Pamplona, Spain
Hemingway-famous adrenaline ritual - running ahead of bulls through Pamplona's streets is one of the most recognized and daring festival acts alive.
9. Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival
Harbin, China
A city of illuminated ice castles the size of buildings - the largest ice festival on Earth and an unforgettable 'you went there in winter?' flex.
10. Yi Peng Lantern Festival
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Thousands of glowing lanterns released into the night sky at once - one of the most photographed and dreamed-about scenes in travel.
11. Kumbh Mela
Prayagraj, India
The largest gathering of humanity on the planet - tens of millions of pilgrims bathing in sacred rivers; attending is a profound, rare experience.
12. Réveillon de Copacabana (New Year's Eve)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Guinness-certified largest New Year's Eve celebration on Earth — 2.5+ million people in white on Copacabana Beach for a 12-minute fireworks spectacle launched from offshore barges. A genuine global pilgrimage, distinct from Rio Carnival.
13. Venice Carnival
Venice, Italy
Elaborate masks and Baroque costumes drifting through misty canals - the most elegant and recognizable masquerade in the world.
14. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
The largest hot-air balloon event on Earth; hundreds of balloons ascending at dawn is one of the most spectacular sights in any festival.
15. Up Helly Aa
Lerwick, United Kingdom
Torch-bearing Vikings burning a longship in the dead of a Shetland winter - the definitive 'wow, you went to THAT?' fire festival.
16. Naadam Festival
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Mongolia's 'three manly games' - wrestling, archery and horse racing across the steppe; a deeply adventurous, in-the-know cultural experience.
17. Sapporo Snow Festival
Sapporo, Japan
Monumental snow and ice sculptures draw millions to Hokkaido; Japan's premier winter spectacle and a top cold-weather bucket-list pick.
18. Gion Matsuri
Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto's thousand-year-old summer festival with towering wooden floats; the most prestigious and atmospheric of Japan's matsuri.
19. Inti Raymi
Cusco, Peru
The Inca Festival of the Sun re-enacted at Sacsayhuaman above Cusco - a vivid, in-the-know link to a vanished empire.
20. Las Fallas
Valencia, Spain
UNESCO-listed fire festival where colossal satirical sculptures are paraded then burned in the streets - a spectacle of fire and gunpowder unlike anything else.
21. Carnival in Oruro
Oruro, Bolivia
UNESCO Masterpiece carnival with the famous Diablada devil dances high in the Andes - the kind of festival that marks you as a real traveler.
22. Trinidad Carnival
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
The 'Mother of All Carnivals' - soca, mas and J'Ouvert that spawned Caribbean carnivals worldwide; the connoisseur's choice over Rio for many.
23. Glastonbury Festival
Pilton, United Kingdom
The world's most famous greenfield music festival - a rite of passage for music lovers and the festival every other festival is measured against.
24. Tomorrowland
Boom, Belgium
The most iconic electronic dance music festival on the planet, with fantastical mainstage builds that define modern festival spectacle.
25. Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Indio, California, United States
The trend-setting desert music-and-art festival that dominates pop culture every spring; a name everyone recognizes instantly.
26. Songkran
Bangkok, Thailand
Thai New Year turned into the world's biggest water fight - a joyful, internationally famous street celebration.
27. Carnaval de Barranquilla
Barranquilla, Colombia
UNESCO-listed and second only to Rio in the Americas - cumbia, congo and Caribbean folklore make it a serious carnival traveler's prize.
28. Timkat
Gondar, Ethiopia
Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany - white-robed pilgrims, Ark replicas and sacred pool baptisms in a 17th-century royal city; deeply exotic and moving.
29. Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Widely cited as the world's second-largest carnival after Rio, with legendary drag galas, elaborate costumes and a quarter-million revelers in the Canary Islands — iconic yet off the usual path.
30. Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
The largest arts festival in the world; an entire city becomes a stage every August - the definitive performing-arts pilgrimage.
31. Semana Santa
Seville, Spain
Seville's Holy Week processions of hooded penitents and float-borne icons are among the most solemn and visually striking events in Europe.
32. Diwali
Jaipur, India
The festival of lights - millions of lamps, fireworks and decorated cities; one of the most universally known celebrations on Earth.
33. Cologne Carnival
Cologne, Germany
Germany's 'fifth season' and one of Europe's biggest street carnivals - Rosenmontag parades and a million costumed revelers.
34. Battle of the Oranges
Ivrea, Italy
Italy's wildest carnival - teams pelt each other with tons of oranges re-enacting a medieval revolt; a gloriously bizarre 'you did WHAT?' experience.
35. Kandy Esala Perahera
Kandy, Sri Lanka
A 10-night Buddhist procession of caparisoned elephants, fire-dancers and drummers honoring the Sacred Tooth Relic — the only perahera of its kind, and a festival that marks you as a serious traveler.
36. Palio di Siena
Siena, Italy
A bareback medieval horse race around Siena's main square between rival contrade - 90 raw seconds of centuries-old passion seen by few outsiders.
37. Junkanoo
Nassau, Bahamas
The Bahamas' dawn street parade of crepe-paper costumes and goombay drums on Boxing Day and New Year's - a vibrant, lesser-known Caribbean gem.
38. Crop Over
Bridgetown, Barbados
Barbados's harvest carnival culminating in Grand Kadooment - feathers, soca and Rihanna's hometown party; a stylish Caribbean bucket-list trip.
39. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Sydney, Australia
One of the world's largest and most iconic Pride celebrations — 12,000+ marchers and 200+ floats down Oxford Street watched by hundreds of thousands. Globally recognized and distinct from New Orleans Mardi Gras.
40. Cannes Film Festival
Cannes, France
The most prestigious film festival in the world - the red carpet, the Palme d'Or, the Riviera glamour everyone recognizes.
41. Loy Krathong
Sukhothai, Thailand
Tens of thousands of candlelit floats set adrift on rivers under a full moon - the water counterpart to Yi Peng and breathtakingly beautiful.
42. Hogmanay
Edinburgh, Scotland
The world's most famous New Year's celebration outside Times Square - torchlight processions, street parties and Loony Dook in the heart of Scotland.
43. Pushkar Camel Fair
Pushkar, India
Thousands of camels, traders and pilgrims fill the desert - a riot of color and tradition that's a photographer's and adventurer's dream.
44. Notting Hill Carnival
London, United Kingdom
Europe's biggest street festival - Caribbean sound systems and mas bands take over London; a must-do summer institution.
45. Calgary Stampede
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' - rodeo, chuckwagon races and a whole city in cowboy hats; North America's definitive Western festival.
46. St. Patrick's Festival
Dublin, Ireland
The original and most authentic St. Patrick's celebration - the Dublin parade and a city awash in green is a global bucket-list staple.
47. Nebuta Matsuri
Aomori, Japan
Giant illuminated warrior floats parade through Aomori while dancers chant - one of Japan's most dramatic and least-touristed great festivals.
48. Awa Odori
Tokushima, Japan
Japan's largest dance festival - over a million revelers join the 'fool's dance' through Tokushima during Obon; infectious and immersive.
49. Sundance Film Festival
Park City, Utah, United States
The premier independent film festival in the world - where breakout movies are discovered amid the snowy Utah mountains.
50. Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
Pingxi, Taiwan
Hundreds of wish-bearing lanterns rise together over the hills near Taipei - one of CNN and Nat Geo's top-rated must-see events.
51. Quebec Winter Carnival
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
The world's largest winter carnival - Bonhomme, ice palaces and canoe races on the frozen St. Lawrence; a quintessential cold-weather adventure.
52. Thaipusam
Batu Caves, Malaysia
Devotees carry ornate kavadi and pierce their bodies in a procession to the Batu Caves - one of the most intense and unforgettable rituals you can witness.
53. Nice Carnival
Nice, France
One of the world's oldest and grandest carnivals - flower battles and giant papier-mache floats along the French Riviera.
54. Carnival of Viareggio
Viareggio, Italy
Italy's premier float carnival - towering, satirical papier-mache giants parade along the Tuscan seafront; a beloved Italian institution.
55. Boi Bumba (Parintins Folklore Festival)
Parintins, Brazil
A stadium showdown between two ox teams deep in the Amazon - Brazil's third-biggest festival and a true off-the-map spectacle.
56. Cherry Blossom Festival in Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Hanami under clouds of pink sakura is one of the most romantic and universally beloved seasonal experiences in the world.
57. Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The launchpad of awards season and the most influential public film festival in North America.
58. Gerewol
Dourbali region, Chad
The Wodaabe male beauty contest - nomadic men in dazzling makeup court brides in the Sahel; about as remote and astonishing as festivals get.
59. AfrikaBurn
Tankwa Karoo, South Africa
Africa's Burning Man - radical art and self-expression in a remote Karoo desert; a serious in-the-know counterculture pilgrimage.
60. Fes Festival of World Sacred Music
Fes, Morocco
Sufi chants and global sacred music performed in the courtyards of an ancient imperial city - a soulful, sophisticated traveler's festival.
61. New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
The definitive American roots-music festival - jazz, blues, gospel and Creole food in the city that birthed jazz.
62. Carnaval de Quebec
Quebec City, Canada
Retained as the iconic Bonhomme winter carnival listing - a marquee North American cold-season celebration.
63. Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling
Brockworth, England
Competitors hurl themselves down a near-vertical hill chasing a wheel of cheese - gloriously absurd and a viral 'you actually did that?' classic.
64. Essence Festival of Culture
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
The largest celebration of African American music and culture in the US - 'the party with a purpose' draws hundreds of thousands every July.
65. Bastille Day Celebration
Paris, France
France's national day - the Champs-Elysees parade and fireworks over the Eiffel Tower; an iconic date to be in Paris.
66. Fuji Rock Festival
Yuzawa, Japan
Asia's premier outdoor music festival set in stunning mountains - famously clean, scenic and a discerning music fan's destination.
67. Vesak (Buddha's Birthday)
Kandy, Sri Lanka
Lantern-lit streets and free almsgiving across the Buddhist world on the full moon - serene, beautiful and deeply meaningful to witness.
68. Obon
Kyoto, Japan
Japan's festival of ancestral spirits - bon-odori dances and floating lanterns, capped by Kyoto's mountainside Gozan no Okuribi bonfires.
69. Boryeong Mud Festival
Boryeong, South Korea
Korea's wild summer party - mud wrestling, mud slides and EDM on Daecheon Beach; a million visitors and pure messy fun.
70. Montreal International Jazz Festival
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The largest jazz festival in the world by Guinness - a music-lover's summer pilgrimage that takes over downtown Montreal.
71. Roskilde Festival
Roskilde, Denmark
Northern Europe's legendary nonprofit mega-festival - a week of music, art and activism that's been a Scandinavian institution since 1971.
72. Sziget Festival
Budapest, Hungary
The 'Island of Freedom' - a week-long city of music on a Danube island in Budapest; one of Europe's most beloved festival experiences.
73. Venice Film Festival
Venice, Italy
The world's oldest film festival - red carpets on the Lido and the Golden Lion; pure cinematic glamour every September.
74. La Mercè
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona's biggest street festival - human towers, fire-running correfocs and giants parading through the city for its patron saint.
75. Mawazine
Rabat, Morocco
One of the largest music festivals in the world by attendance, bringing global superstars to Morocco's capital - a surprising North African heavyweight.
76. Lunar New Year in Hong Kong
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Spectacular harbour fireworks, a night parade and flower markets make Hong Kong one of the great places to ring in the world's biggest annual celebration.
77. Cape Town International Jazz Festival
Cape Town, South Africa
'Africa's Grandest Gathering' - the continent's largest jazz festival pairing world-class music with one of the planet's most beautiful cities.
78. Lunar New Year in Singapore
Singapore, Singapore
Chingay parade, riverside light-ups and Chinatown bazaars make Singapore a dazzling, accessible place to experience Lunar New Year.
79. Wacken Open Air
Wacken, Germany
The 'Mecca of heavy metal' - a tiny German village overrun by 80,000 metalheads; a legendary pilgrimage for any rock fan.
80. Rock in Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
One of the largest music festivals in the world - a sprawling 'City of Rock' that has hosted the biggest names on the planet since 1985.
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