Festivals & Shows You Should Travel For in 2025

Forget tourist traps. If you want to experience a place, show up when it’s celebrating. Festivals are where culture turns technicolour, cities pulse with energy, and strangers become dance partners. Whether you're into glitter parades, film premieres, football drama, or killer stand-up, 2025’s global calendar is stacked.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe – Scotland

Aug 1–25, 2025

Why go: The world’s largest arts and comedy festival. Catch stand-up, sketch, drag, theatre, and experimental shows in pubs, basements, and castles. You’ll laugh, cry, and probably adopt a new identity.

Photo: Edinburgh Fringe

Formula 1 – Monza Grand Prix, Italy

Sep 7, 2025

Why go: Feel the roar at one of F1’s most iconic tracks. Combine high-speed action with pasta, Aperol, and Milan fashion energy.Other big 2025 races: Singapore (Sep 21), Austin (Oct 19), São Paulo (Nov 9), Las Vegas (Nov 22), Abu Dhabi (Dec 7)

Takayama Autumn Festival – Takayama, Japan

Oct 9–10, 2025

Why go: Marvel at beautifully crafted, illuminated floats parading through historic streets, set to enchanting traditional music. It’s like a steampunk dream powered by centuries of Japanese artistry.

Venice International Film Festival – Italy

Aug 27–Sep 6, 2025Why go: Glamour, gondolas, and global film premieres. Spot celebs in oversized sunglasses, or just soak in the magic of Venice during festival season.

La Tomatina – Buñol, Spain

Aug 27, 2025

Why go: Imagine the world’s biggest, most chaotic food fight—a literal red sea of tomatoes flying through the air in a tiny Spanish town. A tomato fight for the ages. Thousands gather to chuck squishy tomatoes at each other. Wild, messy, weirdly cathartic.

Pride Amsterdam – Netherlands

Aug 2–10, 2025

Why go: A citywide celebration of love and identity, featuring one-of-a-kind canal parades, floating stages, and zero judgment. It’s a week where every shade of the rainbow shines bright without judgment.

Photo: Out there magazine

Sene Dolta Festival – An Giang, Vietnam

Oct 1–3, 2025 (29th–31st lunar month)

Why go: The largest Khmer ancestor worship festival in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Experience vibrant rituals, traditional music, and communal spirit as locals honor their heritage with food, dance, and prayers for blessings.

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) – Canada

Sep 4–14, 2025

Why go:  is the ultimate launchpad for Oscar hopefuls and a magnet for film buffs worldwide. Whether you’re hunting for indie gems, blockbuster debuts, celeb spotting or insightful panels with filmmakers, TIFF delivers

Photo: Destination Toronto

Yi Peng Lantern Festival – Chiang Mai, Thailand

Nov 5–6, 2025

Why go: Experience the sky come alive as thousands of glowing lanterns drift upwards, creating a magical spectacle. A celebration of hope and new beginnings, perfect for photographers and soul-searchers alike. The festival fills the night with light and wishes. Don’t forget to make your lantern wish before it floats away!

Venice Biennale – Venice, Italy

Dates: November 2025 (Main art exhibition runs through Nov)

Why go: The world’s most prestigious contemporary art festival, showcasing groundbreaking installations, performances, and exhibitions from artists across the globe. It’s the art event that everyone from curators to collectors swears by.

Oktoberfest – Munich, Germany

20 September – 5 October 2025 (ends on the first Sunday in October)

Why go: It’s the world's largest folk festival- beer tents big enough to fit entire small towns, traditional parades, carnival rides, and Bavarian food galore. It’s more than a festival—it’s a global cultural touchstone.

Christmas markets: Winter Wonderland – Hyde Park, London, UK

Dates: November 21, 2025 – January 5, 2026

Why go: A festive extravaganza with rides, ice skating, Christmas markets, and live entertainment. Perfect for combining holiday cheer with a bit of thrill.

Tivoli Christmas Market – Copenhagen, Denmark

Dates: November 14 – December 31, 2025

Why go: Set inside the enchanting Tivoli Gardens, this market offers fairy-tale lights, festive treats, and Danish hygge at its best.

Phew! And then we have a list coming up for 2026, so you can get preparing in advance. That, for the next time!

At The Blueberry Trails, we design Bespoke holidays to Asia, Europe,Oceania, South America. Get in touch for a holiday designed to celebrating your life. We design awesome trips, ask our travellers.

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