4 EUROPEAN FESTIVALS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS WINTER/SPRING SEASON

Posted by Stoke Media Team
10 years ago | November 22, 2016

If in Europe during the colder months, consider yourself lucky! There are heaps of lesser-known festivals to discover, making this time of year just as fun as summer – minus the masses of tourists. Celebrate with the locals through our friends over at Stoke Travel and their top European festival picks for winter and spring.

1. LAS FALLAS

In Spain, a good fiesta takes priority over everything else (including occupational health and safety precautions), and this is no more visible than at fiery Las Fallas. In March each year, Valencians celebrate their fire festival. Join them as they flood the streets with dancing, burn effigies up to 30-metres tall and chase each other with live fireworks. The effigies are designed to mock prominent people and events of the past year, and the whole festival has a heated atmosphere of rebellion and revelling. Don’t worry about the fire-hazard – there’s always plenty of sangria to keep things moist.

2. SPRINGFEST AKA FRÜHLINGSFEST

Springfest is Oktoberfest, in spring, and better. Smaller than its big ol’ September cousin, Springfest offers all the perks of Oktoberfest (Bavarians, bier, beer halls, bratwurst, dirndls, lederhosen, German drinking songs) without the pitfalls (huge crowds, queues, and hundreds of wasted Australians on Contiki tours). Thanks to its smaller scale, Springfest attracts a largely local crowd, meaning you’ll be learning to prost with the best of the Bavarians. The flowers shall be blooming, the birds a-singing, and the sun shining on your braids among the bier gardens – who needs