This was published 5 years ago
The 14 best cold weather festivals and markets
Huon Valley Mid-Winter Fest.
ENJOY CARNIVAL IN VENICE, ITALY
One of the world's most atmospheric festivals brings colour and entertainment to misty grey February in Venice. Don mask and cloak for a celebration that brings the dissolute, flamboyant renaissance era to life with elaborate costume balls, gala dinners, lively street theatre and a parade of decorated boats on the Grand Canal. Actors lead you around Venice's hidden courtyards, where they enact scenes involving Venetian characters such as Casanova. See carnevalevenezia.com
ENJOY FIREWORKS AND TOFFEE APPLES IN ENGLAND ON BONFIRE NIGHT
Mongolians dressed in traditional clothing on frozen lake Khovsgol pulling a rope to compete in tug-o-war.Credit: Alamy
Burning the effigy of a man over a bungled attempt to blow up parliament seems a curious way to celebrate, but the Brits have turned November 5, Guy Fawkes Night, into one of their most celebrated annual events. As darkness settles in around the nation—that's at around 3pm in November—roaring bonfires light up the night sky and toffee apples, candy floss and firework displays only add to the festivities. See visitbritain.com/au/en
TAKE IN THE WINTER CARNIVAL IN QUEBEC, CANADA
One of the world's best winter festivals features giant snow sculptures, an ice palace, snow slides and toboggan rides, skating rinks and night parades of decorated floats and cartoon characters. You can also ice fish, dog sled and cross-country ski, or get most of your kit off and join the snow bathers. Caribou, the local drink that combines red wine and liquor, will warm you afterward. See carnaval.qc.ca
Christmas market in Frankfurt.Credit: Alamy
GO TO HOGMINAY IN SCOTLAND
It might be about four degrees outside and raining steadily, but that doesn't stop the Scots from taking to the streets to celebrate New Year's Eve. Hogminay is a celebration that unofficially goes for about four or five days, but culminates in a huge street party on Princes Street in Edinburgh on December 31. Make sure you book tickets, and wear warm clothes. See edinburgh.org
EXPERIENCE THE ICE FESTIVAL IN LAKE KHOVSGOL, MONGOLIA
Every March, Mongolia's bitterly cold Lake Khovsgol area comes alive for its annual Ice Festival, where locals take to the solid block that was once a lake for traditional games including tug of war, wrestling and horse-drawn sleigh races. This area is also home to the Dhuka, an ancient tribe of reindeer herders, and winter is the perfect time to visit. See mongoliatourism.info
VISIT FIRA DE SANTA LLUCIA IN BARCELONA
This traditional winter market has taken place every December in Barcelona for just over 230 years, and it's an amazing sight, with more than 300 stalls selling everything from Christmas trees, to local crafts, to food and drink, to a distinctively Catalan tradition – "caganers", small figurines poised in the act of defecation, which are placed in nativity scenes in this part of the world. See barcelonaturisme.com
GET FESTIVE IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Early December in Geneva sees the old town come alive with costumed locals, food stalls and period drummers and pipers in celebration of a 1602 victory over neighbouring Savoy. Torch-lit old-town streets are very atmospheric. A bag of roast chestnuts or soup bowl will warm your hands. The Escalade festival culminates with a splendid horseback parade of 600 townsfolk in costume, and a bonfire in front of the cathedral. Get a massage, relax in saunas and steam rooms and float in the heated outdoor pool with mountain panoramas. See arlberg-well.com
GET TO A TRUFFLE KERFUFFLE IN WA
Join celebrity chefs, truffle dogs, Manjimup locals and Southern Forests growers and producers for an annual weekend winter festival dedicated to the highly sought-after fruiting body of tuber melanosporum. The delectable black truffle, however, is just the tip of the iceberg lettuce of produce grown in the region and showcased at Truffle Kerfuffle. There are dog demonstrations, cooking masterclasses and multi-course feasts at Fonty's Pool plus truffle hunts and orchard tours in the surrounding area. See trufflekerfuffle.com.au
VISIT THE SAPPORO SNOW FESTIVAL IN JAPAN
Millions of visitors pour into Hokkaido every February for the island's annual winter festival, the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri. The celebration is staged across three sites within the Sapporo area, where you'll be able to see huge snow and ice sculptures, some up to 15 metres high, plus visit food stands, drink local sake, and go snow-tubing at the Tsu Dome site. See jnto.org.au/
ATTEND THE TAMBORRADA FESTIVAL IN SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN
Every January 20, in the dead of night, in the cold of winter, the citizens of San Sebastian in northern Spain take to the streets to celebrate their patron saint's day during Tamborrada. They celebrate this with costumes, with singing, with dancing, with eating and with drinking, but most importantly, they celebrate with drumming. The Tamborrada drumming parades go on all night – don't expect to get any sleep. See sansebastianturismo.com
EXPERIENCE THE MONTREAL EN LUMIERE FESTIVAL, CANADA
When the temperatures drop well below zero, most sane people stay home. In Montreal, however, they throw a party. The mid-winter festival, Montreal en Lumiere, brings the city to life, with dance parties, art installations, music, theatre and more. What is most remarkable is that much of the nightly action takes place outdoors, with locals grilling sausages, riding the ice slide and even dancing until late in the night, undeterred by the falling snow. See montrealenlumiere.com
VISIT A CHRISTMAS MARKET IN EUROPE
Though the culture of open-air Christmas markets has its spiritual home in Germany, in pretty much every country in Europe you'll be able to take a night-time stroll in December and enjoy this tradition. From Estonia to the Czech Republic, from Spain to Britain, you'll find Christmas markets with unique customs, local food and crafts, plus a friendly, festive air. See germany.travel
GET DOWN TO TASMANIA'S HUON VALLEY MID-WINTER FEST
Pull your Blunnies on and open your mind for a weekend paddock party of live music, cider swilling, feasting, storytelling, bonfires, effigy burning and wassailing. Willie Smith's is an innovative survivor located within what was once the island's most prosperous apple growing area. Their latest trick is the resurrection of a medieval pagan festival to annually awaken the cider trees, banish evil spirits and guarantee a good autumn harvest. Dress-ups and wild dancing strongly encouraged. See huonvalleymidwinterfest.com.au
CELEBRATE SHETLAND ISLANDS' VIKING HERITAGE, SCOTLAND
Billed as "Scotland meets Scandinavia", the Shetland Islands nestle in the North Sea, with its largest settlement, Lerwick, closer to Oslo and Copenhagen than Edinburgh. The Viking heritage runs deep in this seafaring Scottish town and is marked in spectacular fashion each January with Up Helly Aa, a dramatic fire festival that features torch-lit processions and boats being set alight in traditional Viking fashion. See visitscotland.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Andrew Bain, Elspeth Callender, Jim Darby, Anthony Dennis, Ben Groundwater, Ute Junker, Nina Karnikowski, Steve McKenna, Jane Reddy, Jane Richards, Craig Tansley and Guy Wilkinson
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