Viator Travel Blog

It’s that time of year again, when music concerts swap sticky dive bar floors for well-tramped grass and enormous open-air stages. 2012’s festival season is finally upon us and to get in the mood, here are 10 of the world’s best. From America to Australia via Europe and Japan, just about every artist you can think of, is bringing their music to the great outdoors this year and the only question is, which one do you go to first?

Wine connoisseurs and foodies have plenty to get excited about this year, with a packed roster of gastronomic events taking place around the globe. From celebrity studded culinary masterclasses to grape-stomping competitions, here are 10 Wine and Food festivals that you don’t want to miss.

One of the most enduring and increasingly fashionable districts of Venice, Dorsoduro. juts out from San Polo and lies to the South of San Marco with its tip almost opposite the Doge’s Palace.  It also embraces two islands across the canal to the south, Giudecca and the less fashionable, Sacca Fisola.

There is nothing like attending mass in Saint Peter’s Square. It’s the stuff bucket lists are made of. Packed inside the little area are thousands of people from all over the world. This year, Easter mass and the events leading up to Easter will be especially busy in the Vatican.

There’s nothing quite like visiting a place when it’s in the middle of a party – especially if it’s the kind of celebration that doesn’t happen every year. In addition to the many festivals and events that occur annually around the world, there are some that are on a far less frequent schedule – some will only happen this year.

Here’s a selection of some of the must-see festivals and events happening exclusively in 2013.

There are few things that the French enjoy celebrating more than their cuisine and Normans regularly don their traditional costumes and haul out the cider barrels in ode to their homegrown delicacies – a fun way for visitors to not only taste the food, but to get a sense of its history. From cheese-eating and shrimp-shelling competitions, to a procession of ships in honor of the mackerel harvest, here are 10 of Normandy’s most unique food festivals.

Most of us are familiar with some of the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world – Rio, Venice, and New Orleans among them. But Carnival is celebrated all over the world in nearly any place that has a strong Catholic background, so there are plenty of places where you can enjoy Carnival festivities even if you’re not in Brazil or Louisiana this year.

In case you’re a visitor to the great land Down Under (or an Aussie traveler), we have decided to produce a list of activities you can take part in besides the typical Aussie barbecue no matter where you might be traveling on the big day. All of these options have been chosen to help people get better acquainted with the country that is being celebrated.

As the Christmas lights start to fade and the holiday season is coming to an end, there’s still one final bash to send out 2012. With the New Year just around the corner, now’s the time to make your New Year’s resolutions, drink away the last year’s regrets and celebrate starting all over again in 2013. From riotous street parties and fireworks extravaganzas, to marching bands and torchlight processions, here are 20 of the best New Year’s Eve parties from around the world.

There are different ways people bring in the New Year around the world.

Let’s take a trip, shall we?