Return to Halloween’s Haunted Roots on a Trip to Ireland
The Emerald Isle has always been a land where ancient practices are interwoven with the supernatural – and many of the fun and spooky Halloween practices we love today can be traced back to the pre-Christian Celtic festival of Samhain and Irish folklore. No wonder Ireland is considered the ‘Home...
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5 Best Places in the World to Celebrate Diwali
Every autumn, Diwali, the Festival of Lights rooted in Hindu tradition and also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists, illuminates cities and villages in India and beyond. The festival symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Homes glow with oil lamps (diyas), fireworks light the sky,...
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Mexico City’s Day of the Dead Grand Parade Returns
On November 2, Mexico City will transform into a river of color, culture, and remembrance as the Day of the Dead Grand Parade returns for 2025, featuring giant skeleton puppets, floats, music, dancers, and costumes. This extraordinary four-hour procession honors ancestors who have passed while celebrating the joy of life....
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10 Global Harvest Festivals Beyond Oktoberfest
While Munich’s Oktoberfest gets all the press as the world’s most famous fall festival, autumn is a season of celebration around the world. Ancient cultures thanked the gods for abundance and prayed for their families to survive the leaner months ahead. The harvest traditions that have been passed through the...
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Do's and Don'ts of a European Christmas Market Trip
You can’t actually celebrate Christmas in July in Europe… but it’s the perfect time to plan a Christmas market visit to celebrate the season. There really is no better way to get into the spirit of the holidays than to immerse yourself in the markets, traditions, food, beverages, arts and...
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How Hong Kong Celebrates 2025’s Year of the Snake
Chinese New Year is celebrated in over a dozen countries, but Hong Kong’s festivities make it one of the most exciting, colorful, flavorful places in the world to ring in the Lunar New Year. Our friends at the Hong Kong Tourism Board have shared the top 10 festive Chinese New...
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Don’t Miss This: The Once-in-a-Generation Tradition Transforming Rome This Year
Once every 25 years, the epicenter of the Catholic faith becomes an even greater pilgrimage destination for the world’s faithful, with a Holy Year. Jubilees have been part of Church tradition since the 1300’s, held at 25-year intervals so that every generation can participate in at least one Holy Year. Jubilee...
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Disneyland Resort Celebrates its 70th Anniversary in 2025 with Limited-Time Events
Beginning in May, 2025, Disneyland is inviting the world to ‘Celebrate Happy’ as it marks 7 decades of making joy. Anniversary celebrations continue through summer 2026, with new festivals, décor, food and beverages, collectibles and events just for the milestone celebrations in Anaheim, California. You’ll find family fun across two theme...
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Hotels that Put you at the Heart of Europe’s Top Christmas Markets
The holidays are just around the corner, and nothing gets you into the spirit of the season like a pre-Christmas trip to Europe, where so many of our favorite festive traditions originated. Europe’s Christmas markets, many of which have been around since the Middle Ages, are magical places to embrace the...
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Bye-bye Bunnies: Different Spring Traditions Around the World
Spring has sprung and cultures the world over celebrate the season of fresh color and new life. It’s not all about bunnies, lambs, chicks, eggs, chocolate and spring flowers. Here are just a few different traditions that inspire us to travel in the springtime: Climb a Mayan Pyramid on the Spring...
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VIDEO: The Best Christmas Markets on a Viking Rhine River Cruise
A Christmas market river cruise in Europe may be the very best way to capture the magic of the season. Our Viking Christmas on the Rhine river cruise from Switzerland to the Netherlands took us to four countries, each with its own Christmas markets, traditions, flavors and specialities. WATCH THE VIDEO...
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6 Resorts Where You Can Celebrate Mexico's "Day of the Dead"
Til death do you party! Dia de los Muertos is a cherished Mexican holiday honoring the memories of loved ones who have passed away. Coming just a day after Halloween, and symbolized by an elegantly-dressed skeleton, Day of the Dead is often thought of as a similar celebration of the...
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Christmas Markets, NYE, Ice World and Gala Balls: Why Visit Vienna in the Winter
Don’t wait til spring or summer to visit Austria’s capital. Some of its most unique experiences take place during the frosty months, where one-of-a-kind local events warm your heart and reveal a side of Vienna you can’t see any other time of the year. Viennese Christmas Markets:Advent, the four weeks...
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Oktoberfest on the Beach? Yes, You Can!
Every year, beer lovers look forward to the month that celebrates friendship over a stein of brew. The original Oktoberfest has returned full strength and has also inspired a world of imitators that look nothing like the beer tents and wooded hills of Germany’s Bavaria. Wherever you celebrate, it’s all about...
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Can’t-Miss Events this Fall that Celebrate Celestial Wonders
What’s the fastest-disappearing natural phenomenon? Dark skies. As cities expand, the night skies are flooded with light, dimming our views of the complex, mystical wonders of the heavens that inspired our ancestors. We are still fascinated by the night skies, and many of us take time on vacation to spend our...
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Get Up Close to an Epic Wonder of Nature at this Iceberg Festival
Many people cruise to Alaska in the hopes of sailing past mystical and mythical icebergs, but in one special place in the world, the icebergs come to you – so many icebergs, in fact, they decided to throw an annual party to welcome them! Every spring and summer, hundreds of...
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Upgrades and Celebrations Mark the 50th Anniversary of Australia’s Architectural Icon: the Sydney Opera House
In 2023, the iconic Sydney Opera House celebrates a half-century of symbolizing not just a city, but a country and even a continent. It may even be the most famous building in the southern hemisphere. This icon of modern design evoking giant stylized, sail-shaped shells occupies Bennelong point projecting out into...
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How to Celebrate Year of the Rabbit in Hong Kong
Kung Hei Fat Choy! Millions of people around the world join in as many Asian countries celebrate the arrival of the Lunar or Chinese New Year, with colorful traditions designed to help ensure health, prosperity and good luck in the coming year. This Year of the Rabbit is ‘lucky’ indeed,...
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