12 reasons to travel in 2024
Looking for holiday inspiration? Consider our month-by-month calendar of fascinating events around the globe.
From annual events to one-off celebrations, there are abundant reasons to pack your bags and head off on holiday. We’ve done the hard work for you and condensed a year’s worth of travel inspiration into a guide for 2024. Read on and start booking.
JANUARY
Richmond Bridge Bicentenary, Tasmania
Until March 11
Let’s start little and local in the Tasmanian hamlet of Richmond, which is in the midst of celebrations for the 200th birthday of its most famous landmark. Spanning the Coal River about 25km north of Hobart, the pretty arched sandstone bridge is Australia’s oldest still in use. Bicentenary events began in December and are ongoing for the next two months. The weekend of January 18-22 focuses on the region’s history, with talks, walks and exhibitions, while the following weekend presents a chance for people with convict ancestry to take part in a muster and see heritage farming techniques in action. The town hall, courthouse and village green are the spots for exhibitions and events on February 24-25, which marks the bicentenary of the town’s proclamation. On March 10, the program wraps up with a village fair followed by an opportunity for local residents to let their hair down at a street party.
Or try this: International Kite Festival, Gujarat, India; the city of Ahmedabad draws kite-making masters from around the globe (January 14-16)
FEBRUARY
Carnival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
February 9-14
Get your samba on and join the party, the world’s most joyous prelude to Lent. Brazil’s legendary beachside city puts on one of the largest and liveliest shows on Earth. Tickets to balls are snapped up by the society elite, and VIP boxes and even bleacher seats at the Sambadrome for the main parade of floats sell out fast. But the neighbourhood “bloco” parties, with crowds ranging from hundreds to thousands, are great fun and often spontaneous as the whole city becomes infused with colour and music. Also outside the ticketed events, street parades led by district bands typically weave their way through Zona Sul (South Zone), including beside famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, and onlookers join along the way, recharging at refreshment stalls set up at intersections. If a masquerade ball or a top perch at Sambadrome is more your shot of caipirinha, five-star hotels such as Copacabana Palace offer their guests priority tickets and access.
Or try this: Tapati Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Chile; a showcase of island culture that mixes sporting competitions with cultural experiences (February 9-17)
MARCH
Nyepi festival, Bali, Indonesia
March 11-12
Travellers are spoiled for choice during this shoulder-season month. You could head to Alaska for the 1500km Iditarod dog-sled race, join Norway’s 10-day Narvik festival, a joyous shindig in the countyr’s far north to welcome the sun after the long, dark winter, or take in Japan’s blooming cherry trees. Another option is to make the comparatively short trip to Bali in time for Nyepi and witness a dramatically different side to the predominantly Hindu holiday island. On New Year’s Eve in the Balinese Saka calendar, giant – and rather frightening – papier-mache effigies called Ogoh-Ogoh are paraded noisily through streets before being burned to send evil spirits on their way. The following day, islanders shut up shop to observe a day of complete and solemn silence. No one works or answers phones; even the international airport is closed. Streets are deserted while locals engage in self-reflection and prayer. During this period, travellers are asked to respect the wishes of their accommodation hosts.
Or try this: Holi in India and Nepal; a glorious celebration of colour, love and spring (March 24-25)
APRIL
Venice Biennale, Italy
From April 20
The 60th iteration of this famous arts-focused series of events and celebrations is curated by Brazil’s Adriano Pedrosa, director of the Sao Paulo Museum of Art and the first Latin-American to assume the role. Running in the legendary city of canals until November 24, the theme is Stranieri Ovunque (Foreigners Everywhere), referencing a seminal series of works by Claire Fontaine and a phrase originating in Turin as the name of an arts collective that fought racism and xenophobia in Italy in the early 2000s. “The backdrop … is a world rife with multiple crises concerning the movement and existence of people across countries, nations, territories and borders,” says Pedrosa. As in past years, the 2024 line-up will span exhibitions and installations in Lido, Arsenale and Giardini and a series of associated showings across other quarters of the city. Archie Moore and Ellie Buttrose are the artist and curator commissioned by Creative Australia to exhibit at the award-winning Australia Pavilion in the Biennale Gardens. As ever, the long-running biannual celebration invites experimentation and artistic dialogue in many forms. Tickets now on sale.
Or try this: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, US; there’s no room for the blues at this crowd-pleaser with big-name acts (April 25-May 5)
MAY
National Art Gallery, London
From May 10
It’s been 200 years since the British government bought 38 artworks from banker John Julius Angerstein with a view to establishing a national collection. Those purchases paved the way for the construction on Trafalgar Square of an imposing neoclassical building fronted by towering columns and topped with a huge dome. It opened in 1838. In May, the institution embarks on a months-long schedule of special events to mark its bicentenary. These include the simultaneous opening of 12 exhibitions across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each based on a treasure from the collection such as Botticelli’s Venus and Mars (in Cambridge), Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and The Water-Lily Pond by Monet (York). The piece de resistance is a blockbuster Van Gogh show (September 14-January 19, 2025) that showcases some of the artist’s best-loved paintings, including Starry Night over the Rhone and one from his Sunflowers series.
Or try this: Bergen International Festival, Norway; music, opera, theatre and dance staged in the birthplace of composer Edvard Grieg (May 22-June 5)
JUNE
D-Day 80th anniversary, Normandy, France
From June 1
World War II history buffs will have all eyes on Normandy in northern France for commemorations of this pivotal moment in the bloody six-year conflict. The campaign to liberate France from Nazi occupation began here with the June 6, 1944 beach landings by Allied forces, the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. The region has long been a magnet for tourists, who visit important memorial sites such as Omaha Beach, the Caen Memorial Museum, the seaside town of Arromanches and its D-Day museum, the German battery at Longues-sur-Mer, and war cemeteries. To mark the 80th anniversary, cruise lines (Viking and Seabourn, among others) and tour operators are running specialised itineraries that take guests to key locations. Some of these trips venture further, to the likes of Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and the Churchill War Rooms in London. The official program of events in Normandy is still being finalised but kicks off with a fireworks display over the landing beaches on June 1, and includes an art installation of 1475 silhouettes at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer to represent the number of British fatalities on D-Day.
Or try this: Inti Raymi, Festival of the Sun, Cusco, Peru; an ancient Incan celebration, thankfully minus the sacrifices (June 24)
JULY
Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games
July 26-August 11
The pinnacle of 2024’s sporting calendar will see athletes from more than 200 countries converge on the French capital as well as Nantes, Bourdeaux, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille. The ever-popular City of Light will be a spectacular backdrop to the bulk of the competition. First location in the spotlight will be the River Seine, which forms the backbone of the opening ceremony and will be used to host triathlons as well as the swimming marathon. The Eiffel Tower will have its own stadium where spectators can watch beach volleyball and the Paralympics blind football competition. The thrust and parry of fencing and taekwondo will take place under the glass roof of the Grand Palais, while equestrian events will be trotted out in the grounds of Versailles Palace. Australians may recall the Sydney Olympics’ well-earned reputation for being the “friendly games”. It will be interesting to see if Paris can turn on the charm, too.
Or try this: The Championships, Wimbledon, London; strawberries and cream, Pimm’s and lemonade, celebrity spotting … oh, and tennis (July 1-14)
AUGUST
Festival Puccini, Torre del Lago, Italy
Until August 24
This year marks the centenary of maestro Giacomo Puccini’s death and while the annual summer festival in his honour commences on July 12, the celebrations continue for several extra weeks. Performances of Turandot, La Boheme and Tosca will be staged across dates in August, concluding with Madama Butterfly on August 31 and September 7, marking 120 years since its historic debut. The operas are performed in a unique open-air arena, purpose-built in the 1990s with more than 3000 seats, by Lake Massaciuccoli, which is near Viareggio, Pisa and Lucca and close to Torre del Lago, the village a few kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea where Puccini lived for 30 years and wrote his seminal works. Tickets are expected to sell fast for this landmark series, claimed as THE opera event of 2024, and accommodation will be at a premium. Consider an inclusive tour with a specialist arts operator for best available seating and inclusions plus add-ons such as visits to Puccini’s birth home in Lucca and the museum dedicated to him.
Or try this: Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Fringe; culture and comedy collide in the lively Scottish capital (August 2-26)
SEPTEMBER
Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival, Ireland
September 28-29
Oyster experts from across the world descend on Galway each year, specialised knives at the ready, to take part in this three-day festival’s shucking competition. The contest, in which competitors vie to shuck 30 oysters as flawlessly as possibly in minimal time, is just one aspect of the event. The seafood bounty of the Wild Atlantic Way also includes mussels, clams and salmon, so expect cooking demonstrations by renowned chefs, workshops and tastings aplenty. Folk music has been drawing visitors to this west coast city for decades, and the pubs will be thronging with musicians and fans. Other attractions include the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara National Park and the baronial castle of Kylemore Abbey.
Or try this: Hermanus Whale Festival, South Africa; a three-day gathering to mark the annual return of southern right whales off the coast near Cape Town (September 26-29)
OCTOBER
Concurs de Castells, Tarragona, Spain
October 5-6
Kick off a cultural tour of Spain in Barcelona with La Merce festival, which runs from September 20-24. Fireworks, parades of giant papier-mache heads, circus acts and light shows take place across the city, and many museums, galleries and historic buildings, such as Montjuic Castle and the Picasso Museum, open their doors to the public for free. Included in the festivities are competitions to build human pyramids. But for the most thrilling example of these, travel 100km down the coast to Tarragona for the “castells” competition, a biennial event that is a designated UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity practice. In a tradition dating back to the 18th century, the action is centred on the city’s Tarraco Arena, the old bullring, where groups of castellers from all over Catalonia build complex human towers in extraordinary displays of strength, balance and teamwork. More than 10,000 spectators cram into the arena to watch adults and children (who wear helmets for their final scramble to the top) form tiered towers more than 10 high. It’s an event filled with excitement, not least when the teams begin the precarious task of disassembling their structures.
Or try this: Nagasaki Kunchi Festival, Japan; a 400-year-old tradition that showcases the city’s diversity through parades and dance (October 7-10)
NOVEMBER
Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction, Beaune, France
November 17
One of the world’s most prestigious wine events, this auction dates back to 1859, when it was used to raise money for the original hospital, a magnificent medieval building with a coloured-tiled roof that is now a museum. These days, the funds raised are used to preserve Beaune’s precious architecture, medical facilities and the vineyards attached to the hospital estate. While the auction of barrels of grand and premiers crus by Sotheby’s is the preserve of professionals, visitors to Beaune can join in three days of festivities. Street entertainers and providores spruik their wares while cellar doors offer special tastings and restaurants tempt with wine-matched menus. Visitors can also explore the region, with its chateaux, museums and galleries, the 12th-century Fontenay Abbey and, of course, big-name vineyards such as Chateau Meursault; Maison Champy, Burgundy’s oldest wine house; and Patriarche cellars, the largest in the area.
Or try this: Loy Krathong lantern festival, Thailand; watch your offerings to Buddha float away under the light of a full moon (November 15-16)
DECEMBER
St Lucia’s Day, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and parts of Finland
December 13
As darkness descends on Scandinavia at the end of the year, light becomes a source of solace. Under Norse traditions, the winter solstice was marked by bonfires to ward off evil spirits. The arrival of Christianity saw this pagan ritual replaced with the story of St Lucia, a kind-hearted girl martyred by the Romans in the 4th century after she was discovered delivering food to Christians hiding from the occupiers. Towns and schools across Scandinavia still honour the tale by selecting a local girl or young woman to represent her. Dressed in a white gown and wearing an illuminated wreath, she leads a candlelit procession of handmaidens, boys carrying stars, and youngsters in gingerbread costumes – food and light being preoccupations in the December gloom. Top it all off with hymns, saffron cakes and glogg (spiced wine), and you have a rather wholesome, magical experience.
Or try this: Harbin Ice Festival, China; brave the cold to see a veritable city of frozen sculptures (December 20-early March)
