Italy’s Mille Miglia
When spring starts to bloom, everyone comes out to celebrate. Every community has something to share, too, whether it be time-worn traditions or newfangled festivities. From flowers and fire, to bulls and burning rubber, we’ve searched high and low to find five not-to-miss festivals across Europe this season.
Las Fallas (Valencia, Spain)
What started as a simple celebration to honor St. Joseph the Carpenter has evolved into an exhilarating two weeks of parades, fireworks and puppet pyres. For months in advance, artists and artisans from all over the Valencian communities make outrageous, multileveled wax, wood and paper sculptures that showcase ninot, clever puppet constructions. From March 1 to 19, these elaborate sculptures are displayed and paraded around in a procession of fireworks, flowers and other fun. On the event’s final day, all of the sculptures are ignited, essentially setting the city on fire well in to the wee hours of the night. Through March 19
Combat des Reines
Combat des Reines (Valle d’Aosta Italy, France and Switzerland)
High up in the Alps — where Italy, France and Switzerland meet — a battle to be the best bovine is held. Herens and Valdostana piebalds (white-spotted cows), known for making delicious Alpine cheeses such as Gruyère and fontina, spend their spring fighting to be named Queen of the Alps in the rough-and-tumble Combat des Reines, an annual confrontation that’s been waged since the 1920s. Cattle from 20 different Alpine communities lock horns and shove each other as onlookers cheer them on in a series of weekend competitions. Don’t worry too much about the cows’ well-being; because of animal protestors, horns are dulled down to ease the chance of any real injury. The creatures also take the summer off, resting up for October’s grand finale of cow supremacy — La Reine des Reines (Queen of Queens). March 23 through May 4
Stuttgart Spring Festival (Germany)
As the host of one of Europe’s biggest spring festivals — more than 1 million visitors make the annual trip to the outdoor event — Cannstatter Wasen fairgrounds celebrates everything seasonal about Stuttgart with the help of balloon rides, carnival sideshows, fireworks and music, along with Chandler’s Market, an area showcasing the city’s delicious confections, textiles, locally made products and beers. In fact, you may want to be first in line when the festival opens its gates, seeing as how the fun kicks off with a traditional keg-tapping ceremony. April 19-May 11
Koningsdag/King’s Day (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
From 1885 until 2013, the Netherlands decked itself out in orange on April 26 to celebrate Queen’s Day and the Dutch royal family. There won’t be a formal celebration for the queen this year; Amsterdam will still swim in a sea of orange, but this time the Netherlands is directing its attention elsewhere for the first King’s Day in honor of new King Willem-Alexander. Expect street-wide celebrations, fairs, street markets and parties to last all weekend, beginning with King’s Night on April 25 and culminating on King Willem-Alexander’s actual birthday, April 27. April 25-27
Mille Miglia (throughout Italy)
Think of this revved-up event as a four-day Chitty Chitty Bang Bang race throughout Italy where hundreds of vintage vehicles maneuver through the hills and valleys of regions such as Tuscany, Le Marche, Umbria and Lazio. The epic Mille Miglia rally and its fabulous automobiles have been running the Brescia-Rome-Brescia circuit for more than 60 years. Though the race is fast-paced, Mille Miglia slows down ever so slightly as it passes through quaint towns such as Viterbo, Loreto, Siena, Volterra, San Marino and many more. If you can’t make it to Italy to hear roaring engines from 1950s Ferraris in May, an American version, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, will take place on August 17. May 15 to 18
Photos Courtesy of 100 miglia and vacheherens
