Summer City Breaks in Europe

Riga will host the Riga Opera Festival from June 4-20, showcasing opera and ballet productions, including a premiere of Puccini's "La Bohème". The Festival Weekend in Riga will occur from September 3-6 at the Olympic Voodoo Casino. Positivus Festival, an all-ages music event with camping, is predicted to take place at Salacgriva Beach in Riga around August 2026. Antwerp will host The Tall Ships Races from July 11-14, featuring dozens of historic ships. Live is Live, a series of open-air concerts, will take place in Middenvijver Park in June 2026, with headliners including Robbie Williams, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Iron Maiden. Tomorrowland, a large EDM festival, will be held in Boom (near Antwerp) on July 17–19 and July 24–26. Bolzano will host the Bolzano Festival Bozen from August 4 to September 4, featuring classical music performances by established and emerging artists. Bolzano Dance, an international contemporary dance festival, will also take place in July. Extradanza will be on July 18, 2026, at Talvera meadows. Gothenburg will host several major events, including the Gothia Cup, the world's largest youth football tournament, from July 12-18. The city will also host the Partille World Cup, a large international handball tournament, from June 29 to July 4. Göteborgskalaset, Gothenburg's City Festival, will take place August 27–30. Swedish House Mafia will perform at Ullevi on August 28–29. Geneva will host the Geneva Summer Salsa Festival from June 5-7. The Fête de la Musique, a celebration of music in various forms, will be held June 19-21. La Batie-Festival of Geneva will take place from August 25. Florence's Easter celebration, Scoppio del Carro ("Explosion of the Cart"), dates back over 350 years. The event involves a cart filled with fireworks being lit outside the Duomo di Firenze. The tradition has origins in the First Crusade, when Florentine Pazzino de' Pazzi was rewarded with three flints from the Holy Sepulchre. Seville's Holy Week processions date back to the Middle Ages, gaining prominence in the 16th century. Religious brotherhoods organize processions with penitents, hooded robes, and floats depicting biblical scenes. The Marquis of Tarifa initiated a Stations of the Cross procession in 1521, influencing the development of Holy Week. Prague's Easter markets, which were established around the end of the Middle Ages, offer hand-painted eggs, wooden toys, and food. The Easter markets were banned during the communist era but made a comeback after 1989. The markets are open daily from March 21 to April 12 at Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square.