The Hamburg DOM, the biggest folk festival of Germany’s North takes place three times a year, in spring, summer and winter. The 160,000 square meter large „Heiligengeistfeld“ is transformed for 30 days into a sparkling city of lights made up of stalls, nostalgic carousels and high-tech rides. The DOM caterers offer a culinary accompaniment of the best that kitchen and cellar have to offer, ranging from a „sausage handed to you“ to the finest menu.
The Harbor Birthday - every year in the beginning of May the Harbor of Hamburg celebrates its birthday. This is Germany’s largest harbor festival with numerous events on land, in water and in the air.
The first Marathon in Hamburg started in 1986. It is one of the 8 largest marathons in the world and takes place every year at the end of April. It is known as a fast course, going through the entire city, past many Hamburg sights along the Elbe and the Inner and Outer Alster. An enthusiastic audience repeatedly eggs on the approximately 16,000 runners, from the first to the last.
The Vattenfall Cyclassics is Hamburg’s cycling race for professionals and amateurs. In mid-August about 20,000 amateur cyclists finish their own race in front of the professionals and the world elite of bicycle sports.
Hannover - Events & Festivals
The Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen, highlights of Baroque garden architecture, form the impressive backdrop for the famous Festival of Lights in conjunction with the International Fireworks Competition. Fireworks experts from five countries magically transform the night sky into a splendid, colorful display of fireworks, accompanied by classical music. A colorful and varied combination of music, theater, cabaret and clowning forms a sensory program setting that lures numerous visitors to the gardens every year from May to September.
The festival „Swinging Hannover“ attracts thousands of jazz fans every year on Ascension Day (May). A huge concert in the Eilenriederhalle and a grand open air concert on the Trammplatz in front of the town hall are classic hits with the public, where internationally renowned performers get together.
You become acquainted with Hannover’s liveliest side at the Marksmen’s Festival. Folksy hustle and bustle and exuberant gaiety dominate the world’s largest Rifle Club festival for ten days every year in July. The showmen present breathtaking world novelties and ceremonies rich in tradition to the approximately 2 million visitors - and they’ve been observing this festival for nearly 500 years. The highlight is the impressive parade of members of the rifle clubs, with 12,000 participants. Rifle club members, music bands and marching bands as well as horse-drawn carriages march from the town hall to the fairground where the shooting competition takes place.
Lake Maschsee and its natural, park-like environs offer unlimited sport and leisure opportunities. It’s an ideal location for a festival where joie de vivre and a maritime flair are combined in a nearly three-week-long summernight’s dream. Thus the annual Maschsee Lake Festival (from the end of July to mid-August) has developed into a magnetic attraction for visitors. For the prelude to the festival the lake is immersed in the impressive sparkle of Bengal lights. Visitors can enjoy cabaret as well as international music on the shores of the lake. And there are of course a lot of highly entertaining events everywhere for children. The festival ends with an immense fireworks display high in the air.
Berlin - Events & Festivals
The film world and famous actors come together every year in February on the occasion of the Berlinale - Berlin’s International Film Festival, to participate in the presentation of the Golden Bear award.
The Berliner Staatsoper (Berlin State Opera) celebrates its Festival in April around Easter. Famous operas and classical masterpieces can be enjoyed in the State Opera Unter den Linden and in the Philharmonic. International soloists enhance the orchestra’s acoustic world during the festival.
During the Berlin Festival Weeks in September / October numerous concerts, theater and dance performances, readings, lectures and various exhibitions take place. With the choice of one central theme and the participation of international artists, visitors get vivid impressions of the various interpreations.
Dresden - Events & Festivals
The Dresden Music Festival enchants visitors with unique acoustic experiences from the end of May to the beginning of June. Music presented by international guest performers and Dresden’s musical ensembles can be heard in gardens, palaces, churches and castles in and around Dresden, on the streets and squares of the inner city.
The entire city is swinging and jazzing to a different kind of music during the International Dixieland Festival. Numerous bands from Europe and overseas meet every year in mid-May and electrify their audience. The concluding highlight of the jazz festival is the grand parade on historic vehicles from the Grosser Garten to the Kulturpalast.
The attention of the audience is focussed on great movies during the Movie Nightson the banks of the Elbe in July and August. In Germany’s most beautiful open-air movie theater films and concerts are presented against the fabulous silhouette of Dresden’s Old Town.
The Elbhangfest - Dresden’s great public festival - takes place every year during the last weekend of June. The street festival extends over seven kilometers. It takes place in the picturesque landscape of Dresden along the Elbe river and includes 5 historic centers stretching up to Pillnitz Castle. Apart from the grand festival parade, markets, concerts, arts and crafts, specialties from Saxony and much more are also part of the program.
Düsseldorf - Events & Festivals
November 11th is the start of the Carnival season, when revellers are let loose until spring of the following year. Over 300 carnival sessions, balls, costume balls and parades dominate life on the Rhine during this time. The highlight of the season is the Rose Monday Parade in February / March.
Five million people come to the Kirmes, the Grand Fair on the Rhine on the Oberkassel Rhine Meadows every July. The climax of the fair every year is the grand fireworks by the Rhine. Düsseldorf’s Altstadtherbst, a festival for the younger cultural scene, has by now made a name for itself as the cultural event in autumn and an exciting platform and meeting place for young, innovative culture. For 18 days, a varied programme of music, dance and theatre takes place in churches, pubs, galleries, public buildings and places.
Around 250,000 visitors from Germany and abroad, over 400 musicians from more than 20 nations, over 90 concerts and 36 locations participate in the Jazz Rally every year in June in Düsseldorf. There is something to satisfy every taste – be it Blues, Swing, Dixie, Salsa, Latin or Open Jazz, mainstream jazz or HipHop, traditional or world music.
Once every year in May, on Japan Day, Düsseldorf demonstrates why it can justly be proud of its epithet ‘Nippon on the Rhine’. The large stage on Burgplatz is then the scene of Japanese dance, song and theatre shows. On the Rhine embankment, the country of the rising sun presents itself in all its variety. One of the highlights of the traditional Japan Day is a fantastic fireworks display after nightfall, conjured up in the sky over the river by Japanese pyrotechnicians.
Cologne - Events & Festivals
Karneval (Carnival), starting on November 11th, is considered to be the „Fifth Season“ in Cologne. Two million visitors from Germany and around the world visit Cologne during the „Tollen Tage“ (Crazy Days), from 8 „Weiberkarneval“ (women’s carnival) onwards. The highlight of the celebrations is the 5.5 km long „Rosenmontagszug“ (Rose Monday Parade) with its hail of sweets, tattered clowns and imaginative parade floats. When you are in Cologne during Carnival you should not expect to sleep in the evenings since Carnival in the Rhineland and especially in Cologne means 24 hours of non-stop party, indoors and outdoors. And since everyone is dressing up during Carnival do not forget to bring a costume as well.
Every year more than 600,000 people enjoy a unique acoustic experience during over 400 concerts in the Philharmonic Orchestra. In July and August, the Cologne Summer Festival takes place here. Top international productions in the fields of Musicals, Dance and Shows are presented. The Philharmonic Orchestra hall is just a few steps away from Cologne´s beautiful old town with it variety of restaurants, breweries, pubs and bars.
In July gays and lesbians from all over Europe celebrate their „Christopher Street Day“ in Cologne, where tolerance has a long-standing tradition. It’s a funky celebration with a huge parade of about 120 floats and with 1.000,000 onlookers lining the streets. CSD is the gay and lesbian „Karneval“ and became a real party highlight for the non gay community as well. On this occasion people wear magnificent costumes, giving full expression to their imagination. A must if you are into public parties.
The Christmas market period will be upon us this year again, and every year people let themselves be enticed by the radiance of the festively decorated city centres to enjoy the atmosphere while taking a stroll or browsing through the shops. Cologne is prepared to welcome its visitors with a broad range of attractions in the Christmas period. With its attractive Christmas markets, crib exhibitions, Christmas concerts and not least its wide range of shops, the Cathedral city is a popular destination, especially in the pre-Christmas period. Before the impressive backdrop of Cologne’s landmark, the Cathedral Christmas Market awaits visitors with its 160 attractively designed wooden pavilions. Beneath the largest Christmas tree in the Rhineland, you can choose from numerous sweet delicacies, watch artisans at work and enjoy the “Original Christmas mulled wine“ out of the festively decorated Christmas mugs. On the Alter Markt in front of Cologne’s town hall, children in particular, will find their Christmas paradise. Cologne’s oldest Christmas market is held on the Neumarkt, the city centre market in the shopping district. The Christmas Market on the Rudolfplatz takes you to the world of fairy tales. The Medieval Christmas Market next to Cologne’s Chocolate Museum sets an original tone and A floating Christmas market will be set up on board “MS Wappen von Mainz“.
Frankfurt - Events & Festivals
The Mainfest will begin with live music at the Römerberg. Festival by the river, with live music, children´s carousels, fairground rides, games, tombolas and shooting ranges, this traditional folk festival also attracts children of all ages, making it the only city festival for the whole family.
The Frankfurt Marathon is one of the biggest sports events of the city. The race with its international participants begins every year in front of the „Messeturm“ (trade fair tower) on the last weekend in October. The course, which is nearly free of hills, not only lets the runners achieve their best performance, but also enables them to view architectural highlights during the race.
Rheingau Wine Festival. By the end of the month August the Rheingau vintners will be presenting their fine wines in the "Freßgass´", the charming restaurant and fine foodarea within Frankfurt´s pedestrian shopping zone. More then 600 wines and sparkling wines from the Rheingau region will be tasted at 30 vintner stands. These range from the finest wines to light and zesty summer wines, with wines from alternative grape varieties also being offered alongside the dominant Rheingau Riesling.
Autumn-Dippemess. Over the years, more and more fairground booths and popular attractions joined the market. In the 1950s the Dippemess was relocated to the Frankfurt Fairground (Festplatz) on Ratsweg as the larger fairground rides could no longer be accommodated in the city itself. The Dippemess expanded rapidly in the generous space available here and it is now Frankfurt´s largest public fair.
Lets go to the „Wasen“! Every year in the end of september the Stuttgart Beer Festival begins with the traditional tapping of the beer barrel and the three obligatory gun salutes into the blue festival sky. In three huge brewery festival tents „Goeckele“ (chickens) and „Festbier“ (festival beer) and the decorative orchestras in traditional costume make sure that there is cheerful entertainment and a lively beer festival mood. The merrymaking goes on for 16 days, around the 24 meter high fruit column, the symbol of the festival, which was established in 1818 as a harvest celebration. It has attractions involving rides, such as super-loopings, wild-water trips or ghost trains and is one of the largest and most beautiful beer festivals in the world.
At the end of August wine connoisseurs and aficionados from all over the world come to Stuttgart, the largest wine-growing city among the German cities, in order to taste the fruits of the summer at the popular Stuttgart Wine Village. Over 350 wines of Württemberg are served in more than 120 cosy wine arbors. Swabian specialties like „Maultaschen“ and „Käsespätzle“ are served in accompaniment.
Every year in August the elegant Stuttgart Summer Festival takes place against the marvellous backdrop of the Neues Schloss (New Palace). Colorful chains of lights, white pavilions, the aroma of Mediterranean delicacies impart a Mediterranean flair and tempt the visitor to linger and enjoy the festive atmosphere under the open sky.
First documented in 1692, Stuttgart’s Christmas market is not only one of the oldest, but also one of the largest and most beautiful Christmas markets in Europe, comprising some 230 stalls on the Marketplace and Schiller Square. Everything sparkles in festive splendour and the smell of mulled wine and cinnamon waffles fills the air. For the youngest visitors to the Christmas market there is an enchanting fairyland on Palace Square and the rustically romantic “Winter Wonderland” skating rink to delight not only skaters. Several Advent concerts round off the festive atmosphere.
Munich - Events & Festivals
What would Munich be without the Oktoberfest. It is the biggest folk festival in the world. Every year more than 6 million visito
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At the end of August wine connoisseurs and aficionados from all over the world come to Stuttgart, the largest wine-growing city among the German cities, in order to taste the fruits of the summer at the popular Stuttgart Wine Village. Over 350 wines of Württemberg are served in more than 120 cosy wine arbors. Swabian specialties like „Maultaschen“ and „Käsespätzle“ are served in accompaniment. 
First documented in 1692, Stuttgart’s Christmas market is not only one of the oldest, but also one of the largest and most beautiful Christmas markets in Europe, comprising some 230 stalls on the Marketplace and Schiller Square. Everything sparkles in festive splendour and the smell of mulled wine and cinnamon waffles fills the air. For the youngest visitors to the Christmas market there is an enchanting fairyland on Palace Square and the rustically romantic “Winter Wonderland” skating rink to delight not only skaters. Several Advent concerts round off the festive atmosphere.
