Top 10 Carnival Celebrations Worth Traveling for in 2027

Rio Carnival is the one carnival that justifies a long flight, and 2027 is a strong year to go. The official parades are the Special Group samba school competition at the Sambadrome, the Marquês de Sapucaí, run by the league Liesa. Four schools parade each night: U. de Maricá, Beija-Flor, Paraíso do Tuiuti and Vila Isabel on Sunday 7 February; Mocidade, Unidos da Tijuca, Salgueiro and Imperatriz on Monday 8; and Portela, Viradouro, Grande Rio and Mangueira on Tuesday 9. The stadium has 72,500 bleacher seats, and Carnival moved there in 1984 after Governor Leonel Brizola commissioned Niemeyer's design in 1983. Tickets go through Ticketmaster Brasil: grandstand seats are 250 reais a night, with half price at 125 reais for eligible visitors, and a three-night passport costs 499 reais for sectors 2 to 8, 10 and 11. Six-person frisas run from 1,835 to 10,200 reais. If you want to taste it first, Liesa's technical rehearsals on 23, 24, 30 and 31 January are free, and about 360,000 people came in 2026. Then there is the street: the festival draws about two million people a day, and police estimated more than 5 million at a bloco in 2012. The Série Ouro parades are on 5 and 6 February, and the Champions' Parade is on Saturday 13 February. It is loud, late and enormous, which is exactly why it ranks first.

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is the best carnival to join rather than watch. The tourism board calls it "The Greatest Show on Earth," and the main days are Carnival Monday and Tuesday, 8 and 9 February 2027. Dimanche Gras comes first on Sunday 7 February at Carnival City, with the finals for the Kings and Queens of Carnival. J'Ouvert starts at 4 a.m. on Monday, when revellers dance through the streets covered in paint, mud and oil. The costumed parade on Monday runs from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Tuesday's from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., on the National Carnival Commission calendar. The roots go back to the 1780s and to Canboulay, the parallel celebration of enslaved Africans, and the steelpan reappeared in 1937 as orchestras of frying pans, dustbin lids and oil drums. Joining costs real money: Harts 2027 sections are TT$5,795 to TT$6,195, with a drinks package at TT$895, and YUMA's final payment is due 31 January 2027. Read the refund rules, because Harts says there is no refund of the deposit once registration is complete. Panorama brings 60 to 80 steelbands to the preliminaries, with 75 to 200 players each. The Lost Tribe won Band of the Year four years running, from 2023 to 2026.

New Orleans Mardi Gras is the best free carnival. Carnival season begins on Twelfth Night, 6 January, and ends on Fat Tuesday, 9 February 2027, and the official tourism site says parades roll every night from 3 to 9 February. Nearly 70 parades roll in the 12 days before Mardi Gras. They are free to watch, while balls are invitation-only or ticketed. There are over 40 krewes in New Orleans, and Endymion, Bacchus and Orpheus are the super krewes. Mardi Gras Day starts early: Zulu rolls at 8 a.m., and its famous coconuts are now handed down rather than thrown. The colors come from Rex, who proclaimed purple, green and gold in 1872 and gave them meanings in 1892: justice, faith and power. About 2,000 parades have rolled since 1857, throws have been tossed from floats since at least 1871, and float riders must wear masks by law. A big krewe is a spectacle on its own: a 450-member krewe with 18 floats can include more than 75 units and over 3,000 participants. Plan carefully. Restrooms are hard to find, so use the port-a-potties along the route, bring cash, walk instead of driving, and book flights and hotels early, especially on the parade route. It ranks third only because the parades are more spread out than Rio's.

Venice Carnival is the most elegant on the list, and the best choice if costumes and masks are your reason to travel. The official site says it runs from Saturday 23 January to Tuesday 9 February 2027. The detailed 2027 program is not out yet, but applications for artists and performers opened on 19 October 2026, and an official Carnival Dinner Show is listed at Ca' Vendramin Calergi. The traditions are old. By legend, the carnival began in 1162 after the Republic defeated Patriarch Ulrich II of Aquileia, and it was outlawed entirely in 1797 under Emperor Francis II, before it came back in 1979. Up to 3 million visitors come each year. The Festa delle Marie recalls a 973 rescue of twelve maidens by Doge Pietro Candiano III, revived in 1999, and girls aged 18 to 28 can apply to be one of the 12 Marias. The masks have names: the bauta, worn with the tabarro cloak, the oval black moretta held by a button between the teeth, and the gnaga, a cat-shaped mask. The 2026 edition was opened by "Olympus" and celebrated Milan-Cortina. In 2020 the governor of Veneto called the celebrations off because of COVID-19. It ranks fourth because it is more about looking than joining in.

Carnaval de Barranquilla is the best folk carnival and the best choice for authenticity. The Fundación Carnaval de Barranquilla lists Saturday 6, Sunday 7, Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 February 2027. The Batalla de Flores opens the festival on Saturday, followed by the Gran Parada de Tradición on Sunday and the Gran Parada de Comparsas on Monday. On Tuesday, mourners say farewell to Joselito Carnaval in a mock funeral, although the Rio Times marks that closing event as to be confirmed. The Battle of Flowers was first organised in 1903 to celebrate the end of the Thousand Days War, and the first queen, Alicia Lafaurie Roncallo, was crowned in 1918. This year's queen is Salwa Maloof Habib, named on 21 August 2026. The costumes are the highlight, led by the marimonda, a hooded figure with a long nose, floppy ears and bright trousers. UNESCO named it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage in 2003 and added it to the Representative List in 2008. Be flexible: palco prices are not published yet, hotels run 400,000 to 900,000 pesos a night, and in July 2026 city hall studied moving the parades from Vía 40 to the Gran Malecón riverfront, a route of about 4.2 kilometers. No outcome has been published.

Basel Fasnacht is the most atmospheric carnival in Europe, and starts in the dark. The Fasnachts-Comité calls it the most beautiful three days of the year, and in 2027 they run from 15 to 17 February. The Morgestraich begins at 4:00 a.m. on the Monday after Ash Wednesday: at the fourth chime of St Martin's church all the lights in the inner city go off, and thousands of pipers and drummers march behind hand-painted lanterns. The carnival ends with the Ändstraich on Thursday morning, again at 4:00 a.m. Around 20,000 active participants take part. The cortège brings around 10,000 costumed revellers along a 3 km route, and after the Monday parade the cliques display their lanterns on Münsterplatz. On Tuesday, children take over the afternoon, throwing confetti and handing out sweets, and in the evening the roughly 60 Guggenmusik brass bands play. It is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The pre-carnival Drummeli show runs 31 January to 6 February 2027 at Messe Basel. If you miss 2027, the next dates are 6 to 8 March 2028 and 19 to 21 February 2029. It ranks sixth because it is a spectacle to be absorbed more than joined, and it is cold.

Binche Carnival is the best traditional carnival, and the one where tradition is guarded most tightly. The official site gives 7, 8 and 9 February 2027 for the three days gras. On Mardi Gras, nearly 1,000 Gilles parade in a costume of jute blouse and trousers with 150 motifs of black, yellow and red felt, bells, wooden clogs and a hat of ostrich feathers. The costume is for locals only: men from Binche families or residents of at least five years, worn only on Mardi Gras, and Gilles never travel outside the town. They rent the costume and hat from one of three hirers, all from the same family. The wax mask with green glasses is protected: the town registered the model with the European Patent Office in 1985. The Mardi Gras timetable is clear: oysters and champagne after 7 a.m., the procession at 15:00 with the famous oranges, an evening procession at 20:00, and fireworks at 21:30 over an illuminated "Plus Oultre." Dimanche Gras is the most colorful day, and Lundi Gras belongs to the young, with fireworks at 19:00. UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List in 2008. The Incas legend ties the Gilles to 1549, but the town's history page admits historians find no clear mention before the late eighteenth century. Book lodging early.

Notting Hill Carnival is the best summer carnival and the best free one outside New Orleans. In 2027 the official site lists Sunday 29 and Monday 30 August, both free to all, with the Steel Band Competition and UK National Panorama on Saturday 28 August, tickets only. Sunday is Families and Children's Day, with J'ouvert and the Children's Parade; Monday is Adults Day, with the Adults Parade and Judging Zone. You will find mas bands, steel bands, Brazilian bands, soca and calypso, sound systems and live stages. The story starts with Claudia Jones, who organised an indoor Caribbean carnival at St Pancras Town Hall on 30 January 1959, and with Rhaune Laslett, who started the street festival in 1966 with Russell Henderson's steel band. Attendance had reached over 150,000 by 1976, a year marred by riots, and today the London Museum says it attracts over a million people while Wikipedia gives about 2 million, with about 40,000 volunteers and 9,000 police officers. The national Panorama has been held the Saturday before the carnival since 1978, and the carnival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19. It ranks eighth because the crowds are dense, and because it is a street party more than a parade you can watch from a seat.

Nice Carnival is the best sunny carnival in Europe, with flower parades by the sea. The 2027 edition runs from 9 to 28 February with the theme "Long live Love!", and the city says it is 154 years old. The official program lists La Carnavalina, free, and the Opening Parade of Lights at 21:00 on Saturday 13 February, then parades of lights on 16, 20, 23 and 27 February and flower parades on 17, 20, 24 and 27 February, all at Place Masséna. Even free admission needs a ticket, and 2027 prices are not yet published. The floats are big: the King's float is the tallest at about 15 m, others average about 12 m, and giant heads of about 2.50 m have shrunk from 800 in the sixties to about a hundred. The flower parade has around fifteen floats, each decorated with 3,000 fresh flowers, about 80% of them grown locally. The history is long: Charles of Anjou wrote of the joyful days of Carnival in Nice in 1294, the Flower Battle began in 1876, and mechanized floats arrived in 1964. It was cancelled during both World Wars and in 1991 because of the Gulf War. It ranks ninth because it is a ticketed parade, more polished than participatory.

The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival is the second most important carnival after Rio in the eyes of Wikipedia, and its calendar changed for 2027. The 2027 theme is "Roma Eterna: El Imperio del Carnaval," the gala is on 22 January, and the street carnival runs 19 to 28 February 2027. The city moved the start two weeks later than usual because the Recinto Ferial is occupied by the PIT until 6 January, leaving no time to build the stage. Martes de Carnaval, 23 February 2027, is a local holiday. The crowds are huge: 425,000 people were on the street on Sábado de Piñata in 2026, and in 1987 Celia Cruz sang to 250,000 people in a Guinness record for an outdoor plaza concert. The Queen gala is a show of its own, with costumes that can weigh up to 100 kg, and more than a hundred murgas, comparsas and rondallas take part. It is a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest, with a history of defiance: a 1783 royal ban on masks was largely not enforced, and under Franco the carnival was renamed "Winter holiday." The 2027 theme links to 1987, when the carnival adopted a theme for the first time and chose Rome. It ranks tenth only because exact event dates are still being published.