Events & festivals in February
11 curated experiences happening in February โ festivals, natural phenomena, food seasons, sport. We highlight the off-the-beaten-path versions of famous events.
๐ญ Festivals & Cultural
๐จ๐ณ
Harbin International Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival
Harbin ยท January โ mid-February
Football-stadium-sized ice castles lit from within with rainbow LEDs.
Rising
๐ฏ๐ต
Sapporo Snow Festival
Sapporo ยท Early February (1 week)
Two million visitors, hundreds of snow sculptures spanning a 1.
Rising
๐น๐ผ
Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
Pingxi ยท 15th day of Lunar New Year (Lantern Festival)
Hundreds of paper lanterns released into a mountain valley after sunset.
Hidden gem
๐ง๐ช
Carnival of Binche
Binche ยท Sunday-Tuesday before Lent (Mardi Gras week)
UNESCO-listed Belgian carnival from the 1300s.
Hidden gem
๐ง๐ท
Carnival in Salvador
Salvador ยท Friday-Tuesday before Ash Wednesday
Largest street carnival in the world (yes, larger than Rio).
Rising
๐ฎ๐น
Verona in Love
Verona ยท Around February 14 (4 days)
Romeo and Juliet's hometown turns into a heart-shaped pop-up: red lanterns, opera, free chocolate at Piazza dei Signori, letters to Juliet read aloud at Casa di Giulietta.
Hidden gem
๐ฟ Nature & Wildlife
๐น๐ผ
Cherry Blossom in Yangmingshan
Taipei ยท Late February โ mid-March
Taipei's cherry blossom season is 4 weeks earlier than Japan's, in a national park 30 min from downtown.
Hidden gem
๐ฒ๐ฝ
Monarch Butterfly Migration
Sierra Chincua ยท Late October โ mid-March (peak: January-February)
100 million monarch butterflies flying 4,500km from Canada to overwinter in 12 Mexican mountain forests.
Hidden gem
๐ณ๐ด
Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)
Tromsรธ ยท Late September โ early April (peak: NovemberโFebruary, dark hours)
Tromsรธ sits in the auroral oval โ the band where Northern Lights are most likely.
Mainstream
๐ฒ๐ฝ
Whale Shark Migration
La Paz ยท October โ mid-April (peak: November-March)
La Paz Bay, Baja Sur โ juvenile whale sharks (12m long, gentle, plankton-eating) gather close enough to swim with from a boat tour.
Hidden gem
๐ง๐ท
Iguazu Falls, peak flow
Foz do Iguaรงu ยท November โ March (rainy-season peak flow)
275 individual waterfalls, 80m drops, 1.
Mainstream
