Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in Germany

Hofbräuhaus musicians, Munich
The spirit of Oktoberfest lives on year-round in Munich's beer halls.
  • Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival's website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism site for Germany.
  • This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout Germany. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn't a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
  • See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe

2024

January 1:  New Year's Day (closures)

Through mid-January:  Christmas Garden light shows in Berlin, Dresden, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hannover, Koblenz, Münster, Stuttgart

January 6:  Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige, volunteers dressed as Three Kings go door-to-door caroling and collecting for charity; some closures)

January 26–February 4:  CTM Festival, Berlin (electronic / experimental music and art)

January 28–February 4:  Hot-Air Balloon Festival, Lake Tegern (east of Oberammergau, in Bavaria)

February–March:  Fasching/Fastnacht/Karneval, primarily in southern regions and Cologne (carnival season — parties and parades in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday; Cologne's huge Rosenmontag parade is February 12)

February 15–25:  Berlin International Film Festival (a.k.a. "Berlinale")

March 21–April 14:  Thuringian Bach Weeks, Erfurt

March 29:  Good Friday (Karfreitag; closures)

March 30–April 14:  Spring Festival, Nürnberg (rides and costumes in Luitpoldhain park)

March 31 & April 1:  Easter (Ostern) Sunday and Monday (closures)

April 19–May 5:  Spring Festival, Munich (Frühlingsfestival, the "little sister of Oktoberfest")

May 1:  May Day (maypole dances in rural areas, labor demonstrations and street festivals in Berlin's Kreuzberg district, closures)

May 4:  Rhine in Flames festival, Bonn (fireworks; nearby Rhine towns host Rhine in Flames later in the year)

May 9:  Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt; closures)

May 9–12:  Hafengeburtstag (harbor's birthday), Hamburg (giant maritime festival)

May 9–June 9:  Dresden Music Festival (classical music performances)

May 11–18:  Green Sauce Festival, Frankfurt (street music, green-sauce sampling)

May 12–19:  International Dixieland Festival, Dresden

May 17–20:  Carnival of Cultures, Berlin (street parade on Sunday)

May 17–20:  Meistertrunk Show, Rothenburg (historic play and market, medieval costumes, Biergarten parties)

May 19 & 20:  Pentecost (Pfingsten) and Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag; maypole dancing and flower-bedecked cattle in some rural areas, closures)

May 22–31:  Fressgass' Fest, Frankfurt

May 24–June 9:  Handel Festival, Halle

May 24–June 23:  Mozartfest, Würzburg

May 29–June 9:  Weindorf wine festival, Würzburg

May 30:  Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam; processions — particularly in Bavaria, flower carpets — particularly in rural Baden-Württemberg, closures across southern and western Germany)

June 7–8:  Elbjazz, Hamburg

June 7–9:  Rock am Ring rock festival, Nürburg (near Koblenz — not to be confused with Nürnberg)

June 7–16:  Bach Festival, Leipzig

June 11–13:  Melt Festival, Gräfenhainichen (electronic music and indie rock, near Wittenberg)

June 13–29:  St. Katharina Open air, Nürnberg (concert series of eclectic acts in the Old Town)

June 14–16:  Luther's Wedding festival, Wittenberg

June 21–July 21:  Tollwood Summer Festival, Munich (concert series, art, street theater)

Mid-June (3 days; iffy):  Stadtteilfest Bunte Republik Neustadt, Dresden (huge counter-cultural block party celebrating the Outer New Town's tongue-in-cheek status as an independent republic)

June 21–23:  Traumzeit Music Festival, Duisburg (eclectic line-up staged in a former industrial site)

June 22–30:  Kieler Woche, Kiel (world's largest sailing festival, featuring historical-ship parades and cultural events in the city center)

June 26–30:  Fusion Festival, Neustrelitz (Burning Man–esque counterculture free-for-all held on the grounds of a former airfield north of Berlin)

June 27–30:  Oberlindenhock, Freiburg (street food, live music)

June 28–30:  Elbhangfest, Dresden (music, dance, wine)

July 4–9:  Freiburg Wine Festival (local wines, live music)

July 5–21:  Kiliani Volksfest, Würzburg (county fair–type folk festival)

July 6:  Rhine in Flames festival, Bingen / Rüdesheim (fireworks)

July 12–21:  Kinderzeche, Dinkelsbühl (traditional dancing, parades)

Weekends July 12–28:  Kaltenberg Knights' Tournament (huge jousting festival, near Munich)

July 19–July 21:  Cologne Pride Street Festival

July 21 & August 3:  Klassik Open Air, Nürnberg (series of free classical concerts and fireworks in Luitpoldhain park)

July 26–August 11:  Sommerwerft, Frankfurt (theatre and arts festival)

July 26–28:  Bardentreffen Nürnberg (world music festival)

July 27:  Berlin Pride (a.k.a. Christopher Street Day Berlin)

August 9–10:  Potsdamer Schössernacht (Potsdam's palaces lit up, nighttime performances in the gardens, midnight fireworks over Sanssouci both nights)

August 10:  Rhine in Flames festival, Koblenz (fireworks)

August 14–18:  Weindorf wine festival, Rothenburg ob der Tauber

August 15:  Assumption (Mariä Himmelfahrt; closures in Bavaria and Saarland)

August 22–24 (likely):  Castle Beats, St. Goar (EDM concert series at Rheinfels Castle)

August 22–26:  Sandkerwa Bavarian folk festival, Bamberg

August 22–26:  Wine festival, Cochem

August 23–25:  Museumsuferfest, Frankfurt (music, food, culture)

August 23–September 8:  Nürnberg Fall Folk Festival (costumes, rides in Luitpoldhain park)

August 24:  Long Night of Museums, Berlin (most museums open until 2 a.m., with one-off installations and performances)

August 28–September 6:  Rheingau Wine Festival, Frankfurt

August 30–September 8:  Berlin Beer Week

September 5–14:  International Literature Festival Berlin

September 6–8:  Reichsstadt Festival, Rothenburg ob der Tauber (extra big in 2024 for 750th anniversary, with events held throughout the year)

September 6–8:  Medieval festival, Selb (on the Czech border, northeast of Nürnberg)

September 6–10 & 13–16:  Wurstmarkt, Bad Dürkheim (world's biggest wine festival, near Heidelberg)

September 14:  Rhine in Flames festival, Oberwesel (fireworks)

September 21:  Rhine in Flames festival, St. Goar (fireworks)

September 21–October 6:  Oktoberfest, Munich (a.k.a. Wies'n)

Mid-September–early October:  Berliner Oktoberfest

September 26–October 5:  Filmfest Hamburg

September 27–October 13:  Cannstatter Volksfest (Oktoberfest in Stuttgart)

September 27–October 14:  Wine harvest festival, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse

October 3:  German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit; closures)

October 4–13:  Berlin Festival of Lights (light installations on landmark buildings)

October 11–13:  Onion Market festival, Weimar

October 16–20:  Frankfurter Buchmesse (huge book fair and publishers' convention)

October 18–November 1 (likely):  Frankenstein Halloween, Königstein Castle (southeast of Dresden)

October 30–November 3:  Jazzfest Berlin

October 31:  Reformation Day celebration, Wittenberg (and closures in some Protestant areas)

November 1:  All Saints' Day (Allerheiligen, closures in southern and western Germany)

November 6:  Leonhardifahrt, Bad Tölz (traditional Bavarian religious procession in spa town south of Munich)

November 9:  Night of Broken Glass Remembrance Day; anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (remembrances, but no closures)

November 11:  Martinstag (St. Martin's Day) and official start to Karneval season (colorful costumes and revelry in Cologne)

Mid-November–mid-January 2025:  Christmas Garden (light show held in gardens and parks in many cities, including Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, Leipzig, and Mainau Island on Lake Constance)

November 22:  Repentance Day (closures in Saxony)

November 23–December 31 (but closed Nov 26 for Totensonntag):  Tollwood Winter Festival, Munich (music, circus, and cultural events performed on Oktoberfest fairgrounds, plus Christmas market until December 23)

December:  Christmas markets throughout Germany, particularly in Nürnberg, Munich, Rothenburg, and Freiburg, and Berlin

December 6:  Nikolaustag (St. Nicholas Day; St. Nick, often with companion in tow, often seen around town on evening prior)

December 24:  Christmas Eve (Der Heilige Abend; Germans decorate trees and open presents, shops close at noon)

December 25:  Christmas Day (closures)

December 26:  Boxing Day (closures)

December 31:  New Year's Eve (Silvester; fireworks, particularly big in Berlin)