12 Food Festivals Around The World To Add To Your Bucket List

Large-scale gastronomic events and festivals not only bring people together, boost tourism, and help promote local specialties, restaurants, and brands, but also launch creative dishes and drinks, and introduce up-and-coming chefs, restaurateurs, and mixologists. It's a great networking opportunity and a pleasurable, enriching experience that draws thousands and even millions of enthusiastic foodies.

For globetrotters, must-visit culinary cities around the world include Lima, Vienna, Lisbon, Hong Kong, Montreal, Mexico City, Beirut, Seville, Beijing, Osaka, and Kuala Lumpur. Additionally, one shouldn't forget all those exciting, multicultural food festivals across the U.S., from the Maine Lobster Festival to the Taste of Chicago, MN Food Truck Festival, Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, and SoCal Taco Fest. Some of them tend to be a little eccentric, though, and center on a very specific ingredient, such as the Spam Jam Waikiki, the World Champion Squirrel Cook Off, and the Gloucester Cheese Rolling. Still, they're memorable experiences just the same. 

Since sampling a country or a region's culinary delights is primordial to any immersive travel experience, here is a non-exhaustive selection of fine, popular food festivals from around the world. They span various cultures, ages, interests, and dietary preferences; so, be sure to add them to your bucket list.

Japan is split into eight major regions, each one boasting its own food and drink specialties and cooking traditions. For instance, Hokkaido is famed for its salmon hotpot, barbecued lamb, Yubari king melon, Sapporo ramen, and potato rice cake. Chugoku's oysters and Hokuriku's wild duck soup are internationally renowned, while Okinawans make the best stir-fried bitter melon with eggs, pork, and tofu. All those tantalizing dishes and more, along with a wide selection of quality craft beer, sake, and sashimi, can be sampled at a single event in the Japanese capital: the Furusato Matsuri (also called The Hometown Festival).

Established in 2009, this 10-day feast is held at Tokyo Dome, an indoor stadium that can accommodate up to 55,000 people. Every year, around 400,000 attendees get to experience the nation's best culinary highlights under one roof. Here's what to expect there: 300 food stalls from all regions; adorable, entertaining mascot characters; interactive workshops; cultural floats; traditional performances like kaguara, sansa odori, and yosakoi; and kamishibai, or picture-storytelling shows. Other than it being a direct dive into Japan's rich and diversified gastronomy, this festival is particularly suited for families traveling with children. 

Some types of lemon hold special significance in certain communities. For the people of Menton, a town nestled on the French Riviera, their juicy, fragrant, and bright yellow lemons — which they've apparently been producing since the 15^th century — are a real source of pride. As many as 15 of these lemons can actually grow on a single branch. To celebrate this agricultural achievement, La Fête du Citron (or, the Lemon Festival) was officially launched in 1934. 

The festival is still held annually for 15 days and draws about 200,000 visitors from all over France and Europe. Attendees can expect lemon sculptures, colorful parades of citrus floats, exhibits in the Biovès Gardens, a crafts fair, and even a festival of orchids. As far as food and drink goes, think your favorite festival treats meeting the flavors of lemon, lime, and orange: from delicious crêpes and cakes to pasta dishes, artisan marmalades, and of course, limoncello.

To spice things up, a different theme is presented every year. For instance, the 2024 festival focused on the Summer Olympics held in Paris. Other exciting editions included rock and opera in 2023, world festivals in 2020, Bollywood in 2018, "Alice in Wonderland" in 2003, myths and legends of the Mediterranean in 1990, and signs of the zodiac in 1967. Surely, for citrus lovers, this zesty event is worth experiencing at least once.

Melbourne, the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria, is known as the nation's culinary hub. It boasts over 3,500 restaurants — some more affordable than others — offering specialties from more than 70 countries, as well as around 700 wineries and 160 craft breweries. Wondering what to order in that bustling city? The so-called magic coffee is a solid start; made from ristretto and steamed milk, it's a local favorite at coffee shops and restaurants. Other choices include scrumptious potato cakes, crispy pastries from Lune Croissanterie, chicken parma, Anzac biscuits, and dim sum from Chinatown.

It stands to reason, then, that the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is always a resounding success. Founded in 1993, it's organized by Food + Drink Victoria, a nonprofit organization that promotes local produce, dishes, and beverages. The festival draws over 300,000 attendees and encompasses more than 400 events across the city for about 10 days. Popular highlights include the ticketed and pet-free World's Longest Brunch and the World's Longest Lunch, which last from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and noon to 3:30 p.m., respectively, and include three gourmet courses curated by a professional chef.

Offering a sizzling and flavorful mix of Creole, Cajun, and soul food, New Orleans is considered one of the best culinary destinations in the U.S. Some classic, must-try dishes and snacks include beignets, gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp po' boy, snowballs, red beans and rice, and chargrilled oysters. The Crescent City is a tourist hotspot in any season, as it features over 130 exciting events and festivals, from Jazz Fest to Mardi Gras and the much-anticipated French Quarter Festival. 

Established in 1984, the latter event gathers about 950,000 visitors for four days. They flock from every corner of the nation and the world to enjoy colorful parades, dance lessons, pop-up shops, and naturally, culinary delights served by the top restaurants in New Orleans and Louisiana. As an added bonus, 25 stages with accessibility viewing areas are reserved for local and national live music acts spanning multiple genres, from jazz, R&B, and brass to folk, gospel, and international music. This is a free — and therefore crowded — festival. But purchasing VIP passes will get you access to private restrooms and bars, shaded sections, comfortable lounges, and exclusive events. 

Ecuador may not be the world's biggest exporter of chocolate — that title goes to Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, per Statista — but it does produce a high-grade and expensive variety of cocoa beans called Arriba or Nacional. A source of national pride, those beans are fermented and air-dried through a traditional method, and their rich aroma and flavor have seduced chocoholics worldwide for decades. Other quality beans are used in mass production, though, and brands like Nestlé, Mars, Hershey's, and Ferrero Rocher happen to be some of the biggest producers of chocolate in the country.

Since chocolate has apparently been consumed in Ecuador since 3,300 B.C., it's no wonder it holds such importance on a national level. As a result, El Salón del Chocolate, Cacao y Café came to be in 2009, inspired by the prestigious Salon du Chocolat in Paris. Held annually in Quito, the capital city, for three days, this festival is the biggest chocolate fair in Ecuador and one of the most important exhibitions in South America. 

It gathers local and international experts and amateur chocolate aficionados alike. And it features tastings of fine cocoa and coffee products, conferences, workshops, traditional dances, chocolate sculptures competition, a photography exhibition, and competitions like the Best Cup of Hot Chocolate, the Best Served Cup of Filtered Coffee, the Best Chocolate Cake, and the Best Ecuadorian Chocolate Bar.

Over 12 million people visit Copenhagen, the Danish capital, yearly. This tranquil, pleasant, sustainable, and historic city is known for many delicacies, such as the brunede kartofler, or small caramelized potatoes; gourmet hotdogs with fried onions; the flæskesteg sandwich, made with roast pork and red cabbage; fresh oysters; and pickled herring.

Every year since 2004, and for 10 days, the Copenhagen Cooking festival has gathered 80,000 visitors from Denmark and beyond. Tastings, workshops, cooking demonstrations, live podcasts, musical acts, and more are to be expected. Some of the 100 events include morning yoga and porridge, creating customized Danish hotdogs, a brewery tour with kombucha tasting, a Venetian summer dinner, and a quiz on the canals. Different beer and wine partners are picked every year. Similarly, the festival's headliner, or star ingredient, also changes: the 2023 edition, for instance, featured the potato, while the cabbage ruled 2024. Per the festival's website, "From crispy salads to grilled summer meals and everything in between, prepare to experience cabbage in all its amazing forms," such as learning about fermentation and making your own coleslaw.

Additionally, long table dinners and banquets with special menus can be booked for a fee, featuring mouthwatering items like browned butter flavored with za'atar (Levantine thyme, sesame seed, and sumac mix), strawberries with mascarpone cream and crumble, and stir-fried ricotta.

Spanning indigenous, British, Dutch, Malay, French, and Indian cuisines, South African gastronomy is very flavorful. It includes distinct star ingredients like rooibos leaves for sweets and desserts, dried peach and apricot chutney, sugar beans, and bird's eye chilis. To celebrate that rich, multicultural heritage, the annual DStv Delicious International Food & Music Festival in Johannesburg has been gathering more than 40,000 visitors in the fall since 2013, rain or shine. 

This popular weekend event features celebrity chefs, tempting food trucks, practical cooking demonstrations, colorful art and fashion stalls, a prize wheel, picnic baskets, and live performances by local and international artists, from Boom Shaka to Zolani Mahola, Jill Scott, and Janet Jackson. Delicious isn't the only food extravaganza in the so-called City of Gold, though. Other events include the Johannesburg World Festival of Food and Drink, the Women's Edition of Wine Forty Four, and the Joburg Gin and Rum Festival. 

Perhaps no annual beer festival in the world is as anticipated as the 16-day Oktoberfest. Its origins can be traced back to October 12, 1810, when the Crown Prince of Bavaria, who would later become King Ludwig I, married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, and citizens of all classes indulged in festivities. Today, about 6 million people from every corner of Germany, Europe, and beyond flock to Munich, in the state of Bavaria, to partake in this joyful food and booze feast. Many of them even enthusiastically don traditional Bavarian alpine outfits for good measure. 

Other than a wide array of excellent regional and national beer brands, some specialties to sample there include halbes hendl (roast chicken), bratwurst (served alongside sauerkraut in the tents), soft salted pretzels, dampfnudel (sweet yeast buns), candied almonds, lebkuchenherz (gingerbread heart), and steckerlfisch (grilled mackerel, trout, or sea bass). For optimum enjoyment, there are several useful tips for attending Oktoberfest to consider, such as learning about the different tents (beer, wine, fish, meat, and so on) beforehand, riding the Ferris wheel or swing carousel before drinking, or going on a weekday or on Sunday evening for fewer crowds. 

Bangkok, the vibrant and multicultural capital of Thailand, is world-famous for its succulent and affordable street food, from meat dumplings to shrimp noodles, chicken and pork skewers, and sticky rice. For vegetarian locals and tourists, though, there is an annual nine-day festival that is better suited to their diet. Simply called the Vegetarian Festival, it's held in Phuket, a partying hotspot. Nonetheless, this mass gathering is more on the spiritual side, as it stems from a 200-year-old tradition celebrating the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. Other than stalls of delicious food scattered around shrines, this feast features Chinese-influenced rituals and parades in honor of the Nine Emperor Gods, who were believed to have ended a life-threatening epidemic.

Vendors serve a wide array of vegetarian and vegan treats, like fried tofu and taro, deep-fried snow mushrooms, papaya salad, pink noodle soup, mee pad jay (fried flat rice noodles or round egg noodles with kale), and por pia tod jay (deep-fried spring rolls). Due to the nature of the festival, visitors should keep in mind that they'll be witnessing devotees praying, making offerings, piercing their face or limbs with a sharp blade, and even walking on hot coals.

The offshore U.S. state of Hawaii offers delectable food choices blending Asian, European, Polynesian, and American cuisines. Some of the best Hawaiian dishes to try include the numbing kava drink; malasadas, or sweet fried dough balls covered in sugar; loco moco, or hamburger patty with rice, a runny egg, and gravy; haupia, a coconut milk dessert; and squid luau. Also worthy of note is the Hawaiian barbecue, which typically consists of a meat accompanied by a macaroni salad and white rice. Not to mention that this state also produces quality rum, vodka, craft beer, and fruit wine made from guava, pineapple, or macadamia nut honey.

All of these delicious treats and more can be sampled at the annual Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, which dates back to 2011. It gathers more than 80 chefs and 50 winemakers, mixologists, and sommeliers from around the world on the Island of Hawaii; Kaanapali, in Maui; and Oahu. For an authentic experience, most ingredients are sourced from local fishermen, farmers, and ranchers. 

Italy may be known as the land of pasta and pizza, but some areas also produce high-quality chocolate, like Torino, Modica, Naples, Pistoia, and Perugia. Nestled in the Umbria region, the latter is especially renowned for its Baci Perugina ("Perugian kisses"), hazelnut truffles coated in chocolate — which would, incidentally, make a great Valentine's Day gift for Italian food lovers.

As such, and since 1993, Perugia has been hosting EuroChocolate, a once-modest exhibit and now one of the biggest sweet-tooth celebrations in Europe. For 10 days, the festival draws a whopping 1 million visitors to its chocolate art displays, cooking classes, beauty masks, tastings of cacao and chocolate products from various regions and countries, wine and liquor pairings, demonstrations from rising and seasoned chocolatiers, and networking seminars. Some of the decadent treats to enjoy there include chocolate-covered fruits, cocoa pasta with shrimp, and creative, comforting hot chocolate beverages. 

Dubai is one of the world's most cosmopolitan hotspots. Its diverse workforce is composed of over 200 nationalities, which has cemented its status as the Emirates' versatile food capital. As such, this vibrant city has launched several successful food events, such as the Taste of Dubai, the Dubai Food Festival, and The Speciality Food Festival.

Developed and hosted by the Dubai World Trade Centre, the latter proclaims itself as "the only dedicated gourmet and fine food trade show in the MENA region," as well as "the world's finest marketplace for the top chefs, restaurants, hoteliers, suppliers, and industry leaders to come together." Indeed, hundreds of guest speakers, aspiring artisans, Michelin-starred professionals, restaurateurs, buyers, and trendsetters from over 13 countries have interacted with about 11,000 yearly visitors from over 60 countries. 

As for the exhibits and workshops, they feature thousands of premium products spanning six different sectors: artisan and gourmet, vegan and plant-based, organic and free-from, food service, health and wellness, and speciality beverage. Visitors, then, can enjoy everything from high quality cheeses, breads, and spices to plant-based proteins, superfood snacks, organic meats, and locally grown produce, as well as specialty beverages like coffees, teas, and sparkling water.

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