Spring is a great time to travel to Europe. The high season is far away, prices for hotels and tickets are quite affordable, and in many resorts you can already relax no worse than in the summer. In spring in Europe you can swim in the sea and sunbathe, go to the mountains, attend the opening of the bullfighting season and have fun at the holidays. We also found out where the most interesting festivals are held and are ready to tell you where you should go this spring.
1. Flower parade, tulip fields and windmills in Haarlem, Holland
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In Holland, spring comes early – already in March the temperature rarely drops below 12 degrees and the sun shines brightly. The main event of spring is the blooming of tulips; on this occasion, festivals and parades are held in different cities of the country. The Amsterdam Tulip Festival will last from March 31 to April 30 and during it Amsterdam will be decorated with 60 exhibitions from 400 types of tulips. From April 21-22 there will be a Flower Parade from Noordwijk to Haarlem, and the Keukenhof flower park in the town of Lisse, where more than 500 species of tulips bloom in huge fields, will be open from March 22 to May 13, 2018.
We advise you to stay not in Amsterdam, but in Haarlem – a clean, quiet and very beautiful town 20 kilometers from the capital. Haarlem is conveniently located – you can reach the main cities of Holland in less than an hour. This is a clean, quiet, very beautiful and inexpensive town. The main attractions of Haarlem: the Frans Hals Museum, which is buried in tulips in the spring, windmills, canals and 600 bridges, a Gothic cathedral in which Mozart played the organ and the Jopenkerk brewery in a former church building.
2. Sun, sea and the best beaches of the Cyclades Islands, Greece
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The Cyclades Islands are located in the Aegean Sea, near Athens and are considered the most beautiful islands in Greece. Spring in the Cyclades means great weather, white houses, wide beaches without crowds of tourists, clear sea and hundreds of taverns with home-cooked food. The average temperature in March is +15 – 18 °C, in April +17 – 20 °C, in May +19 – 25 °C. The swimming season begins at the end of April, when the water on the coast warms up to +22 °C.
Until the end of May, everything is in bloom in the Cyclades, there is still no stifling heat and sky-high prices. On Andros Island you will find flowering meadows, dense groves and wide beaches. Mykonos has nightlife and the best restaurants, Santorini has the most beautiful mountain villages, Anafi has endless beaches with palm trees, and Milos has caves where the Venus de Milo statue was found, colorful churches and secluded lagoons.
3. Walking in the mountains, film festival and Easter egg exhibition in Innsbruck, Austria
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Ancient Innsbruck is surrounded on all sides by the Alps. The city is famous for its historical monuments: the imperial Hofburg Palace, a medieval tower, magnificent Baroque cathedrals where Durer’s paintings are kept and a museum with a rich collection of Dutch paintings. In March, the temperature does not fall below +10 °C, in April it rises to +15 °C, and in May to +22 °C. Spring is an ideal time for hiking in the mountains around the city – the Alpine meadows are in bloom, the birds are singing, and along the way you will come across family taverns and Tyrolean breweries.
Also from March 22 to April 2the Innsbrucker Osterfrühling festival takes place in Innsbruck, during which 1200 huge multi-colored Easter eggs are placed on the streets, from which the whole city chooses the most beautiful one. And from May 29 to June 3 2018, the city will host the International Film Festival, where films will be presented from Latin America, Asia and Southeast Europe.
4. Bullfighting, flamenco and Moorish palaces in Seville, Spain
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Seville is the capital of Andalusia, with striking Moorish architecture, dozens of parks, delicious cuisine and endless celebrations. In spring it is warm and dry here – in March on average +20 °C, in April +23 °C, in May +26 °C.
The historical center of Seville is one of the largest in Europe. The huge cathedral houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus, and the cathedral’s bell tower, the Giralda, was rebuilt from a 12th century minaret. And in the medieval Alcazar, a beautiful palace in the Moorish style, the series “Game of Thrones” was filmed (episodes at the Martell residence “Water Gardens” in Dorne).
Seville is famous for its gastronomy – there are excellent and inexpensive restaurants, and this is where tapas emerged, the best varieties of which are served in tapas bars in the historical center. The Andalusians’ favorite pastime, flamenco, can be found in the bars of the Triana district, considered its cradle, and bullfighting can be seen at the Maestransa stadium every weekend from early April to October.
5. Music festivals, museums, parks and palaces in Berlin, Germany
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Berlin in the spring means low prices, great weather, blooming parks and gardens, as well as music, opera and art festivals. It is difficult to list all the attractions and entertainment – Berlin has 175 museums and thousands of galleries and venues where interesting events are organized every day. The main spring festivals: Maerz Music – a festival of contemporary avant-garde music, it will last from March 16 to 25 and Spring Festival, which will take place from March 28 to April 22 at the Kurt-Schumacher-Damm square. The festival program includes concerts, shows and master classes, an amusement park, and the best Berlin street food.
Since the beginning of March, the temperature in Berlin does not fall below +12 °C, so the best way to take a break from the cultural program is in Berlin parks: they are clean, beautiful and located in the city center. The Tiergarten park has many beautiful sculptures, you can go boating and canoeing, and you can see deer on its winding paths. Next to the park is the Berlin Zoo, home to 13,000 animals. Treptower Park has a catamaran and boat rental station, an abandoned amusement park and a huge memorial to Soviet soldiers.
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Preview photo: Andrew Mayovskyy/Shutterstock.com
