A reason to go

The Festival Edit is an independent collection of European festival trips, edited by Jonathan Fell. It pairs the main event with local activities, places nearby and hotel bases across budgets.

How the guides are put together

Festival histories, dates, travel information and hotel classifications are checked against organiser, tourism and hotel sources. Each guide links to those sources. Recommendations are editorial suggestions rather than claims that every hotel or trip has been personally tested.

Research was last checked on 7 October 2026. Published dates, annual traditions, estimates and unconfirmed windows are distinguished throughout. Future programmes, hotel openings, transport and availability can change.

Hotels and booking links

We retain luxury recommendations and add two verified four-star and two verified three-star choices where suitable classifications can be established. Lerwick is the exception: useful local hotels are shown without an unverified star rating. Journeys from nearby towns and seasonal opening uncertainties are explained.

The current links go directly to organisers, attractions and hotels. No affiliate tracking is active. If referral links are introduced, they will be labelled and the commercial relationship disclosed.

Photography

Photographs show real festivals and destinations. This public edition includes only images with a verified open commercial-use licence or public-domain status, with attribution and source links. Sarlat and Beaujeu currently use clearly labelled destination photographs because suitable reusable festival images were not verified.