If the start of the year isn’t exciting you to book a festival then the UK’s deteriorating cold weather definitely should. Unfortunately for us, Glastonbury isn’t exactly the easiest festival to attend but now is the time to remind everyone that Europe is right here and festival-goers in the UK can in fact rejoice in the sun listening to their favourite music.
Aside of Europe’s fantastic variety of music festivals, traveling to a new place also guarantees better views, food, beaches, attractions and cheaper drinks than here in the UK. So why stay local?
Whether it’s high-up in a mountain range, a sandy beach or a summery Italian village – there’s a festival and a country for everybody. From lesser-known ones in Italy and France, to mega headliner-packed ones in Spain and Portugal, here’s a roundup of the best music festivals in Europe.
1. Primavera Sound, Barcelona
Everybody knows that Primavera is the biggest party in Europe. Held at the picturesque Parc del Forum within Barcelona, over the past two decades, Primavera has earned its place at the top. And rightfully so! The festival is known to churn out some of the most diverse line-ups welcoming the likes of longtime legends and trendy newcomers. With a stunning combination of Spanish sunshine, a stellar line up, and the lack of camping requirements – it makes absolute sense that the festival is often sold out due to its popularity. Fortunately for you, you can also explore the Primavera editions in Madrid and Porto if Barcelona tickets are sold out (they are).
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C, IDLES, Confidence Man, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappel Roan
📍 Location: Barcelona, Spain
🗓️ Dates: June 4-8, 2025
2. Bilbao BBK Live, Bilbao
Set against a scenic mountain backdrop of Mount Cobetas and close to the centre of Bilbao – there’s no surprise that the festival has grown massively in the past few years. Bilbao BBK Live‘s organisers happen to be one of the first European festival promoters to receive a B Corp certification for meeting high standards of social and environmental performance. With a stellar lineup and stunning panoramic views of the culture-rich city, Bilbao BBK Live makes for an excellent festival experience. Get your tickets for Bilbao BBK Live here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Kylie Minogue, Pulp, Raye, Michael Kiwanuka, Bad Gyal, Nathy Peluso, Amyl and the Sniffers, Amaia
📍 Location: Bilbao, Spain
🗓️ Dates: July 10 – July 12, 2025
3. Tomorrowland, Belgium
Being voted five times in a row as the “best musical event of the year,” Tomorrowland is no ordinary festival. It is the mother of all festivals. Welcoming more than 400,000 people from over 200 countries, the festival will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. This year’s theme is centred around ‘Life,’ inviting more than 400 artists across 16 stages. More information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Armin van Buuren, Alok, Charlotte De Witte, Amelie Lens, Martin Garrix, Job Jobse, Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Fisher
📍 Location: Boom, Belgium
🗓️ Dates: Weekend 1 from July 18 – 20, Weekend 2 from July 25 – July 27, 2025
4. Kala Festival, Albania
Think of beachy holiday, picturesque landscape, yoga and electronic music – can’t imagine it? You don’t have to because Albania’s Kala Festival really is the perfect package for holiday-goers and music lovers. With its first editions headlined by the likes of Peggy Gou and Moodyman, the festival has launched itself five years later to be one of the “must do” lists for dance music lovers across Europe.
You can expect the view of stunning clear blue waters, incredible food and all things music at night. Taking place in an intimate beach location on the Albanian Riviera, Kala is a boutique festival at its finest with a curated 7-day beach holiday feel. You can find more information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Ezra Collective, Sofia Kourtesis, Sweely, Eris Drew & Octo Octa, Job Jobse, Habibi Funk
📍 Location: Dhërmi, Albania
🗓️ Dates: June 4 – June 11, 2025
5. Awakenings Festival, Netherlands
This ones for all the Techno favourites. Awakenings has been organising techno events for more than 25 years now. In 1997, the famous Gashouder was the first place a legendary Awakenings techno night was held. Since then, the festival has welcomed more than 300,000 visitors a year. No one can dispute that Awakenings, is the ultimate techno experience. More information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: eff Mills, KI/KI, Ben Klock, Chris Stussy, 999999999, Rødhåd
📍 Location: Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands
🗓️ Dates: July 11 – July 13, 2025
6. Sónar Festival, Barcelona
After three decades and over a 100 editions worldwide, Sónar continues to be a frontrunner European festival, setting the tone for electronic music and technology. Hosting some of the most influential artists of the current moment across a variety of stages and venues, Sónar continues to be home to new and emerging trends at the intersection of music, performance, and technology. It’s definitely for the lovers of progressive sounds. You can find more information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Peggy Gou, BICEP, Armin van Buuren b2b Indira Paganotto, Barry Can’t Swim DJ set, Jayda G, Overmono, Sama’ Abdulhadi
📍 Location: Barcelona, Spain
🗓️ Dates: June 13 – June 14, 2024
7. Love International, Croatia
Think secret island parties, sunrise morning acoustic sessions and late night discos. All things that make this marathon electronic festival so much fun and relaxing at the same time. With a world class lineup of DJs, it’s eight full days of dance and fun beachside in Croatia. What more could you want from a festival experience? You can find more information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Ben UFO, Shanti Celeste, Floating Points, Horse Meat Disco, Bonobo, S.A.S.S (Moxie, Peach, Saoirse, and Shanti Celeste)
📍 Location: Tisno, Croatia
🗓️ Dates: July 9 – July 15, 2025
8. Primavera Sound, Porto
If you weren’t able to cop tickets for Primavera Sound in Barcelona – do not worry! Since its first edition in 2012, Primavera Sound has made its way to Porto. So you can expect everything you would from Primavera – class A acts, good vibes and a fabulous atmosphere! Tickets are still available – so recruit your pals and make your way to one of the best festivals in Europe.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Charli XCX, Deftones, Fontaines D.C., Central Cee, Jamie xx
📍 Location: Porto, Portugal
🗓️ Dates: July 12 – July 15, 2025
9. Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland
Founded in 1967, the iconic Montreux Jazz Festival is one of the most celebrated festivals drawing over 250,000 music lovers from all over the world. With legendary performances from the likes of Prince, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Talking Heads, Nina Simone and more, the festival is so well-respected that BBC made a Three-part docuseries, ‘They All Came Out To Montreux’, that tells the history of the famous jazz festival and its founder, Claude Nobs. More information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: The programme of the 59th Montreux Jazz Festival will be unveiled in spring 2025!
📍 Location: Montreux, Switzerland
🗓️ Dates: July 4 – July 19, 2025
10. Open’er Festival, Poland
Known for line-up filled with some of the biggest international acts, Open’er Festival is one of the best parties that feels like a home away home. Situated at Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport on Poland’s Baltic coast, you can expect to see Open’er veterans, families and newcomers who are experiencing the festival for the first time. It’s a community. Be sure to see an act repping every genre, whether it’s hip-hop, rock, pop or electronica, everyone is represented. You can find more information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Linkin Park, FKA Twigs, Massive Attack, Nine Inch Nails. Gracie Abrams
📍 Location: Gdynia, Poland
🗓️ Dates: July 2 – July 5, 2025
11. Sziget, Hungary
Over six massive days and 50 stages, ‘The Island of Freedom’ aka Sziget takes place and in fact really is one of the biggest festivals in Europe. In 2018 that record was broken when 565,000 visitors attended the festival. Sziget Festival has been increasingly labelled as a European alternative to the Burning Man festival due to its unique features. So expect gigantic sculptures, sci-fi corridors filled with light, drag queens, late-night ravers, circus performers, theatre and more. More information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, Justice, The Blessed Madonna, Nelly Furtado
📍 Location: Budapest, Hungary
🗓️ Dates: August 6 – August 11, 2025
12. Dekmantel Festival, Netherlands
Dekmantel Festival is always known for pulling all the stops to make the weekend-long rave as special as possible. With a curated line-up of techno stars and underground legends, the festival is known for its interesting mix of musical choices from house to disco to hard bass although through it all techno remains the focus. More information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Loidis, Erika de Casier, Avalon Emerson, Shanti Celeste, Leftfield, Four Tet, dBridge & Donato Dozzy and Sasha & Young Marco
📍 Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
🗓️ Dates: July 30 – August 3, 2025
13. Rock en Seine, France
This one’s for all you rock music lovers. Over 100,000 rock lovers gather in the French capital every year where all styles of rock are represented. You can expect Punk, Metal, Pop-rock, Alternative and everything in between. It’s a great mix of legends like Green Day, Arctic Monkeys, Massive Attack but also invites new talent and like Fred Again…, Måneskin, Jungle, Olivia Dean. More information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Chappell Roan, London Grammar, Suki Waterhouse, Luvcat
📍 Location: Paris, France
🗓️ Dates: August 20 – August 24, 2025
14. EXIT Festival, Serbia
EXIT festival is one of Europe’s most established multi-genre festivals with its lineups filled with pop-rap icons, massive music groups and new artists! Founded in 2000, the festival has won the Best Major Festival award at the European Festivals Awards twice in 2013 and 2017. EXIT also won the Best European Festival award at the UK Festival Award in 2007. So rest assured; it is a guaranteed good time!
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Sex Pistols, Tiësto, Loreen, and Eric Prydz
📍 Location: Petrovaradin Fortress, Serbia
🗓️ Dates: July 10 – July 13, 2025
15. Roskilde Festival, Denmark
Denmark’s Roskilde Festival is one of the largest festivals in Europe. Created in 1971, the festival is run as a non-profit organisation to support the development of music, culture and humanism. For the past 50 years, it has attracted 32,000 volunteers, catering to a 130,000 audience and a line-up with no less than 180 acts. There is no doubt that the sense of community Roskilde brings every year among festival goers and everybody involved is unmatched. More information here.
👀 Your favourite artists to watch out for: Olivia Rodrigo, Stormzy, Arca, Artigeardit, Deftones, Fontaines D.C., Jamie xx, A. G. Cook
📍 Location: Roskilde, Denmark
🗓️ Dates: June 28 – July 5, 2025