Ten carnivals in seven countries, from the masks of Venice to the Gilles of Binche and the fifes of Basel, ranked on how far a visitor can join in.
Europe's carnivals are older than the samba parades and stranger: masks, wax-faced Gilles, fifes at four in the morning. We ranked these ten on the carnival itself: its scale, how deep its tradition runs, and how much a visitor can take part rather than watch.
The masked carnival the rest copy: banned in 1797 and revived in 1979, it fills the city with costume and sends the Volo dell'Angelo over Piazza San Marco. Buy a handmade mask from a workshop, not a stall; the streets are free.
The carnival that asks nothing but a costume: the season opens at 11:11 on 11 November, and from Weiberfastnacht the whole city is in the street. The Rosenmontag parade runs over eight kilometres, and it throws sweets at you.
UNESCO-listed since 2017, and the one that starts after Lent begins: at 4am on the Monday after Ash Wednesday the lights go out for the Morgestraich. Three days of fifes, drums and satire follow; leave the masks to the cliques.
A UNESCO masterpiece since 2003 and the strictest tradition here: on Shrove Tuesday about a thousand Gilles, all men born in Binche, dance in wax masks and ostrich-feather hats. They throw oranges to the crowd; catch one, never throw it back.
Europe's answer to Rio, and a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest: murgas, comparsas and a carnival queen whose costume rolls on wheels. The street nights draw hundreds of thousands, and a costume is all the entry they ask.
First mentioned in 1294 and paraded since 1873, this is the carnival of floats and flowers: a giant king rides through Place Masséna, and the Batailles de Fleurs throw blooms from floats on the Promenade des Anglais. Parades are ticketed.
The carnival of words: chirigotas and comparsas sing satirical lyrics in the contest at the Gran Teatro Falla, whose final falls on the Friday before Ash Wednesday. Then the groups take to the streets, and the ilegales of La Viña are free.
Parading since 1873, it builds towering papier-mâché floats, satirical giants that roll along the seafront avenue. The parades are ticketed, and the workshops of the Cittadella and its museum show how a float is made.
The Mainzer Carneval-Verein has run the Rosenmontag parade since 1838, and the city's Fastnacht is the political one: the speeches at its sittings and the floats in its parade mock whoever governs. Come in costume.
Greece's largest carnival, traced to a merchant's ball in 1829, hands its streets to the public: tens of thousands join the crews of its Hidden Treasure game. It follows the Orthodox calendar and ends with a parade and the burning of the carnival king.
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