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The 7 best events taking place across Germany in April

This April is full of activities to celebrate Easter and welcome in the spring.

Published: 3 April 2017 12:26 CEST
The 7 best events taking place across Germany in April
The illuminated fortress Ehrenbreitstein in Koblenz. Photo: DPA

1. Spring Festival,  Munich, April 21st – May 7th

Two ladies in dirndls in one of the fetival's two beer tents. Photo: DPA

The spring festival, sometimes called 'little Oktoberfest', could not be more jam-packed with events and activities.

80 showmen, a flea market, fairground rides and two beer tents will descend on the Theresienweise, the location of Oktoberfest in Munich. 

Much like Oktoberfest, there will be a parade of breweries and live music, but unlike the autumnal celebration there will also be a firework display on April 28th, and screenings of football matches as FC Bayern play in the German Football Asscociation Cup (DFB Cup) and the Champions League. 

2. Achtung Berlin! New Berlin Film Award, Berlin, April 19th-26th 

A 2011 advertisement for the festival. Photo: DPA

 

This week-long festival celebrates films that were partly if not wholly filmed in and around Berlin. Said to be the the third biggest film festival in the capital, it has taken place since 2004.

 

Documentary films, short films and feature films are shown in different cinemas in the capital before their official release. Over 80 films are to be shown this year, and the film crew and casts will attend the showings. 

 

The festival shows contributions from both famous directors and younger talents, and also includes the distribution of awards, workshops, panel discussions and film parties.

 

3. Volksfest Spring Fair, Nuremberg,  April 15th – May 1st

The Nuremberg spring festival by night. Photo: DPA

 

Taking place next to the Dutzendteich lake, the event offers dance, traditional food and music, fairground rides and a concert stage.

Since the event falls around Easter this year, there will be egg painting and Easter egg hunts to take part in too. 

4. The Swabians: Between the Myth and the Brand,  Stuttgart, April 1st – 23rd

The exhibition poses the questions 'where is Swabia?', 'who is a Swabe?' and 'what is Swabian?' . Photo: DPA

Now in it's final month, this is your last chance to catch this exhibit, which is centred on the ancient German region of Swabia, nowadays split between Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. 

To answer the question who or what is Swabian, almost 2,000 years of history, Swabian art and the Swabian dialect are analysed through 300 objects on show. 

The exhibition also seeks to challenge the Swabian stereotypes of diligence, thrift and cleanliness.

SEE ALSO: Introducing Swabians – 'the Scots of Germany'

5. Ostermünde, Lübeck, April 14th – 17th 

Easter decorations are hung from trees in Lübeck. Photo: DPA

We've heard of an Australian Christmas on the beach, but what about celebrating Easter at the shore?  This family orientated event means you can do just that.  

The four-day programme includes  musical performances, a warming bonfire, painting activities, Easter-themed storytelling, and of course a visit from the Easter bunny himself.

Certainly a unique way to spend the Easter weekend!

6. Wine Festival, Würzburg, April 7th-8th 

The Bürgerspital Würzburg. Photo Bürgerspital/DPA 

If enjoying wine and food sounds like your kind of activity, then head to Würzburg. 

The Bürgerspital, a 300-acre wine estate, is holding a two-day wine festival to welcome in the spring. 

One of the oldest wine estates in Germany, it is a member of the Association of German Top-Quality Wine Estates (VDP), a group of Germany's elite wine producers, so quality is assured! 

7. Fortress Illumination, Koblenz, 13th-17th and 21st-23rd April

The Ehrenbreitstein fortress in Koblenz lit up with coloured lights. Photo: DPA

Prepare to be dazzled by illuminations as the clifftop Ehrenbreitstein fortress in Koblenz is colourfully lit up for seven evenings. 

Taking place between nightfall and midnight, the fortress, which overlooks the river Rhine, will exhibit eight light installations, which make use of shadow and sound as you admire the courtyard of the fortress and explore its secret passageways. 

The final evening also promises a firework display, which you can feast your eyes on at 9.30 pm. 

For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Why are fewer British tourists visiting Spain this year?

Almost 800,000 fewer UK holidaymakers have visited Spain in 2023 when compared to 2019. What’s behind this big drop?

Published: 23 August 2023 11:36 CEST
Updated: 26 August 2023 18:32 CEST
Why are fewer British tourists visiting Spain this year?

Spain welcomed 12.2 million UK tourists between January and July 2023, 6 percent less when compared to the same period in 2019, according to data released on Monday by Spanish tourism association Turespaña.

This represents a decrease of 793,260 British holidaymakers for Spain so far this year.

Conversely, the number of Italian (+8 percent), Irish (+15.3 percent), Portuguese (+24.8 percent), Dutch (+4 percent) and French tourists (+5 percent) visiting España in 2023 are all above the rates in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. 

German holidaymakers are together with their British counterparts the two main nationalities showing less interest in coming to Spanish shores.

Britons still represent the biggest tourist group that comes to Spain, but it’s undergoing a slump, with another recent study by Caixabank Research suggesting numbers fell particularly in June 2023 (-12.5 percent of the usual rate). 

READ ALSO: Spain fully booked for summer despite most expensive holiday prices ever

So are some Britons falling out of love with Spain? Are there clear reasons why a holiday on the Spanish coast is on fewer British holiday itineraries?

According to Caixabank Research’s report, the main reasons are “the poor macroeconomic performance of the United Kingdom, the sharp rise in rates and the weakness of the pound”.

This is evidenced in the results of a survey by British market research company Savanta, which found that one in six Britons are not going on a summer holiday this year due to the UK’s cost-of-living crisis.

Practically everything, everywhere has become more expensive, and that includes holidays in Spain: hotel stays are up 44 percent, eating out is 13 percent pricier, and flights are 40 percent more on average. 

READ ALSO: How much more expensive is it to holiday in Spain this summer?

Caixabank stressed that another reason for the drop in British holidaymakers heading to Spain is that those who can afford a holiday abroad are choosing “more competitive markets” such as Turkey, Greece and Portugal. 

And there’s no doubt that the insufferably hot summer that Spain is having, with four heatwaves so far, has also dissuaded many holidaymakers from Blighty from overcooking in the Spanish sun. 

With headlines such as “This area of Spain could become too hot for tourists” or “tourists say it’s too hot to see any sights” featuring in the UK press, budding British holidaymakers are all too aware of the suffocating weather conditions Spain and other Mediterranean countries are enduring. 

Other UK outlets have urged travellers to try out the cooler Spanish north rather than the usual piping hot Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol destinations.

Another UK poll by InsureandGo found that 71 percent of the 2,000+ British respondents thought that parts of Europe such as Spain, Greece and Turkey will be too hot to visit over summer by 2027.

There’s further concern that the introduction in 2024 of the new (and delayed) ETIAS visa for non-EU visitors, which of course now also applies to UK nationals, could further compel British tourists to choose countries to holiday in rather than Spain.

READ MORE: Will British tourists need to pay for a visa waiver to enter Spain?

However, a drop in the number of British holidaymakers may not be all that bad for Spain, even though they did spend over €17 billion on their Spanish vacations in 2022. 

Towns, cities and islands across the country have been grappling with the problem of overtourism and the consequences it has on everything from quality of life for locals to rent prices. 

READ ALSO: ‘Beach closed’ – Fake signs put up in Spain’s Mallorca to dissuade tourists

The overcrowded nature of Spain’s beaches and most beautiful holiday hotspots appears to be one of the reasons why Germans are visiting Spain in far fewer numbers. A recent report in the country’s most read magazine Stern asked “if the dream is over” in their beloved Mallorca.

Spanish authorities are also seeking to overhaul the cheaper holiday package-driven model that dominates many resorts, which includes moving away from the boozy antics of young British and other European revellers.

Fewer tourists who spend more are what Spain is theoretically now looking for, and the rise in American, Japanese and European tourists other than Brits signify less of a dependence on the British market, one which tends to maintain the country’s tourism status quo for better or for worse.

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