Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

1-4

Cagliari Sagra di San Efisio (www.sardinia.net)

Thousands of Sardinians will converge on the sun baked city this May in honour of Cagliari’s patron saint, San Efisio. Festival goers will be able to soak up the carnival atmosphere, watching processions by day, and song, dance and theatre by night. Festivities will run in tandem with the simulacro of San Efisio making a four day journey to Nora and back.

1-6

Munich Spring Festival (www.muenchnervolksfeste.de)

Munich’s Frühlingfest is the perfect end to early spring’s Strong Beer Season. The fair is billed as a scaled-down version of the city’s most famous festival, Oktoberfest, and this year’s fair will be held in Oktoberfest’s grounds. Expect the usual fairground attractions – live music, rollercoasters and, of course, lots and lots of beer.

2-6

Geneva Europ’art Fair
(www.europart.ch)

Run concurrently with the city’s book fair, the Europ’art fair will pull in some 50,000 enthusiasts this year. Artists, agents and buyers mingle with savvy art fans who descend on the city each year in the hope of snapping up new work. There’ll also be a host of exhibitions and retrospectives on at various galleries.

1-19

London The Glass Menagerie (www.apollotheatre.co.uk)

The Apollo Theatre stages Tennessee Williams’ classic play with Jessica Lange starring as Amanda Wingfield. The story, narrated with retrospective regret by Amanda’s son Tom, documents his mother’s failed attempts to find a suitor for his painfully shy younger sister, and still resonates with audiences more than 60 years on.

4-12

Brussels Botanical Nights (www.botanique.be)

Over eight days Brussels’ Nuit Botaniques festival will stage a series of concerts taking in everything from roots and reggae to electro and jazz. The first part of the event will take place in the beautiful glass-roofed Botanique Cultural Centre, before performances move on to the capacious Cirque Royal.

15-21

Madrid Fiesta de San Isidro
(www.aboutmadrid.com)

Visitors to Madrid in May should be prepared for a giddy festival atmosphere, as the city’s largest fiesta kicks off. There’s music on every corner, concerts held all week, and Castilian folklore plays staged on the street. Make sure you tuck into some traditional carnival cuisine – bitter aubergine, ice cream and doughnuts are all mandatory this month.

20

Venice Feast of the Sensa
(www.venetia.it)

This 1,000-year-old procession of extravagantly garlanded boats is now staged mostly for the delectation of tourists, but it’s still quite a spectacle, and as a celebratory affirmation of the city’s identity is certainly worth seeing.

15-20

Lyon Nuits Sonores
(www.nuits-sonores.com)

An effusive celebration of all things electro, Nuits Sonores attracts thousands of revellers every year, as well as a host of big name acts. Highlights this year include DJ Kentaro, DJ Marky, Son of Dave and Tobias Thomas. Festival goers would do well to build up their stamina in the preceding weeks – this five-day extravaganza is certainly not for the faint-hearted.

17-20

Warsaw

The Barber of Seville (operakameralna.pl) May sees the Warsaw Chamber Orchestra add Rossinni’s famous opera to its repertoire. This good natured comedy tells the tale of a young count who enlists the help of the city’s eponymous barber in courting an obstreperous old man’s ward. Its warm, witty plot and unforgettable music have made it an enduringly popular classic.

25-27

Copenhagen Whitsun Carnival
(www.visitcopenhagen.com)

Having sprung from a smallish street party, Copenhagen’s Whitsun Carnival has grown exponentially over the past few years. This May, over 100,000 revellers will take to the streets to watch the main procession, before adjourning to one of four themed tents – take your pick from salsa, reggae, blues and Brazilian music.