The best 2025 festivals outside of the UK for sun, sightseeing and thumping bass

London whitethorn connection a wealthiness of superb music festivals each summer, but determination are immoderate things these events successful the superior conscionable can’t springiness us. Thumping speakers connected sandy beaches. Winding, azure rivers. A dancefloor beneath a canopy of thenar trees. Cool upland breezes and three-day parties successful remote, abandoned factories. For this, you request to look abroad.

You already cognize astir the likes of Coachella and Burning Man — the kinds of ultra celebrated planetary festivals that are either profoundly basal oregon prohibitively expensive, oregon both. Instead of these evident picks, we’re spotlighting immoderate of the champion and astir awe-inspiringly beauteous festivals extracurricular the UK, truthful you tin bask this year’s biggest beats successful a stunning location, alternatively of successful a cordoned-off country of a muddy Victoria Park.

USP: Takes spot adjacent to the turquoise waters of the Yautepec River

For anyone looking for a somewhat amended Valentine’s dainty than a repast astatine the section Franco Manca this year, however astir a last-minute travel to Mexico, wherever you tin enactment astatine Bahidorá festival, adjacent to the Yautepec River? Or you tin interval down it — immoderate works. You’ll person rather the soundtrack, too: physics heavyweights Kaytranada, Floating Points and Folamour are each connected the bill. Described arsenic 1 of the apical tickets of Mexican festival season, Bahidorá is located successful the authorities of Morelos, adjacent doorway to Mexico City. Morelos doesn’t person its ain airport, truthful you’ll request to alert into Mexico City and thrust to the festival, which is astir an hr and a fractional away. But for that location? It’s much than worthy it.

Tickets: from £41, bahidora.com

USP: Takes spot successful an abandoned concern subject site

If trippy visuals projected onto The Simpsons-esque cooling towers isn’t capable to merchantability this festival successful Brussels, past conscionable hold for the headliner: Four Tet is rumoured to beryllium holding court. Horst Arts and Music Festival is simply a three-day solemnisation of arts, architecture and euphony that takes spot successful Asiat Park, an abandoned concern tract and erstwhile subject basal successful Vilvoorde. The Belgian metropolis sits conscionable extracurricular Brussels and happens to beryllium a convenient 12-minute thrust from Luchthaven Zaventem, Brussels’s main airport. Vilvoorde is besides a five-minute bid travel from Brussels, which means staying successful the superior and commuting to the festival is simply a full breeze. The remainder of the line-up is TBC, but it looks similar it’s worthy banking on.

Tickets: from £62, horstartsandmusic.com

USP: Good for combining a metropolis interruption with a festival weekend

This seaside festival is practically a rite of transition for anyone implicit the property of 25 and, arsenic such, is 1 of the biggest non-UK festivals for bumping into radical you know. Why is it truthful popular? Firstly, it has a immense line-up. This twelvemonth includes the 3 main popular girlies — Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli xcx (who volition beryllium bringing her and Troye Sivan’s smash deed Sweat tour) — among different immense acts, specified arsenic Jamie xx, Beabadoobee and Fontaines DC. Secondly, it perfectly combines a festival play with a metropolis minibreak, truthful you tin bask Monday to Thursday chilling successful the Catalan capital, past Friday to Sunday successful sunny festival mode. There’s besides Primavera Sound Porto (June 12-15), which is smaller and has a akin line-up.

Tickets: from £114, primaverasound.com

USP: Paris, cool, bully for environment

If watching past year’s Olympics festivities truly whetted the appetite for a large enactment successful Paris, caput to We Love Green successful June which promises to beryllium an arsenic captivating party. The euphony festival is held successful the Bois de Vincennes, a gorgeous, classical parkland located successful Paris’s “bo-bo” (bohemian and bourgeois) 12th arrondissement. Its line-up is arsenic existent arsenic it is cool, with Charli xcx, FKA twigs, LCD Soundsystem, Fcukers and Ezra Collective each performing. Plus, We Love Green is immense connected sustainability — hence the name. It’s an eco-designed, wholly vegetarian festival that’s certified for its liable absorption systems, and successful 2024 was validated arsenic having the lowest c footprint successful the festival’s history. So you tin enactment hard and consciousness eco-smug astatine the aforesaid time.

Tickets: from £45, welovegreen.fr

USP: Watch immoderate of London’s coolest DJs successful a erstwhile Polish ember mine

Why spell to Fabric erstwhile you tin spell down the mines? Or, much accurately, spell raving connected the tract of a erstwhile Polish ember mine, with a soundtrack acceptable for an eastbound London techno club. Tauron Nowa Muzyka Katowice, which virtually translates to “Tauron New Music Katowice”, is an physics creation festival (the lawsuit is small, astir 25,000 people) that takes spot successful the metropolis of Katowice successful southbound Poland. This year’s line-up has Berghain regular Ben Klock (one of the world’s astir sought aft techno DJs), Dutch creation maestro Fatima Yamaha, genre-bending visionary Joy Orbison and beep-boop atmospheric maestro Floating Points. Basically, if you’re into the Lost Village, Houghton broadside to UK festivals, TNMK volition get you that aforesaid hole — successful an other chill locale.

Tickets: from £69, festiwalnowamuzyka.pl

USP: Indie stone with a backdrop of the “Japanese Alps”

Fuji Rock got its sanction from the festival’s archetypal lawsuit successful 1997, erstwhile it was held astatine the basal of Mount Fuji. It’s present successful the Naeba Ski Resort successful Yuzawa, Niigata, wrong the alleged “Japanese Alps”, but the vistas are nary little stunning. Each summer, the skis edifice municipality is flooded with 100,000 visitors, and skis paraphernalia is uprooted successful favour of festival stages, tents and nutrient trucks. This year’s line-up is presently tbc, but it tends to skew towards much indie rock. Last year’s headliners were The Killers, Kraftwerk and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, with much philharmonic stylings from the likes of Peggy Gou, Sampha, Girl successful Red, Turnstile, The Last Dinner Party and Fontaines DC. Its presumption arsenic the largest outdoor euphony lawsuit successful Japan means there’s besides a immense contingent of homegrown talent, truthful you tin prime up a fewer caller favourites with your aged reliables.

Tickets: from £84,en.fujirockfestival.com

Dates: July 30 to August 3

USP: Dutty beats successful a spellbinding Dutch forest

Attending Dekmantel is benignant of similar getting into Berghain. It’s not rather arsenic exclusive and you won’t get turned distant connected the door, but it carries the aforesaid magnitude of clout. Described arsenic a festival that “guarantees prime location and techno”, Dekmantel takes spot successful the rolling hills and impossibly gangly trees of Amsterdamse Bos, a parkland located conscionable extracurricular Amsterdam. Wholesome surroundings play big to aggravated beats and skilled DJs, with Bicep’s Chroma amusement taking centre signifier for 2024. While 2025’s offering is not yet announced, physics euphony fans volition beryllium pleased with the bulk of selectors. It’s 1 of those festivals wherever the full line-up is successful the aforesaid tiny font, truthful everyone’s equal, there’s a batch of variation, and much DJs than you cognize what to bash with.

Tickets: from £190,dekmantelfestival.com

USP: Cold and beautiful, similar a much cultured après ski

Maybe a blistery festival isn’t for you, and that’s okay. We each cognize however uncomfortable it tin beryllium successful a sweaty tent. Instead, however astir a chilly festival, with immoderate of the world’s astir striking earthy landscapes arsenic a backdrop? That’s what’s connected connection astatine Iceland Airwaves, the immersive, multi-genre euphony festival held each wintertime successful Reykjavík. The 2025 line-up isn’t retired yet, but past twelvemonth Charlotte Day Wilson, Magdalena Bay, The Vaccines, Joy Anonymous and Overmono each performed, arsenic good arsenic a big of enchanting Icelandic acts. Because of the cold, it’s hosted indoors astatine venues crossed Reykjavík, truthful it’s not the emblematic al fresco set-up. But determination aren’t galore different festivals wherever you tin stumble retired of the venue and regard up astatine the Northern Lights, are there?

Tickets: from £57, icelandairwaves.is