Whether you’re planning a local outing or plotting a trip abroad, there’s something unforgettable about the buzz of a market, the pulse of live music, or the magic of a spontaneous pop-up festival.
These gatherings offer more than entertainment—they’re a sensory deep dive into a place’s personality. We’ve rounded up five local and five international options worth putting on your radar.
Local finds
Sebastian Canaves/Unsplash
Neighbourgoods Market – Cape Town
Set in stylish inner-city venues, Neighbourgoods Market is the place to experience South Africa’s creative culinary scene in bite-size form. The Cape Town branch, nestled in the Old Biscuit Mill, offers a delicious mix of gourmet street food, small-batch wines, craft beer, live music, and designer finds. It’s where locals linger on Saturdays and tourists get their first real taste of urban South African flair.
Spier Light Art – Stellenbosch
Stevie Thompson Mycelium/Spier Wine Farm
Each autumn, the historic Spier Wine Farm transforms into a nocturnal wonderland with its annual Light Art exhibition. Free to enter and designed for wandering, this event features large-scale light sculptures, digital art, and interactive installations scattered around the farm’s gardens and historic buildings. With food and wine stalls open late, it’s an immersive evening out perfect for couples, families, or solo explorers.
Litchi Orchard Market – Salt Rock, KwaZulu-Natal
Picture/Rooms For AfricaTucked away among the trees of Salt Rock on the North Coast, the Litchi Orchard Market delivers a warm, rustic atmosphere and a real sense of community. Local food vendors serve everything from wood-fired pizza to vegan bites, while live acoustic music completes the scene. It’s the kind of market where people stay for hours, catching up under the stars with a craft beer in hand.
Up the Creek Music Festival – Swellendam
Picture/Cape Town Etc
South Africa’s most beloved river-based music festival, Up the Creek, brings together live bands, DJs, and hundreds of floaties on the banks of the Breede River each February. The event is equal parts music, nature, and comedy, with a famously friendly crowd and a stage setup that lets you listen to indie, folk, or rock from the comfort of your lilo. Camping or glamping is part of the experience.
Veld & Sea Pop-Up Foraging Workshops – Cape Peninsula
Picture/Veld & Sea/Alex Oloefse
If your idea of a festival includes wild herbs and ocean views, Veld & Sea’s seasonal pop-up gatherings offer something unique. Led by forager and chef Roushanna Gray, these events pair coastal foraging with creative feasting, storytelling, and hands-on learning. From seaweed spring rolls to botanical cocktails, it’s a nourishing, low-impact experience that feels like a celebration of the land itself.
ALSO READ: Why Greece should be on your bucket list
Global gems
Picture/Historic Hotels of Europe
Time Out Market – Lisbon, Portugal
Located in a renovated warehouse near the waterfront, Time Out Market Lisbon offers a one-roof sampling of the city’s top chefs, bars, and cultural performers. With communal tables, a curated food hall vibe, and frequent live acts or DJ sets, it’s part market, part venue, and all flavour. Visitors love that they can taste the best of the city without reservations—and stay late into the night.
Glastonbury Festival – UK
Picture/Vogue
Arguably the most iconic music festival in the world, Glastonbury is a once-in-a-lifetime event for many. Held annually in Somerset, England, it draws global crowds for its legendary lineups that span pop, indie, dance, and folk. But it’s not just music—expect circus tents, wellness zones, food trucks, and wild costumes in a temporary city built on fields of mud and magic.
Smorgasburg – New York, Miami & Los Angeles, USA
Picture/Time Out/Samuel Hollenshead
Smorgasburg is the ultimate food pop-up—open-air, experimental, and ever-changing. It hosts dozens of rotating vendors each weekend, spotlighting some of the most Instagram-worthy and innovative eats in the USA. From ramen burgers in Brooklyn to vegan tacos in LA, it’s where street food becomes an art form. Bring an appetite and a camera.
Mauerpark Sunday Market – Berlin, Germany
Picture/Conde Nast Traveller
What starts as a flea market becomes a full-blown cultural carnival every Sunday in Berlin’s Mauerpark. Shoppers can browse vintage clothes, handmade crafts, and street food while buskers, beatboxers, and karaoke stars fill the park with energy. It’s messy, musical, and one of the best ways to experience Berlin’s creative soul on a weekend.
Nuit Blanche – Paris, France
Picture/Europe Holidays
For one magical night annually, Paris stays awake for Nuit Blanche—a city-wide all-night festival of art, installations, and performance. Museums open for free, landmarks are transformed, and public spaces become canvases. It’s equal parts surreal and sophisticated, perfect for night owls and art lovers who want to see the City of Light at its most imaginative.
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ALSO READ: Sing, dance, create: Where to join the local scene while you travel
