Festivals in April in Germany

April is a fantastic month for visiting Germany. This time of year is traditionally busy with Easter holidays, spring festivals, and celebrations of the arts. While April is generally considered a low season for tourism, the exception is the week before Easter when most Europeans are on spring break and traveling all across the continent. Expect a flood of travelers around this week, which falls sometime between mid-March and mid-April. Accommodations and transport may also be more expensive than usual.

The weather in April varies depending on what part of Germany you're in, but for the most part, spring has arrived and the weather is warming up across the country. You're still in Northern Europe, so you'll want to be prepared for cold nights and the possibility of rain, but the frigid snowstorms of winter should be fully behind you by April.

In 2021, April events in Germany are likely to be canceled or postponed so check with official organizers for the latest details.

01 of 08

Spring Fair in Frankfurt

Frankfurt Spring Fair — kontrast-fotodesign / Getty Images

Frankfurt's annual spring festival, or Dippemess, is one of the largest folk festivals in the Rhine region. The fair dates back to the 14th century when it was a medieval market for pottery. Its ceramic bowls and pots (called "dibbes" in the Frankfurt dialect) are well-known and responsible for the name of the festival. Today, the spring fair is also popular for rides, roller coasters, and fireworks.

Typically held at the fairground in Ratsweg, the event has been canceled for 2021.

02 of 08

Spring Fair in Stuttgart

Stuttgart's Spring Fair, or the Stuttgarter Frühlingsfest, typically begins in mid-April and runs through early May, featuring carnival rides, food stalls, and lots of German beer. Visitors can also make purchases in the expansive Trader's Market, where over 50 local artisans set up stalls selling their crafts, including textiles, art, leather goods, spices, jewelry, and more. It's one of the biggest events in this southwest German town. It takes place in Cannstatter Wasen but has been canceled for 2021.

03 of 08

Spring Fair in Munich

Munich may be most famous for its fall Oktoberfest, but the springtime Fruehlingsfest is a city-wide party also worth your time. Lovingly known as "the little sister of Oktoberfest," the Munich Spring Fair is a two-week event that brings out the entire city from the long winter hibernation to celebrate the warming weather and blossoming flowers. Just as with Oktoberfest, local beers are one of the highlights of the festival, and attendees can be assured that there will be plenty to enjoy.

The fair takes place in the city of Theresienwiese, but has been officially postponed until 2022.

04 of 08

Spargel Festivals

Spargel Beelitz — Sean Gallup / Getty Images

Germans are obsessed with spargel (white asparagus). It is on every menu, every grocery store, and devotees plan trips to the farms where it is grown. When the asparagus season starts in April, farms across the country hold festivals to commemorate this celebrated vegetable and share their crop.

The states of Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony are two of the most important asparagus growing regions. Every stand claims to grow the best asparagus, so you'll have to visit and try several of them to find out for yourself which is the best. Spargel season takes place from April through June and can be found everywhere through Germany with farms open for visits in Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, and Beelitz. In 2021, some farms may be closed to visits so check official sources for the latest information.

Continue to 5 of 8 below.

05 of 08

Bonn's Cherry Blossom Festival

Bonn Cherry Blossom Avenue — Jordan Wilms

Bonn's cherry trees have earned it a place on the list of "Top 10 Most Beautiful Tree Tunnels In The World." Every April when the cherry blossoms bloom, the entire city explodes in hues of bright pink and fuchsia. You can see cherry blossoms all around Bonn, but a few locations are better than others for that perfectly Instagrammable photo. Breitestrasse is the street known as the "cherry blossom arcade," located in the Nordstadt neighborhood. Parallel to Breitestrasse is the street called Heerstrasse, also famous for its tunnel-like canopy. Even if there's no festival held in 2021, the blossoms will still flower sometime in April.

06 of 08

Art Cologne

The world's oldest art fair began in 1967 in Cologne and is still going strong. Art Cologne features 200 leading galleries from around the world, exhibiting modern and contemporary art in every medium from paintings to sculpture to installation to photography. About 60,000 visitors attend each year. The 2021 event has been postponed to November 17 to 21.

07 of 08

Easter in Germany

Easter fountain, Pottenstein, Upper Franconia, Bavaria — Andreas Strauss / Getty Images

Easter is one of the most popular holidays in Germany. It is celebrated over a long weekend including Good Friday and Easter Monday (public holidays) with school holidays for the two weeks surrounding that weekend.

In almost any town you will see spring flowers on display and traditional ostereierbaum (Easter trees). Eggs are still hand-blown and delicately decorated in the traditional method. And chocolates are everywhere, including the Italian-born and German-adored Kinder Surprise (Kinder Überraschung). Easter falls on April 4, 2021, and is celebrated throughout Germany.

08 of 08

Walpurgis Night

Walpurgisnacht is the time for witches. According to German folklore, this is the night when the witches fly to Mount Brocken in the Harz Mountains to hold a celebration awaiting the spring. You don't need to be a witch to celebrate, however. In modern times, many people light bonfires and dance to the light of the flames. In cities like Berlin, this is another excuse to party and rebel with special club openings, night-time parades, and demonstrations. It's celebrated every year on April 30.