Food, music & culture: Best festivals in Europe’s lakes and mountains

Toast one of Italy’s best wines in Bardolino, where they dedicate a weekend in late May or early June to their home-grown chiaretto rosé. The whole town is tickled pink, so stroll along the waterfront to see it overflowing with pink balloons, ribbons and flowers. It’s free to attend, but you can pay a small price for a keepsake glass to try wines from vineyards around Lake Garda as you wander. Sip your drink as you tap your foot to live bands and watch boat races out on the lake. And on the final night, everyone gathers along the shore to see fireworks light up the sky.

Lake fish were a staple of peoples’ diets here for centuries – and the fishermen would often eat their catch fresh from the boat, shared with family and friends in the harbour. Since the 1920s, Garda town’s honoured this tradition with a 3-day festival in July. Follow your nose to the street food stalls along the promenade to try fish cooked in lots of different ways, like whole fried sardines, grilled rainbow trout or pike risotto. You can grab a glass of dry rosé or crisp white wine to go with it, then find a spot on the shore to sit and eat with views of the lake.

For a real taste of Austria, visit St Johann over the three days in September devoted to one of the country’s favourite foods. Pay a small price to get in and dive into the action in the town centre, where local cooks dish up over 20 types of dumpling. Choose from classic cheese, bacon and apricot, as well as unusual recipes like pulled pork and coconut, then take a seat at the world’s longest dumpling table (595m long in fact) to tuck in. On the Sunday, head to the main square for the festival’s final event, the Knödelfest Frühschoppen – or Dumpling Festival Morning Pint.

Salzburg’s famous for its musical heritage, from Mozart to The Sound of Music. And for a few weeks in July and August, the city hosts a full-blown celebration of the arts. Performers come from around the world to stage operas like Don Giovanni and Tosca, and recitals of Mozart and Beethoven, as well as more modern plays. Book tickets before your trip to guarantee a seat – you especially won’t want to miss the Vienna Philharmonic, the historic orchestra that headlines the event every year.

Go to Stresa between July and September for a treat for the ears and the eyes – concerts by the world’s best orchestras and soloists, surrounded by some of the most beautiful sights in Italy, including the open-air stage on the lakeshore and the grand hall of the Congress Palace building. For an extra-special experience, take a boat over to the Borromean Islands to listen to classical music or jazz in the Hall of Tapestries in the palace on Isola Bella, the gardens of Isola Madre or the waterfront of Isola dei Pescatori.

Get back to nature in Bohinj, with two weeks of events in May and June all to do with the local flora. You can join guided walks to see and smell some of the flowers that call the Julian Alps home. Then admire them recreated on canvas at an art show, and find your zen with yoga on the lakeshore. The local restaurants also go all-out with themed menus, so you can savour wild flowers and herbs with regional specialities including mushrooms, cheese and honey.

At the start of August, Villach gets a vibrant makeover for Austria’s largest traditional festival. This historic town’s about an hour's bus ride from Millstatt and during the festival you'll find it decked to the nines in colourful bunting and twinkling lights. There’s a week-long line up of live music and full-on parades with marching bands and lederhosen-clad locals. Weave between stalls to buy handmade crafts and sweet specialities like heart-shaped gingerbread, and when the evening rolls around, clink a stein of beer as you watch folk dancers in the square.

One of the oldest festivals on Lake Como marks the start of summer on the last weekend in June. Head to the village of Ossuccio, 5km from Tremezzo, to join the fun with food stalls, music and dancing. You can cheer on teams from the around the lake as they race each other in lucia rowing boats, which are unique to the area – they were originally used by fishermen and still have wooden arches once used for hanging nets. After sunset, watch the re-enactment of the invasion of Isola Comacina (the only island in the lake), during the war between Como and Milan in 1169. A narrator tells the story of what happened, as music echoes off the mountains and red fireworks dazzle overhead, representing the flames that covered the island.

Go to Lake Bled in July during the 3-day weekend celebration of Slovenian art, culture and food. Restaurants set up stalls with their best dishes – don’t miss kremšnita, the famous Bled cake made with layers of puff pastry and custard. You can also browse for crafts and chat to the artists about how they’re made, and hear folk musicians strike up a tune on accordions and fiddles. The best bit comes after dark on the Saturday, when thousands of candles floating inside eggshells light up the lake – the candles are all made by a local man, and the shells are from the eggs used by a nearby bakery to make kremšnita throughout the year. As the lights spread across the water, fireworks cover the sky and laser projections dance on the walls of the clifftop castle.

On 1st August, Switzerland celebrates the day when it officially became a country, way back in the 13th century. Soak up the sights in mountain towns, where the streets are decked out in regional flags and people stroll around in traditional costumes. You can watch flag twirlers show off their skills to the sounds of yodelling, alphorns and drums, and snack on authentic bratwurst and August-Weggen buns, which have a cross cut into the top to represent the Swiss flag.

In late September and early October, farmers across the Alps lead their cattle down the mountain from their summer pastures to their barns for the winter. And the cows are the stars of the show, with their elaborate headdresses made of ribbons and flowers. Join the crowds that gather along the paths to welcome them home in mountain towns like Alpbach, as the sound of cowbells fills the air. Then celebrate with dancing in the town centre and a feast of speciality foods and plenty of schnapps.