Where to travel in April: 43 festivals

Festivals and seasonal sights in 70 cities in April: Yeouido Spring Flower Festival (Seoul), Cherry Blossoms (Kyoto), Rapeseed and cherry blossom (Jeju),…

Top 10

Seoul

• Yeouido Spring Flower Festival — For about five days in the first week of April the cherry road behind the National Assembly goes car-free. Weekend afternoons are shoulder to shoulder; weekday evenings after the lights come on are better.
• Royal Culture Festival, Spring — Late April into early May the five palaces host night performances and hands-on programs. Popular slots sell out the day tickets open; a few programs run in English.

Kyoto

• Cherry Blossoms — The two weeks when hotels are priciest and fill fastest. Philosopher's Path at 7 am, Arashiyama on a weekday.
• Miyako Odori Spring Dances — The one chance to see dozens of maiko and geiko on a single stage. Tickets sell online in advance.

Jeju

• Rapeseed and cherry blossom — The fields in front of Sanbangsan charge a small fee for photos. On Noksan-ro cherry and rapeseed bloom along the same road, and Jeonnong-ro in Jeju City goes car-free for its king cherry trees at the end of March.
• Gapado Green Barley Festival — For the month of April the whole island is green barley. Ten minutes by boat from Moseulpo, two hours to walk around. Book the ferry ahead during the festival.

Kobe

• Cherry blossom — The moat at Himeji Castle is the famous one, but that week the keep queue tops an hour. In Kobe itself, Suma Rikyu Park and the Ikuta River walk in Sannomiya stay calm.
• Kobe Port Weekend Fireworks — Instead of one big summer show, short five-minute bursts on many weekend evenings. Watch from the Mosaic terrace or under the Port Tower; no fight for a spot.

San Francisco

• Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival — Two weekends of taiko, tea ceremony and food stalls. The grand parade on the second Sunday draws the biggest crowd.

Osaka

• Osaka Castle cherry blossom nights — Blossoms under the lit-up tower. Night entry ¥350. The riverside at Kema Sakuranomiya Park blooms the same week.
• Mint cherry blossom passage — A 560-metre avenue of double cherries opens one week a year. Entry is by online advance booking these days.

Qingdao

• Zhongshan Park cherry blossom — Between mid and late April the cherry avenue goes off all at once and the park holds its blossom fair. Weekends are more people than petals; go on a weekday morning.
• Wild azaleas on Dazhu Mountain — From March to May the slopes turn pink. Entry ¥40 (16 March to 15 October), shuttle bus ¥10 each way.

Beijing

• Cherry blossom at Yuyuantan, spring at the Summer Palace — Cherry blossom from late March into early April, then peach blossom on the Summer Palace causeway. Weekend queues are long, so go on a weekday morning.

Paris

• Cherry blossom and spring flowers — Late March to mid-April: double cherries at the Jardin des Plantes and the tower framed by blossoms at Trocadéro. Days stretch out and terraces open.

New York

• Cherry blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden — The garden sells timed tickets for cherry season, so book ahead. Central Park is free; the west side of the Reservoir becomes a pink tunnel.

Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec