Our 18 Favorite Mardi Gras Carnival Celebrations Outside New Orleans

Here are the top 18 places known among party-lovers and Catholics for superb Mardi Gras Carnival celebrations. The Mardi Gras or Carnival is such a popular and colorful festival that for many travelers, it’s the prime reason for a family winter vacation.

Expect extraordinary Carnival (Carnaval in many languages) festivities and other pre-Lenten festivals. New Orleans’ Mardi Gras may be the most famous celebration, but there are many great family events in small town USA, many Caribbean islands, Quebec and Europe’s most glamorous locales.

A traditional period of celebration begins on 12th Night in January, and culminates on Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday (also called Shrove Tuesday), typically in February. Carnival is most often celebrated 47 days before Easter to mark the first day of Lent.Here are the 18 festivals we love.

The Queen of Mardi Gras in New Orleans

New Orleans is Mardi Gras, and preparations begin in early January with events scheduled for weekends leading up to this year’s Mardi Gras, Tuesday, February 13, 2024.

There will be nights of festive parades by Krewes (secret societies which compete for the most lavish floats) and marching bands beginning several weeks prior to Fat Tuesday; though often unsuitable for children and modest adults, these late-into-the-night events can be wild. In recent years, celebrities have joined in the effort to celebrate life’s excesses. There are also many good-clean-fun activities to choose from.

The garden district area of St. Charles is a major tourist attraction. Visitors find many local families staking out their positions throughout the festive season. Front lawns are for having picnics, playing ball, and having fun under the beautiful oak trees. Don’t worry about streetcars, as they stop running in this area during Mardi Gras. Visit Mardi Gras New Orleans for a schedule of festivities, as well as to determine which hotels have available rooms for this period.

Take the kids to explore Mardi Gras history at the Louisiana State Museum’s “Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana” exhibit at The Presbytere or visit Mardi Gras World and show them how floats are designed and made.

Making Mardi Gras an All in the Family Event

New Orleans’ French-Catholic heritage is behind the tradition. To make Mardi Gras a kid-friendly affair, New Orleans & Company suggests that families with pre-teens avoid the French Quarter, where parades don’t pass anyway. Instead, take the family to the parades’ beginnings at St. Charles Avenue between First Street and Napoleon Avenue. (By the time most parades reach the end of the route, it’s past everyone’s bedtime, about 11pm.)

Follow their tips to ensure everyone’s safety and enjoyment:

• Safety First:  Arrive early to orient everyone before the crowds pile in. Make sure the kids know where to go if you get separated in a crowd, label their clothing in case they get lost, make sure they stay clear of the floats.
• Bring supplies:  Pack snacks, extra toiletries, a cell phone. A picnic basket and an umbrella are for just in case.
• Bring a large carryall:  Passing parades toss out beads, candy, stuffed animals and more known as “throws,” a tradition dating to the 1870s. There are sure to be souvenirs that kids will want to keep.
• Dress comfortably:  Comfortable shoes, some rain gear and an extra layer may come in handy.

Top Mardi Gras Carnivals around the U.S.: Mobile, Alabama

In Mobile, Alabama, locals claim they’ve celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday before any other Americans. The festivities began back in 1703, when their fair city was the capital of France’s Louisiana Province. The fun at “America’s Family Mardi Gras” as they like to describe themselves, begins on Dauphin Island. Programming continues from late January to February’s Mardi Gras Tuesday with 40+ parades, weekend festivities and parties. On Mobile Mardi Gras Tuesday, the biggest lavish costumed events occur. Be sure to be on guard for the flying moonpies, the traditional ‘toss’ of Mobile. And, if you are there, please share your impressions of the scheduled Comic Cowboys Parade!

(Thanks to Mindy Bianca for sharing this tidbit about Mardi Gras in Mobile.) Mobilians celebrate “Joe Cain Day” because in the late 1860s, Joe Cain led a parade in an effort to bring some joy back in the wake of the Civil War. If you miss the main event, stop by the Mobile Carnival Museum, a small private home which features all the fun of carnival. The Visit Mobile tourism office has top value lodging options and other events information as well.

A Beachfront Mardi Gras In Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida is better known for its Blue Angels than its extensive Mardi Gras party, but it’s quickly become a local tradition. On Saturdays from early January to the end of February (the beachfront parade is Feb. 11, 2024), families are more than welcome at galleries and local festivities. Count on the pet-welcoming Pawdigras Parade to be great fun for all ages. Expect to join in the bead throwing as revelers parade by. Catch moonpies as they are tossed from floats. Contests and Cajun food festivals abound. If you can find accommodations, they’re usually a very good value during this period and with any luck, the weather will be fine.

Mardi Gras of Lake Charles, Louisiana

If the celebrations in New Orleans sound a little overwhelming, head to Lake Charles. This coastal town puts on Louisiana’s second largest, decidedly more wholesome, SWLA Mardi Gras event. The fun begins in January at the Twelfth Night presentation of courts, when 50 krewes are presented. In the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday, there’s the Mardi Gras Lighted Boat Parade on shimmering Lake Charles. Look for gumbo cook-offs. Feast on king cakes. Monday, February 12, 2024 brings the kid-friendly Royal Gala attended by 60 krewes in full costume.

Mardi Gras Morning, a zydeco band accompanies the Iowa Chicken Run parade. Live performances are rewarded with flying chickens and other gumbo ingredients so that a big stew can be cooked that evening. Downtown Lake Charles hosts the main event – the Krewe of Krewes Parade. Note the child-friendly, alcohol-free and tobacco-free zone to keep the kids amused. Visitors should also check out the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, featuring the world’s larges Mardi Gras costume display. Take a look at Southwest SW Lousiana Mardi Gras for more info.

Mardi Gras in Coastal Mississippi

If you are searching for a Mardi Gras celebration that is slightly tamer than New Orleans, welcome to the Gulf Coast towns of Mississippi which, this year, are celebrating with 20 different family-friendly events. For example, Gulf Coast Mississippi celebrations head to Biloxi for Mardi Gras on the Saturday prior. The main event Fat Tuesday is a parade bursting with music, dancing and merriment. Everyone lines the streets pleading for the various Krewes to throw them Mardi Gras beads from atop their floats. Locals put on their finest clothes for this event, but you can dress as casually as you like. If the weather cooperates, the kids can take a break from the celebration and stroll barefoot in the sugar-soft sand, before climbing the spiral staircase to the top of the old-fashioned lighthouse. The view of the coastline and the legendary Gulf of Mexico oil rigs offshore is just super.

Our Favorite Carnivals around the World

Many other Catholic cultures around the world have their own celebrations. NoLa’s sound advice for families (above) applies to watching or partaking of Carnival celebrations anywhere. Note: Most of the Caribbean islands hold wonderful festivities and traditional contests in honor of Mardi Gras. However, many have moved celebrations to the summer or other tourist times to enhance the destination’s tourist appeal.

Brazil Big 3 Carnavals: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo & Recife

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the many nights of Carnaval’s raucous street parties, parades and dance-a-thons take on the colors, sensual sounds and picante flavors of Brazil’s African heritage. Events begin the prior December and continue weekly through Carnival Sunday. Dozens of samba school lessons, costume workshops and other preparatory events build the carioca spirit. Only the cheapest bleacher seats will be left for the Samba Schools Parade held the final Sunday and Monday. Go early to get a place as each school’s 80-minute parade may have up to 10 floats and 4,000 participants.

Use Google Translater at the Protuguese-language site Rio-Carnaval for information about how you and your family can rent a costume. Details include how to join a samba school parade (after taking dance lessons, of course.) Some of these samba schools have been teaching since the 1920’s.

Then, participate in one of the greatest shows on earth. The Sao Paulo Carnival is very similar to those in Rio, but the “samba schools” take dancing to the next level with festive competitions. The less internationally famous Carnival in Recife is a past winner of “world’s largest carnival parade” according to the Guiness Book of World Records.

Quiet Dominica, Eastern Caribbean

Celebrate Carnival, also called Mas Domnik or Real Mas, on the lesser known island of Dominica this year. Located between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Eastern Caribbean, they put on a big party annually. Highlights for families include the Carnival Queen show, steel band and calypso competitions. The Kiddies Carnival at the fairgrounds in Bay Front is a must-see. Since music is such a big part of the fun, Dominicans vote for both the Soca and Calypso stars on Jump Up! Monday and Tuesday (this year, Feb. 12 and 13). The Calypso King is chosen from a competition concert in Roseau. For information on accommodations, visit Dominica tourist information.

Germany’s Krazy Karneval Celebrations

All around Germany, cities with a largely Catholic population celebrate with parades, costume balls, puppet theaters and carnival choruses. The exact time of celebration and the traditions vary from county to county, but Karneval or Fasching generally takes place in early spring. The festival, known as the Fifth Season, celebrates the banning of winter. In many German cities, festivities culminate on Rose Monday (Rosenmontag). Some highlights:

Heidelberg has been celebrating Kurpfälzer Fastnacht since 1848, making it one of Germany’s oldest parades. Get there early because they expect 100,000 revelers.

In Mainz, the fifth season or Mainzer Fassenacht parades take place from Carnival Monday through to Ash Wednesday, with thousands of clowns taking part. In addition to humor, expect elaborately decorated floats until the culmination on Rose Monday. Cologne (or Koln) celebrates annually the Thursday prior to Shrove Monday, the date of Europe’s largest float-filled parade. Count on 1.5 million visitors along the route this year.

Dusseldorf features hundreds of events and a Hoppeditz or jester who performs and then symbolically cremated on Ash Wednesday. On Women’s Day, local women take the mayor hostage. In the Bavarian capital of Munich, revelers enjoy the famous Fasching doughnuts, an annual treat purchased –– and consumed –– by the dozen. For schedule information, visit the official German Tourist Office site. The fun doesn’t have to end on Mardi Gras day. For a first hand account of one family’s post-Fasching celebration in Heidelberg, read Jaclyn Stockton-Sooy’s account of her Heidelberg, Germany vacation.

Italy: Star in the Venezia Carnevale

The colorful two-week Carnevale di Venezia in Venice is the largest event in a country where everything is high style. As tradition has dictated since the year 1296, festivities begin on weekends. The frenzy builds into nightly events for citizens as Fat Tuesday (Martedi Grasso) approaches. The 2024 theme is the Journey of Marco Polo. Food, fashion and music parties entertain visitors in the Piazza San Marco, on the Grand Canal, Casino and many other neighborhood squares.

Giovedi Grasso and Martedi Grasso are the biggest nights, but don’t miss the special Kid’s Fete and the Best Mask for Children Contest at Piazza San Marco. Masks are popular with all ages, and with people from all walks of life, and usually represent characters from classic Italian folk tales. We never said Venice was cheap, and it’s certainly not at this damp and chilly time of year. Grab a Venezia Unica Venice City Pass Card for admission to the top attractions for a certain number of days, and it feels like a bargain. Ice skating at the Campo San Polo, open through Mardi Gras, is also a bargain.

Fasnacht in Lucerne, Switzerland

Carnival tradition runs deep in several of Switzerland’s regions. During the annual events preceding Ash Wednesday — known as “Carnaval” in the French zone and “Fasnacht” in the German — small and big towns celebrate with unique customs. It’s not the country’s largest, but Carnival in Basel is perhaps the most lively. For three days (Feb. 19-21, 2024), the city parties so creatively that it has been placed on UNESCO’s Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Lucerne’s Carnival celebration begins early in the morning of Schmutzig Donnerstag (Feb. 8) with the urknall, a loud explosion that announces the city’s ‘fifth season’. Festivities include guggenmusigen, (Carnival musicians), parades, amazingly sophisticated masks and costumes, decorated floats, band concerts and a children’s parade. It comes to a big close on Fat Tuesday with the Big Parade of the Carnival Bands. For more information visit Luzern / Carnival. For information on Switzerland’s other winter and spring traditions, visit MySwitzerland.  

Carnavals in Veracruz & Around Mexico

Families will find somewhat toned-down celebrations in Mexico, where Catholics spend five days enjoying music, dance, parades and feasts before the arrival of Lent. Known for its Afro-Caribbean-influenced culture, the port city of Veracruz hosts Mexico’s largest Carnaval. The Veracruz parade features danzon and batucadas. Features include draculas, drag queens and outrageous sparkling costumes moving to the Caribbean-Spanish rhythms along Miguel Avila Camacho Boulevard. Smaller Carnaval celebrations are held in Merida and Cozumel (for families visiting the Cancun area.) Head to Ensenada, an easy trip for those coming from Los Angeles, or La Paz from the West Coast. 

The narrow streets of Mazatlan fill with organized parades of masked and costumed dancers. Listen to local mariachi and live bands with tambora drums from Cuba and the Caribbean. This period of five days prior to Mardi Gras (Feb. 13, 2024) is more fun than Spring Break. Room rates are lower too! The oceanside Malecón running along Olas Altas Beach downtown is the prime parade route. Grab a spot and watch the regional Sinaloenses bands with lots of brass. Be on the lookout for paper mache floats (some very elaborate) and performing rock groups. Food festivals are organized in the Zona Dorada and the Plaza Machado. Kids will love the fair with amusement park rides for all ages running for about two weeks.

Trinidad & Tobago Calypso Carnival

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), the most southerly Caribbean islands, celebrate Carnival as part of their multicultural history. After Boxing Day, it seems the entire nation focuses on dance lessons, costume making and the artistry of masks. Everyone joins music rehearsals in preparation for Panorama (the steel pan orchestra play-offs) and Soca dancing. Each week in January and February brings new events and contests. Don’t miss the Junior Panorama Steel Drum play off and Junior King & Queen of Carnival competitions. Be there at dawn on J’Ouvert or Carnival Monday — when parade-goers slather themselves in chocolate, mud and oil paint. Throughout Carnival Tuesday, the festival unites local and foreign communities in celebrating a proud Caribbean tradition.

Quebec City, Canada Frozen Carnaval

Expect a chilly Carnival in the “snow capital of the world.” But, any winter lover won’t want to miss it. This year from Jan. 25 to Feb. 11, 2024, Quebec City presents ice slides and dog sleds, extreme canoeing and marathon skating. Le Bonhomme, the official Carnaval snowman mascot, welcomes festival-goers to his magical abode. Explore the spectacularly illuminated ice palace, complete with heated terraces, ice bar and an outdoor, snow-clad dance party. Kids will have a blast snow tubing down one of three corridors. Book rides in a horse-drawn sleigh. Partake in any one of the wide variety of activities available to young and old and stay warm. Don’t forget to sample the cold-weather inspired food. Sweetened snow and heated wine make for tasty treats after relaxing at the outdoor hot tubs and sauna. For more information, visit the official Quebec City Carnaval website

Every family traveling over Carnival should check with the local tourist office to see what’s happening. This season, we’ve noted celebrations from Universal Studios Orlando to Cuba, wherever the party spirit lives on!