A European Halloween vacation is all treats without the tricks.
From London to Londonderry and Paris to Prague, dozens of cities in Europe celebrate Halloween in style. With huge parties, family-friendly parades, special ghost tours, and exclusive events inside iconic places like Dracula and Frankenstein’s castles, there is no shortage of spooky scheming.
Big Ben during Halloween in London. Image Credit: Getty Images, PetarPaunchev
Best European destinations for Halloween
🇬🇧 London, England
London is a great European destination for Halloween because there are so many options for spooky seasonal fun.
- 🎃 Some of the oldest pubs in London have haunted histories
- 👻 You’ll have no trouble finding a ghost tour, whether the stories are based on superstitions or retell the bloody tales of Jack the Ripper
- 🧙 The Harry Potter studio tour has Hogwarts After Dark and Dark Arts events during Halloween season
Dozens of other sites, including the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, and Kew Gardens host annual Halloween events as well.
🇫🇷 Paris, France
The City of Light will give you plenty of reasons to be afraid of the dark.
- 💀 Go underground and explore the creepy Paris catacombs running beneath the city
- 🪦 Wander through one of the most haunted places in Paris: Père Lachaise Cemetery
- 🏰 Find a not-so-scary Halloween celebration at Disneyland Paris Halloween Festival (get Disney Park tickets here)
🇷🇴 Transylvania, Romania
Of all the legendary locales in Europe, spending Halloween in Transylvania is a truly epic trip.
- 🧛 Celebrate Halloween in Dracula’s Castle in Bran
- 🦇 Dine at Casa Vlad Dracul — a Dracula-themed restaurant in the childhood home of Vlad the Impaler
- 🎉 Party in the basement of a medieval citadel in Sighisoara
Spooky Edinburgh at night. Image Credit: Getty Images, Francesco Riccardo Iacomino
🏴 Edinburgh, Scotland
The Scottish capital is a magical place that has no shortage of cool and creepy events scheduled during October.
- 👠 Swap a costume for a ballgown at the Grand Cafe Halloween Bridgerton Ball
- 🪦 Marvel at the famous (and fictional!) headstones at Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery
- 🏰 Be frightened by the Creepy Castle Capers weekend at Edinburgh Castle
🇩🇪 Hessen, Germany
If you’re not spending Halloween at Dracula’s Castle, head to Hessen and stitch together a Halloween itinerary like only Dr. Frankenstein could.
- 🏰 Visit Frankenstein Castle, the very same which is said to have inspired Mary Shelley
- 🎛️ Adult trick or treating at the Monster Halloween Party in Batschkapp, Frankfurt
- 👻 Embark on a haunted city tour of Frankfurt with a local guide
Read also: Germany’s best castles are a train ride from Frankfurt
Image Credit: Getty Images, Catherine Falls Commercial
🇬🇧 Derry, Northern Ireland
Derry, Northern Ireland — not to be confused with the town Derry where Stephen King’s Pennywise terrorizes children — isn’t clowning around when it comes to Halloween events.
- 🎃 Experience Europe’s largest Halloween festival across four frighteningly fun days
- 🚃 Discover what’s haunting the Foyle Valley Railway Museum
- 🎭 Dance the night away in secrecy at the Foyle Hospice Masquerade Ball
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark
Scandinavia? More like Scare-dinavia. Head to Copenhagen, the Danish capital, for ghoulishly good times.
- 🎢 Embrace the season with Halloween events at Tivoli Gardens
- 🎃 Pick your own pumpkins at Ventegodtgaard farm in Lille Skensved
- 🚉 Experience Night of the Ghosts at Kronborg Castle in Helsingør on day trip from Copenhagen
Image Credit: Getty Images, Yuliia Pavaliuk
Halloween 2024 in Europe
When is Halloween and why?
Halloween is celebrated annually on October 31 and falls on a Thursday in 2024. Halloween’s roots are as seasonal as they are spooky. Samhain was an ancient Celtic festival that took place on November 1st when it was believed that spirits could return from the dead. Costumes and rituals were used to ward off the spirits. Eventually, the Christians rolled their All Saints Day over to the same date and the night before has since been referred to as All Hallows Eve.
The best Halloween costume ideas for 2024
You can always count on pop culture to influence the most common Halloween costumes of the year. Expect a lot of Deadpools and Wolverines, Beetlejuices, Jokers, and Gladiators. We’re sure a few Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce couples costumes will join Trump/Harris duos. You’ll also see a few trick or treaters decked out in Bluey, Pokémon, and Super Mario Bros, too.
Do kids trick or treat in Europe?
Yes, you can find kids trick or treating in Europe, though not as common as you will in North America. You’ll likely find the most trick or treaters in England and Ireland. Kids in Scotland go “guising”, which is essentially the same thing. Germany and France, for instance, don’t have many costumed door knockers. The Netherlands has trick or treating, but it happens on St. Martin’s Day in November.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Maryna Terletska
The best Halloween horror nights in Europe
Although you can’t do Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights in Europe — Universal Studios has zero resorts on the continent — you can go to Europa Park in Germany for their annual Traumatica Festival of Fear event. There are plenty of other places in Europe where you can have a horrifically fun Halloween night:
- 🇮🇹 Corinaldo, Italy celebrates the Witches’ Festival
- 🇬🇧 Whitby, England hosts a Goth weekend music festival in the town where Dracula once roamed
- 🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain hosts a ghoulish scavenger hunt that ends in a Thriller-style Halloween party
- 🇨🇿 Prague, Czechia hosts several costume and dance parties around the city (including one at EPIC, an innovative new club in Prague)
- 🇮🇪 County Meath, Ireland goes back to its Celtic roots for the Púca Festival
Fun Halloween vacations for kids in Europe
From the creative to the casual, you can fill a trick or treat bucket with the amount of family-friendly Halloween events your kids will love:
- 🇩🇰 Billund, Denmark’s Legoland hosts a Halloween Monster Party
- 🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain’s Zoo & Aquarium hosts annual Halloween events
- 🇩🇪 Ludwigsburg Palace, Germany has the world’s largest pumpkin festival
- 🇮🇹 Castelnuovo del Garda, Italy’s Gardaland Resort hosts annual Halloween festivities
Can you do a Disney Halloween vacation in Europe?
Disneyland Paris hosts an annual Halloween festival that runs throughout the month of October and ends in early November. Halloween-themed decorations, food, light shows, parades, and costumed characters fill the streets of this family-friendly theme park — including classic Disney villains like Captain Hook and Maleficent.
🚆Trainline Tip: Go beyond the popular theme park and see the real life European castles that inspired Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Tangled, and more.
Of the many things that go bump in the night, increasing ticket prices are the scariest. Download the Trainline app and find frighteningly good deals on train tickets across Europe.
Header Image Credit: Getty Images, Arman Zhenikeyev
