Best Places to Travel in Spring 2026

Kyoto, Japan — Cherry Blossom Season

Cherry blossom season — sakura — is Japan's most celebrated natural event and one of the world's great annual spectacles. In Kyoto, the peak (hanami, "flower viewing") typically falls between late March and mid-April, though exact dates shift by up to two weeks depending on winter temperatures. Japan's Meteorological Corporation (which has tracked sakura forecasts since 1952) releases its annual prediction in January — following it is one of the more pleasurable acts of trip planning.

The best sakura locations in Kyoto are deeply familiar: the path of cherry trees along the Kamo River, Maruyama Park (whose famous weeping cherry tree is illuminated at night), Philosopher's Path (a 2km canal-side walk between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji temples, lined on both sides with cherry trees in full bloom), and the grounds of Kiyomizu-dera temple, where blossoms frame one of the city's most extraordinary views across the valley. The morning light through cherry blossoms, with petals falling in light wind, is one of those images that photographs cannot adequately capture — something about its transience makes it register differently in person.

The crowds during peak sakura are genuine. Philosopher's Path on a weekend in full bloom can be so crowded it's difficult to move. Strategy: visit weekday mornings, arrive before 8am, and consider the less-photographed Heian Shrine garden (which charges entry and is therefore less crowded). "We went on a Tuesday morning when it was still cold," wrote one traveller on TripAdvisor in 2024. "The trees were at peak. We had Philosopher's Path almost to ourselves for the first hour. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." (TripAdvisor, Kyoto Forum, 2024.)

Spring Japan Planning Guide

• Watch for the 2026 sakura forecast from Japan Meteorological Corporation (jrc.co.jp/sakura) — released in late January
• Book accommodation 4–6 months ahead for peak cherry blossom dates. Prices spike dramatically in the final 2 weeks before peak
• Alternate city: Tokyo's Shinjuku Gyoen and Ueno Park are often at peak a few days before Kyoto (slightly warmer climate)
• The week after peak: petals fall like snow (hanafubuki — "blossom blizzard") for several days. Photographically extraordinary, and crowds thin noticeably
• Hanami etiquette: buy food and drinks from convenience stores or market stalls, spread a picnic mat, drink with friends — this is the traditional way to enjoy sakura

Seville, Spain — Spring & the Feria de Abril

Seville in spring is one of Europe's most intoxicating experiences: orange blossoms perfuming the streets, the Feria de Abril (April Fair) filling the Triana fairground with a million coloured paper lanterns, flamenco dancing until 6am, and temperatures ideal for walking the city's extraordinary architectural heritage. The Alcázar palace — a UNESCO site still used as a royal residence — is at its most beautiful surrounded by bougainvillea and orange trees in full spring bloom.

The Feria de Abril runs for a week in late April or early May, typically two weeks after Semana Santa (Holy Week). Most of the decorated tents (casetas) are members-only, but the horse parades along the main avenue and the atmosphere of 500,000 people in traditional Andalusian dress are accessible to anyone and genuinely extraordinary. "Seville during Feria is the only place I've ever felt that I was inside someone else's dream," wrote author Colm Tóibín in a 2023 essay for The New York Review of Books. The combination of the Gothic cathedral (the largest in the world by volume), the Moorish Alcázar, and the sherry-and-tapas culture of the Triana neighbourhood makes Seville in April one of the best weeks in European travel.

Seville Spring Budget & Timing

• Feria de Abril 2026 dates: typically late April — check visitasevilla.es in February for exact dates
• Tapas and sherry: €2–4/tapa, €2–3/glass of fino sherry in traditional bars in Santa Cruz and Triana
• Alcázar: €14.50 entry — book online 3–4 weeks ahead during spring, it sells out daily
• Book accommodation 2–3 months ahead for Feria week. Prices triple — consider the Triana neighbourhood for better value
• Best tapas bars: El Rinconcillo (Seville's oldest bar, 1670), La Brunilda (excellent modern tapas), Bar Alfalfa (for jamón ibérico)
• Holy Week (Semana Santa): if your dates fall in the week before Easter, expect extraordinary processions — but also extreme crowds and booked accommodation

The Netherlands — Tulip Season (Keukenhof)

Keukenhof, near Lisse in the South Holland province, is the world's largest flower garden and the unambiguous centrepiece of Dutch tulip season: 32 hectares of manicured parkland containing 7 million tulip, daffodil, and hyacinth bulbs planted in an annual display that is redesigned from scratch every spring. The season runs from late March to mid-May — a precise, eight-week window — and the garden attracts over a million visitors per year, the majority of whom arrive in the last two weeks of April when the tulip varieties peak simultaneously.

The surrounding Bollenstreek ("bulb district") — the coastal strip between Haarlem and Leiden — is equally spectacular: working tulip fields in stripes of red, yellow, orange, pink, and purple, extending to the horizon in a landscape so saturated with colour that it looks digital. The best way to experience it is by bicycle: the region is flat, the cycle paths excellent, and the sense of cycling through a living abstract painting at ground level is completely different from any photograph you've seen. Haarlem itself — 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam, far less crowded, with a beautiful medieval centre and excellent café culture — is a far better base for tulip season than Amsterdam.

Keukenhof & Tulip Fields Practical Guide

• Keukenhof 2026 season: late March to mid-May. Check keukenhof.nl for exact opening and closing dates — and buy tickets online in advance (€20 adult, €10 child)
• Best time to visit Keukenhof: weekday morning, first week of May for peak tulip variety. Avoid weekend afternoons in April — extremely crowded
• Tulip field cycling: rent bikes in Haarlem or Lisse (€12–15/day). Download the Bulb Fields Cycling Route from holland.com
• Haarlem base: 20 min from Amsterdam Centraal by direct train. Quieter, cheaper accommodation, excellent food scene, beautiful Grote Markt square
• Photography: the Bollenstreek fields look best in morning light. Many fields are private (working farms) — shoot from the road rather than entering