Rijeka Carnival

For a few weeks every winter, Rijeka hands its keys to the masks. The city calls this the Fifth Season, and it begins with a ceremony: on Saturday 17 January 2026 the key to the city was handed over on the Korzo, with a ceremony at City Hall, and the carnival took over until the big parade.

The modern carnival is young. It was revived in 1982, when three masked groups, one of them the bell ringers of Halubje, walked along the main promenade on a winter Sunday because the tourist board had invited them. Today the bell ringers, with their bells and animal masks, are among the carnival's best-known figures.

The calendar has three fixed points. First the key handover and the choosing of the carnival queen. Then the Children's Carnival Parade, which draws tens of thousands of people into the audience. Last comes the International Carnival Parade, which in 2026 was expected to bring more than 10,000 participants from over 100 carnival groups from Croatia and abroad. Around them sit smaller events: a Carnival Run, the Carnival Riviera games, retro and pyjama parties, and a Night of Crinolines on the Marina Botel. The 2026 slogan was "Budi što želiš", Be What You Want.

The dates for 2027 are out. The Queen Pageant is on 22 January, the Children's Parade on 30 January and the International Parade on Sunday 7 February 2027.

How to go. The parades run through the city centre, and the children's parade is on a Saturday, the international one on a Sunday. Both are in winter, so bring a coat and plan to stay a night. The city's tourist board publishes the full programme.