If you’re planning a trip to North Macedonia, it’s worth thinking about taking advantage of the country’s annual festivals and booking your visit to coincide with a unique cultural event. With everything on offer from modern music festivals to traditional events that date back centuries, there’s plenty of options to suit all tastes.

In Strumica, don’t miss...

Taking place in the city’s main park and other venues around the city, the Strumica Open Festival takes up a large part of the summer and features everything from street basketball to DJ events to the infamous annual waiters’ race. What more could you possibly ask for?

The annual Folk Music Festival in the small town of Valandovo some 20 kilometres south of Strumica takes place during the late spring. Most of the music performed during the event straddles the area between folk and pop, and is noteworthy for its complicated rhythms that borrow from the nation’s Turkish heritage. This is by no means just another pop festival.