Rijeka Carnival

Rijeka's carnival runs for weeks from mid-January and finishes with an international parade through the Korzo in which well over a hundred groups and tens of thousands of participants take part, watched by crowds that make it one of the largest such events in Europe. Its distinctive element is older than the parade: the zvoncari, men from the villages around Kastav and Halubje who wear sheepskins, animal masks and heavy bells at the waist, and walk set routes ringing them to drive winter out - a practice inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible heritage in 2009. The carnival ends with the burning of the Pust, an effigy blamed for the year's troubles.

What you actually see

• A parade of over a hundred groups - through the Korzo before Lent.
• The zvoncari - sheepskins, masks and bells, on the UNESCO list since 2009.
• The burning of the Pust - the effigy blamed for the year.
• Weeks of events - from mid-January to the final Sunday.

When to go

January to February, ending the Sunday before Lent. A day.

Honest expectations

It is cold, crowded and long - the main parade runs for hours. Accommodation in Rijeka fills for that weekend. The zvoncari processions happen in the villages on their own schedule, not in the city parade only.

Nearby

Kastav and the zvoncari villages are above the city; Opatija is west.