Seafood festivals

Held since 1743, the Baltic Herring Market brings around 40 fishers and producers to the Market Square each October to sell herring straight from the boats.

Harvest on the Harbor is Portland's Maine food festival, held 15 to 17 October 2026 at Maine Studio Works, with the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year contest and Maine OysterFest sessions.

TipTickets must be bought in advance and are non-refundable. The lobster chef contest is on Friday and OysterFest has two Saturday sessions.

The 35th annual Bowen's Wharf Seafood Festival is in Newport, about 34 miles south of Providence, on 17 and 18 October 2026, with lobster rolls, stuffies, chowder, clams and oysters.

TipNewport is about 34 miles and 45 minutes by car from Providence, so this is a day trip. The festival runs 11 am to 6 pm on both days.

The Jekyll Island Shrimp and Grits Festival is on Jekyll Island, about 90 miles south of Savannah, on 23 and 24 October 2026, with shrimp and grits vendors, live music and an artists market.

TipJekyll Island is roughly 90 miles and up to two hours by road from Savannah, so plan a day trip or stay near the island. Friday runs 4 to 9 pm with fireworks at about 7.15 pm; Saturday 10 am to 9 pm.

The prefecture's largest autumn food event fills Hiroshima Castle and the surrounding moats with producer stalls, oyster counters and sake bars over one October weekend.

TipEntry is free and the stalls run 10:00 to 17:00, but the castle approaches are shoulder to shoulder by late morning.

Tsukiji Autumn Festival, 30 October to 1 November 2026, pairs a sale in the Outer Market with a Tsukiji Food Fest at Ichibabashi Park serving seafood, meat, sweets, beer and wine.

TipEntry to the Food Fest is free and you pay for what you eat; it is held in rain and cancelled in severe weather.

A twice yearly producers' fair at La Palmeraie, west of Lyon, where about 90 winegrowers, oyster farmers and artisan food makers sell direct, with oyster plates, foie gras and grills served at seated tables.

TipDownload the free invitation for two from the organiser's site; entry is otherwise €3, and an INAO tasting glass costs €3 at the door.

Sanur Village Festival on Mertasari Beach in Sanur, Bali, mixes about 70 local food and craft stalls with a sea-themed lawar contest and a barista contest.

TipEntry was free in 2025. The festival moved from October (2024) to November (2025), so check the dates before planning a trip around it.

Sydney Cellar Door is a three-day NSW wine festival in First Fleet Park, The Rocks, 13 to 15 November 2026, with 35-plus wineries, 200-plus labels, oysters, paella and wood-fired pizza.

Lille's Christmas village fills Place Rihour with chalets from mid November to the end of December, selling tartiflette, oysters, gingerbread and vin chaud under the Ferris wheel on the Grand Place.

TipOpen 11:00 to 20:30, until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; 18:00 close on 24 December, shut on the 25th. Metro: Rihour.

Skansen's Christmas market, held since 1903, opens Friday to Sunday on four weekends with about 70 stalls selling Christmas bread, herring, smoked fish and sausages, plus glögg and kolbullar.

TipThe market is inside the open-air museum, so it costs Skansen's normal entry; children and young people up to 15 get in free.

Degustar Matosinhos runs on every Thursday in February, when about 35 restaurants in the town that lands Porto's fish serve a shellfish platter for two at a fixed 70 euros, at lunch and dinner.

TipBook the restaurant yourself and ask for the Degustar tray by name. It is served on Thursdays only and the list of kitchens changes each year.

Lowcountry Oyster Festival at Boone Hall Plantation runs the first Sunday of February. The world's largest oyster festival, 80,000 pounds of steamed.

TipBuy tickets before they sell out in early January. Bring your own oyster knife and gloves.

The Florida Keys Seafood Festival piles Truman Waterfront Park with grilled spiny lobster, stone crab and conch every February, run by the fishermen themselves.

TipThe $10 gate fee funds the Commercial Fishermen's Association; the operator lists the next edition as February 13 to 14, 2027.

The Georgia Conservancy's annual Oyster Roast at Grove Point Plantation serves oysters and clams from Sapelo Sea Farms with live music. Ticketed, late Feb.

Peixe em Lisboa each April: ten days of Portuguese fish at Pavilhao Carlos Lopes, dozens of chefs cooking sardines, bacalhau and octopus, wine pairings.

Fiesta Oyster Bake has shucked Gulf oysters on the St Mary's University campus for over a century, a two-day Fiesta music-and-food festival run by the alumni.

Bruges' funfair dates back to a 1200 trade fair and still fills 't Zand and the Koning Albert I park for three weeks each spring, with 90 rides and stalls selling oliebollen, waffles, frites, burgers and seafood.

TipThe reduced price day is announced on the fair's site (15 May in 2026); the fair closes 13:00 to 17:00 on Ascension Day for the Holy Blood Procession.

The francesinha festival at the VP restaurant inside WOW serves six builds of Porto's sauce covered sandwich over an April weekend, among them chicken, cod, seafood, vegetarian and one on pizza dough.

TipThe 15 euro menu covers one francesinha, chips and a drink. Buy in advance at VP, because the long tables fill from the first lunch service.

The Festiwal Smaków Food Trucków fills the Forum Gdańsk courtyard with food trucks serving burgers, seafood, langos and Korean chicken over a free spring weekend.

TipEntry is free, Saturday 12:00 to 21:00 and Sunday 12:00 to 20:00 in 2026. The festival has run more than 25 numbered editions, some in autumn at other Gdańsk venues, so check the dates and venue before you go.

The annual Fisk och Skaldjursfestivalen at Feskekorka in early May celebrates the West Coast harvest with live shellfish from local boats, oyster shucking.

River Street Seafood Festival runs the first weekend of May along the Savannah River boardwalk, with local chefs serving shrimp, oysters, crab and crawfish.

The Senhor de Matosinhos romaria runs for three weeks around the 26 May municipal holiday, with a procession from the Bom Jesus church, a pottery fair and stalls of grilled sardines, caldo verde and farturas.

TipThe municipal holiday on 26 May draws the biggest crowd. Come on a weekday if you want to eat at the fair without queueing.

Howth Maritime and Seafood Festival at Howth Harbour in Co Dublin, an annual free entry seafood festival with chef demos, oyster bar and boat tours.

TipFree entry; chef demos run on the West Pier stage. DART from Connolly Station; arrive 11:00 to beat the lunch queue.

Sabor Salou turns Passeig Jaume I into a three-day street food market each May, with 56 stands in 2026 serving tapas, rice dishes, seafood, burgers, sweets, wines and local beers.

TipThe 2026 edition opened with a 20-metre hazelnut and ratafia tiramisu sold at €1 a portion, with the takings going to local charities.

Festas de Lisboa all of June: the umbrella city celebration that includes Santos Populares, neighbourhood sardine grills, street fado and a citywide pop-up.

Santos Populares in Lisbon every June: charcoal sardines down every Alfama street, Marchas Populares parade on the night of 12 June, ginjinha at every corner.

New Orleans Oyster Festival in Woldenberg Park runs each early June with oyster shucking and eating contests (Acme), free music on the riverfront and 10-plus.

TipFree festival; the P&J Shucking Contest at noon is the spectacle order. Bring sunscreen, riverfront is unshaded.

Fishermen's Day, Sjomannadagurinn, fills the Reykjavik Old Harbour each June with grilled langoustine and cod stalls plus a blessing of the fishing fleet.

Festas de São João do Porto is the city's June programme, from the Cascata Comunitária at Bolhão to concerts, a rusgas parade and the 23 to 24 June night of sardines and fireworks.

The Eobang Festival restages Suyeong's old fishing cooperative on Gwangalli Beach in Busan, net hauls, folk games and seafood rows on the sand.

TipDates shift with the season and ran 12 to 14 June in 2026; check the city calendar before travelling.

Huîtres et Vins at the JOST hotel rooftop in Montpellier: six oysters and a glass of white wine for EUR 14 from 18:00 to 23:00, walk-in, on summer Mondays and some autumn evenings.

TipNo reservation is needed; check the hotel's agenda page for the current day, as an autumn date falls on a Tuesday.

Afurada's fishing quarter keeps its own saint's festival for two weeks from 23 June, with a procession, fireworks over the Douro and street stalls of grilled sardines, fogacas and broa de Avintes.

TipCross on the Cantareira ferry rather than driving. The sardine grills work hardest at the weekend, when the queues also run longest.

Its third edition ran 4 and 5 July 2026 at Makers Landing, free to enter, with a fresh fish market, live hake filleting, chef demonstrations and WWF SASSI and Two Oceans Aquarium stands.

TipEntry is free, so come early on the Saturday to see the live hake filleting and the chef demonstrations before the crowds build.

Twenty traditional cooks fry molotes on the Plaza de la Concordia in San Pedro Cholula, from tinga and huitlacoche fillings to gourmet versions built on chile en nogada and seafood.

TipEntry is free and molotes run between 50 and 200 pesos depending on size, so budget for grazing rather than one order.

Sydney's four-day Bastille Day food festival at Circular Quay and The Rocks, Sydney. French wine, cheese, charcuterie, oysters and live cabaret programming.

On Belgium's national day the Marolles eats on the place du Jeu de Balle: a casserole of Belgian mussels, a portion of De Corte fries and a beer, served from 5pm with brass bands and songs.

TipBook online, it sells out; on the day meals go on sale on the square from 20:30 at €35 rather than €32.

The Galway Races in July bring a city-wide food week with restaurant special menus and market pop-ups; race week is when Galway restaurants run their most.

The Ilgwang Sea Festival folds Gijang's old Gaenmaeul fishing-village fair and the Ilgwang song contest into one beach festival, drag-net pulls and shellfish digs by day, concerts and fireworks at night.

TipThe first merged edition ran 31 July to 2 August 2026 on Ilgwang Beach; check the Gijang county site for the next dates.

The Phuket Lobster Festival, in its 11th year in 2026, spends August promoting the island's GI-certified lobster through a Chalong launch fair and menus at more than 122 restaurants.

TipThe month is a restaurant promotion more than a single site: look for the festival menus at hotel dining rooms and seafood houses across Phuket.

Key West Lobsterfest greets spiny lobster season each August with a lobster boil, pub crawl and a Saturday street fair running the length of lower Duval.

TipThe free Saturday street fair fills the 100-500 blocks of Duval and the ticketed lobster boil sells out. The 29th edition runs 11 to 15 August 2027.

The Zeebrugge Visserijfeesten fill the old fish auction site on 15 August with a fresh North Sea fish display, seafood tastings, market stalls and a visit to Jacques Brel's sailing boat Askoy II; Stad Brugge revived it in 2025 and it ran again in 2026, with free entry.

TipEntry is free. The programme is announced each summer, so check Seafront and Visit Bruges before travelling.

Surströmmingspremiär in Stockholm marks the legal release of the year's fermented herring on the third Thursday of August; the strongest-smelling Swedish.

TipEat outdoors. Pelikan, Tennstopet and Kvarnen all run surströmmingsskiva sittings; book a week ahead.

Copenhagen Cooking runs ten days, 20 to 29 August 2027, across the city's restaurants, bars and pop-up hosts, with long-table dinners and events from shellfish to street food.

Alberoni at the southern tip of the Lido spends late August on the mussel, serving pastasciutta coi peoci and saltada de peoci beside a regatta, a market and a cross country race.

TipTake the 11 bus from Santa Maria Elisabetta; the regatta and the closing concert both fall on the final weekend.

DC JazzFest is Washington's five-day jazz festival, 2 to 6 September 2026, with its signature weekend of concerts at The Wharf's District Pier, beside the waterfront restaurants.

TipThe Wharf concerts are on the last two days, Saturday and Sunday; eat at The Wharf's restaurants, which the venue promotes for festival visitors.

The Maryland Seafood Festival runs 11 to 13 September 2026 at Sandy Point State Park near Annapolis, with a crab soup cook-off, oyster shucking and crab cake and crab picking contests.

The West-Vlaamse Snorrenclub sets up pots of mussels and an oyster bar on the old Vismarkt fish market for a weekend of eating, drinking and brass bands, timed to coincide with Bruges' car free Sunday.

TipEntry is €3; Sunday runs 11:00 to 22:00 and is the fuller day, while Saturday opens only from 18:00 with a band.

The Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival, the world's longest running oyster festival, fills the Claddagh each September with shucking championships and a seafood trail.

Fouace et Muscadet en fête takes over La Haie-Fouassière outside Nantes for a September weekend of fouace bakers, oyster bars and Muscadet growers.

TipThe Sunday runs 10:00 to 18:00 around the vendangeurs races, with the artisan market, oyster bar and tastings on the same streets.

The Pin Point Seafood Festival runs at the Pin Point Heritage Museum on Moon River in late September, the Gullah Geechee coastal Georgia seafood tradition.