52 Reasons to Fly Ryanair in 2010

From parties in beach-side hot spots to festivals in country towns, there's always something going on around the Ryanair network. Mike Peake unearths a selection of ice-cool events*

MAY

Lille Soup Festival
1 MAY
Anyone who's ever tasted soup from a posh city take-away will know just how good liquid grub truly is - and in Lille, northern France, the best soup makers in the world gather annually to show off their straw-friendly wares. WWW.MAIRIE-LILLE.FR/EN
FLY TO LILLE FROM THREE DESTINATIONS.

Jerez MotoGP
2 MAY
MotoGP is the one that Italian Valentino Rossi dominates, and Jerez is a highlight of the calendar with a wild and fun-loving crowd. Indeed, it's here that the biking champ has twice jumped into a Portaloo after winning to get a laugh. WWW.MOTOGP.COM
FLY TO JEREZ FROM THREE DESTINATIONS.

Primo Maggio Festival, Rome
1 MAY
This popular music festival has been going since 1989 and seen everyone from Nick Cave to Oasis perform. That's not to say it won't be the Cheeky Girls this year, mind. WWW.MOCAMBO.TV
FLY TO ROME (CIAMPINO) FROM 29 DESTINATIONS.

JUNE

Sandsation, Berlin
6 JUNE-29 AUGUST
Sand sculptures are cool - if a little fragile - and some of the best in the world can be seen on Berlin's Europaplatz on a whopping 4,000m2 site. Take a blowtorch and covertly turn one into glass. Heh heh heh. WWW.SANDSATION.COM
FLY TO BERLIN (SCHONEFELD) FROM EIGHT DESTINATIONS.

Tangier Jazz Festival
JUNE (DATE TBA)
This four-day Moroccan wig-out is called Tanjazz and pulls in stars and jazz lovers from all over the world. WWW.TANJAZZ.ORG
FLY TO TANGIER FROM FOUR DESTINATIONS.

Sauna Open Air Metal Festival, Tampere
11-13 JUNE
There are plenty of good reasons to go to Finland, but none louder than this heavy metal festival, which has in the past hosted the likes of Whitesnake and Mötley Crüe. Oh, and it has nothing to do with saunas! WWW.SAUNA-OPEN-AIR.FI
FLY TO TAMPERE FROM SIX DESTINATIONS.

Dragonboat Cup, Vienna
26 JUNE
Austrians in fancy dress pumping rowing boats down the Danube? That'll be the annual Dragonboat Cup and, if you like it, there are also similar events in Switzerland, Germany and England. WWW.DRACHENBOOT.AT
FLY TO BRATISLAVA (VIENNA) FROM 17 DESTINATIONS.

Grand Prix of Europe, Valencia
27 JUNE
In 2009, Rubens Barrichello won on this thrilling street circuit, which is a smart alternative to the super-congested (and exorbitantly-priced) Monaco. WWW.F1.COM
FLY TO VALENCIA FROM 13 DESTINATIONS.

Shakespeare Festival, Prague
JUNE-SEPTEMBER
The dates are still being finalised, but rock up in the Czech capital any time next summer and you can catch a bit of Shakespeare in a historic setting. Don't fret - most of the plays are performed in English. WWW.PRAGUE.SHAKESPEARE.ORG
FLY TO PRAGUE FROM FOUR DESTINATIONS.

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