Madlist

Boom! Six destinations that are so loud, they will blow the wax right out of your ears. If you so desire...

6 Ways to clean out your ears

HELLFEST
NANTES, FRANCE
Give yourself an aural pounding at the Hellfest music festival in Clisson, France, where the volume is turned up all the way to 11 from 17–19 June. If the names Judas Priest, Rob Zombie and Kreator mean anything to you, you’ll know exactly what you’re letting yourself in for. If not… it was nice knowing you.

ROCK AM RING
NÜRBURG, GERMANY
Not ready for Hellfest (above)? Try this. One of the biggest music festivals in Europe, where Kings of Leon and dozens of top bands will play from 3–5 June. Most are on the metallic-side, and their power-chords are as good as guaranteed to dislodge any waxy build-ups.

BASTILLE DAY
PARIS, FRANCE
Fireworks ring out all over France on 14 July, to mark the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, a key moment in the French Revolution. The big bangs start during the huge parade along the Champs-Élysées, where you don’t need to be French to feel swept up in the revolutionary fervour.

GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE
VALENCIA, SPAIN
You need to be sitting track-side at an F1 circuit to appreciate just how noisy these face-meltingly fast little cars can be – it just ain’t the same on a TV screen. This event with a slightly grandiose title is the one held on the streets of Valencia on 26 June. Fast, loud and exciting.

THE ROYAL EDINBURGH MILITARY TATTOO
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
To kids growing up in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, the very essence of Scotland was served up once a year on TV with this mesmerising spectacle of cannons, drummers and marching bands – a sort of Metallica gig in tartan. Still going strong today, it takes place 5–27 August.

BLASTING KALASHNIKOVS
RIGA, LATVIA
Action-hungry stag parties head to Latvia, where you can shoot machine guns in controlled conditions. Wearing ear defenders, guys will still wince at the noise when their buddy opens fire. Ask in any Riga hotel for details of how to find a local shootery, or contact the tourist board.