There is a time of year when the whole world seems to breathe in unison, suspended between the visible and the invisible. It’s Halloween, when cities light up with pumpkins and mysteries, and travel turns into rituals of passage. According to the report NowNext’25 Of Oh my32% of Italians plan to travel more in the coming year, but not so much to “go”: to live experiences. Micro-trips, two or three day getaways, destinations reachable in a few hours but capable of leaving a mark.
Halloween, with its ancient alchemy between myth and ritual, becomes the perfect terrain for this new form of exploration.
The rites: between threshold and silence
In the beginning there was fire. When October 31st marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of darkness, the Celtic populations lit large bonfires to protect themselves from the dark forces that were said to walk the earth again. It was Samhain, the night when the doors to the Other World opened and the spirits of the deceased could cross the threshold. The villages dressed in silence, and every house left a lantern lit to guide their loved ones in the darkness.
The masks had a specific task: to confuse the demons, preventing them from recognizing the living. Hollowed turnips, the forerunner of modern pumpkins, were carved like small, luminous talismans. Even banquets were not just celebrations, but acts of protection: leaving food outside the door was a way to appease hungry spirits.
Today, in a more pop key, these gestures have transformed into urban rituals: costume parties, parades, orange lights and synthetic sounds. Yet beneath the glittering surface, Halloween remains what it always has been — a rite of passage. The night in which we honor what ends and welcome what begins again.
Italy: where witches still have a voice
In Liguria, among the peaks of the Imperia hinterland, Triora continues to call to itself those who are not afraid of mystery. The stones of the village still tell of the witch trials of the 16th century, and those who walk through its alleys swear they hear whispers of forgotten women. During Black Autumnthe nocturnal ghost-tour crosses the village like a collective spell, among lanterns, legends and a museum dedicated to witchcraft.
TO RomeInstead, the shadows of emperors walk alongside the ghosts of poets. Between Castel Sant’Angelo and Piazza Navona, the ghost-tour of the Historic Center brings to light stories of cursed loves and apparitions of noblewomen who never really left the baroque palaces.
And in Emilia-Romagna, Halloween is pure energy: a Imolathe Enzo and Dino Ferrari Autodrome is transformed for one night into an enormous city of masks with the Monsterland Festivalbetween music, performances and visionary costumes.
Europe between catacombs and river dances
In France, Paris he lets his dark side pass through him. The Catacombs, with the skulls arranged in perfect geometries, are populated with night tours, while above, in the streets of the Marais, installations and immersive shows come on that blend art and fear.
In Germany, Hamburg celebrate Halloween on the water: the Haunted Cruise slips between the warehouses of the port, in an atmosphere suspended between techno and gothic theatre, where the costumes become true tableaux vivants.
Further east, Budapest lights up the Danube. From masquerade cruises to theatrical tours in the basement of Buda Castle, the Hungarian capital combines Central European elegance with the echo of ancient Slavic legends, including vampires and wandering spirits.
(All European routes are bookable on Omio.)
Overseas: where legend becomes carnival
In the United States, New York transforms into a living stage with the Village Halloween Paradeone of the most iconic fashion shows in the world. Thousands of costumes invade the streets of Greenwich Village, while just outside Manhattan, a Sleepy Hollowthe myth of the Headless Horseman comes to life between cemetery tours and nocturnal re-enactments.
In MexicoThe Día de los Muertos it’s not fear, but poetry. From October 26 to November 5, the country celebrates life through death, including orange flowers, altars, colorful sugar skulls and processions that pass through colonial cities and pre-Columbian sites. It is a dance between worlds, where memory becomes celebration.
And then there is Saint Paulwhere Halloween takes on a tropical rhythm: the Noite dos Monstros transforms the city into an urban jungle of lights and music, between street art and rooftop bars. It’s the Brazilian version of the mystery — a nighttime carnival where demons dance to the sound of drums.
How Halloween is celebrated around the world: traditions compared
Each country has a different way of communicating with the unknown.
In Ireland and Scotlandwhere it all began, the night of October 31st is still dedicated to bonfires, torches that illuminate the hills and family gatherings where spicy desserts and ancient stories are shared. Fire is not entertainment: it is a border, protection, memory.
In the United States and CanadaHalloween is the great collective theater. Houses are filled with fake cobwebs and carved pumpkins, children knock on doors dressed as monsters and princesses, and the trick-or-treat it becomes an initiation rite: learning that every fear, if shared, hurts less.
In Mexicothe night transforms into an explosion of color. Altars are filled with food and flowers, cemeteries become open-air living rooms, and families sing next to the graves. The Día de los Muertos it’s a hymn to life, a way to tell loved ones that no one really leaves.
In Chinaduring the Hungry Ghost Festivalwater, incense and paper money are offered to the wandering spirits, so that they find peace and do not remain trapped between the two worlds. It is a night of respect and silence, where even the scent of burnt tea becomes prayer.
In Japanthe Obon festival — which falls in mid-August — recounts the same dialogue with the ancestors. The lanterns, lit and left to slide on the water, mark the return of the souls to the afterlife: small stars floating between the river and the moon.
And in Italythe days of All Saints and All Souls retain a similar breath: flowers in the cemeteries, tables set for the deceased, sweets of memory such as the bones of the dead or the bread of the saints. An ancient, subdued dialogue that links the most pagan festival of the calendar to its most spiritual roots.
When travel becomes a ritual
From Ligurian witches to Roman ghosts, from the Parisian catacombs to the Danube rivers, the Halloween 2025 trip is not just thematic tourism: it is a return to the archaic sense of travelwhat unites souls, ignites curiosity and leaves a trace.
After all, as legends teach, every journey is a threshold. And crossing it — even just for a weekend — is the oldest way to feel alive.
