The 7 cities of Europe to visit for street art

When a city explodes in rainbows, the graffiti artists have passed by! Discover seven street art festivals in Europe.

Who said the cities were sad and gray? Who said art was only held in museums? Or that creativity had a limit? Anyway, not us! If you’re strolling through some of the major metropolises, you can discover incredible galleries of open-air artists. Aisles that put your eyes full, street corners with explosive colors, walls that aspire to you and carry you. Do you see what we're talking about? Street art, of course!

Born in New York City's urban labyrinths in the 1970s, this entire discipline quickly won all continents. Contemporary and free artistic movement, it uses various techniques and uses the urban environment. The graffiti artists see each façade, subterrain, wall, sidewalk, bridge, car, a future masterpiece! In Europe, since the 1980s, it is the street-art boom! The humorous, polemical, disguised, engaged, poetic graffiti is gradually getting into the streets.

Today, in our turn to celebrate street art! Go on a delightful and fascinating journey to discover the seven street art festivals to be made in Europe.

1. London, United Kingdom

London and its industrial districts are a fabulous playground for graffiti artists. It is the uncontested European capital of street art . Street-art appointments are mainly located in the hipster district of Shoredith: huge and absorbent frescoes, flamboyant doors, aurole paintings of vintage fronts, psychedelic facades. But Londoners also celebrate street art through two festivals.

The Meeting of Styles on the one hand: a convivial, free and family holiday, essential in the field. During this festival, held in May, artists honour both graffiti and the hip-hop world, focusing on aerosol technology. It is above all a place of exchange and sharing, where the gathering of a whole community gives rise to such fascinating and innovative creations.

The following month, on the other side of the city, Brockley explodes in the colours of street art. The event is a monumental showcase for artists from all over the world. Urban paintings make the work of real guided tours and documentary series on the roots of discipline.

2. Bristol, United Kingdom

Let's stay with our English friends to discover a must among European street art festivals! If you like street art, you probably know Banksy . This British graffiti artist, who acts in the shadows, has become famous thanks to his anonymous and subversive paintings. He uses his environment and manipulates the art of the stencil to perfection, always passing committed or humorous messages. Bristol is nothing but the fief of this bridge!

In July, this uncontested capital of graffiti kicks off the biggest festival in Europe! Named the Upfest , this event is a prominent figure in the field. The graffitiers, all as talented as they were, have three kilometers of streets to let their imaginations go free. The wildest paintings are more than six metres high. Visitors no longer know where to give head. They march on a funk, soul, hip-hop and reggae background.

3. Fanzara, Spain

In the region Valencia , between some amazing tapas and walks in the heart of architectural monuments, let yourself go to the celebration of street art. For this, go to Fanzara: an ancient city to abandon, saved by urban art!

At the beginning of this renaissance, the incredible idea of bringing together all the inhabitants of Faranza so that they realize a collective fresco. In front of the general enthusiasm, the city gradually opened to street art. Attracting the best graffitiers in the country, the confidential and obsolete streets were entitled to a real ravaging of facades.

In July, during Museo Inacabado de Arte Urbano , the town turns into an artistic, dynamic and muddy epicentre. The colourful and unusually original walls attract artists, photographers and curious from all over the world. We walk there as in a museum, where every street corner and sidewalk reveals extraordinary talents.

4. IbizaSpain

This event, in this festive and bohemian city, has a particularity. That's why it appears in our ranking of street art festivals to be made in Europe. During the last edition, the organizers set an artistic theme to articulate the whole event. During Bloop festival , the buildings, walls, bridges and facades are then related to their most beautiful assets, while retaining a spectacular unity. The young monuments are covered with graphic and colorful designs while the old buildings reborn under the jets of multicolored paintings.

The location of the works is kept secret until the last minute. The audience then discovers, shocked, the incredible graffiti. Creativity and boldness are invited throughout the route along the docks.

5. Chemnitz, Germany

Although the Berlin Wall is a strong symbol of German street art over the years, other places were invested by street culture.

In the city of Chemnitz, on the back of industrial sinter, iBUG , street art festival, pays tribute to the entire street culture. The graffiti and exuberant paints merge with metal. Artists enter into real symbiosis with their environment and give themselves to real artistic performances. All witnesses of the German industrial revolution reborn under the blows of bombs and brushes. Indeed, the idea is really to reinterpret the place, to invade them with mural paintings, posters, sculptures, so as to eliminate the atmosphere of desolation and abandonment. This is why this European street art festival is also a real laboratory for international artists.

6. Stavanger, Norway

If you are told Norway, you think fjords, enchanting mountains, immaculate and glacial landscapes. And do you think "one of the street art festivals to do in Europe"? Yet, at the heart of these fantastic natural paintings, street art has indeed made its place. Especially in Stavanger, the Norwegian capital of graffiti. If this city has a wealthy look, it is not snob!

During Nuart Festival , it is the engaged street-art that is put to honor. Works of art, immense and explosive, splash and transmit strong messages. Through mural paintings and graffiti, artists tell stories, funny or moving, share their ideas and vision of the world. They sometimes flirt even with the limits of politically correct, and we love it! This event of urban culture inspires debates, excite the crowds and highlights the pioneers and graffiti artists of tomorrow.

7. Biarritz and Pressigny-les-Pins, France

Every year, under the summer sun of Biarritz, street art shines for a month. During Colorama Festival , nearly 1000m2 are invested by graffiti artists with a unique artistic footprint. The particularity? This street art festival imposes a few rules that lead participants to push the limits of their imagination. For example, it can be a colorimetric charter designed to perfectly merge with the city. Once hundreds of liters of paint and spray have poured, the rendering is fascinating! Yes, street art requires as much technicality, precision and madness.

More north of France, the field of Pressigny-la-Valette has become an uncontested fief of street-art. This rich mansion has seen its facade completely revisited with exuberant colours of urban art. Little by little, the site has become a unique place of expression for the artists of the world.

Each edition is animated by a theme and has an educational, challenging and poignant dimension. Not to mention the battles, concerts or initiations to the painting bomb!