Top picks
Some soup festivals are bigger than the rest: tens of thousands at the tables, decades of editions, a soup the whole country knows. These are the ones worth planning a trip around, world-class first, then each country's best, the next to happen first.
Lille, France
Since 2001 · about 40,000 visitors
A free street festival in Lille's Wazemmes district where families, associations and schools cook soup in the street and compete for the Louche d'Or ladle.
Expected early May 2027
Santa Cruz, California, United States
The largest clam chowder contest in the US
A two-day clam chowder competition on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, amateurs on Saturday and professionals on Sunday.
Next: February 20 - February 21, 2027
Vilnius, Lithuania
100,000+ visitors over three days
Vilnius turns pink for a free city-wide festival of šaltibarščiai, Lithuania's cold beetroot soup, with a giant foam slide, a parade in pink costumes and concerts.
Next: May 28 - May 30, 2027
Suita, Japan
Since 2013 · 110,000+ visitors per edition
A multi-week ramen event on the Festival Plaza at Expo Memorial Park in Osaka, billed as western Japan's largest. Each act brings a new set of shops.
Next: November 21, 2026, November 27, 2026, December 04, 2026, December 11, 2026, December 18, 2026, and December 26, 2026
Reykjavik, Iceland
Since 2002 · about 10,000 visitors a year
On the first day of winter, the shops and restaurants of Skólavörðustígur hand out free Icelandic lamb soup to anyone passing by, from pots set up along the street below Hallgrímskirkja.
Expected late October 2026
Almeirim, Portugal
Portugal's emblematic soup · 4,000+ litres
Almeirim celebrates its famous stone soup (sopa da pedra) with several days of food stalls, concerts and crafts in the town park.
Expected late August 2027
Saratoga Springs, New York, United States
35,000+ visitors · 109,000+ bowls served
A winter street festival that fills downtown Saratoga Springs with chowder: dozens of local restaurants and shops serve small samples, and visitors vote for their favourite.
Next: February 06, 2027
Baja, Hungary
Since 1996 · up to 2,000 cauldrons at once
Baja's fish-soup festival, where hundreds of cauldrons of bajai halászlé bubble in the town centre while stages on Petőfi Island play concerts.
Expected early July 2027
New Iberia, Louisiana, United States
Louisiana's world championship · 70+ teams
Dozens of teams cook gumbo in downtown New Iberia, Louisiana, with a food fair and music around the competition.
Expected early October 2027
Taipei, Taiwan
Since 2005 · run by the city of Taipei
Taipei's yearly beef noodle soup festival, held at Yuanshan Flower Expo Park, with a competition among beef noodle makers and food stalls.
Expected early October 2027
Nam Định, Vietnam
Pho's home province · 15,000+ bowls served
A pho festival in Nam Định, the province tied to the origins of the noodle soup, with events in Vân Cù village and in the city centre.
Expected mid-March 2027
Newport, Rhode Island, United States
The longest-running US chowder championship
One of the longest-running chowder competitions in the United States, with restaurants vying for titles on the lawns of Fort Adams.
Expected early June 2027
