No idea what to do during the upcoming week? Our week tippers know what to do! This week, Abi Froud says you should put on a funny outfit and celebrate Dutch carnaval.

It is carnaval season! It seems only appropriate to recommend getting involved in the celebrations this weekend. For those that are not native to the Netherlands: carnaval is mainly celebrated in the south. As Nijmegen is somewhat in the middle of the divide between north and south, it is perhaps not the best place to celebrate despite there being celebrations here. Instead, travelling to Tilburg, Eindhoven or Maastricht is easy enough. If you are a more adventurous spirit, there are also a number of carnaval celebrations throughout Germany. Carnaval takes place all weekend right up until Tuesday.

So for those not in the know, what is carnaval? Carnival is a Catholic tradition and the final celebration before lent where people get dressed up in fancy dress outfits and drink and party! This is usually made up of parades and music throughout the cities and a number of bar crawls. However, there are some other great traditions including a Prince of Carnaval being announced, who is temporarily in charge of the city and the carnaval celebrations.

Each city has something different to offer depending on their local traditions. Be careful though, as many cities change their names, as a sign of the role-reversal that the festival is supposed to represent. Eindhoven, or Lampegat as it becomes, offers the longest bar crawl in Europe on Sunday along with festivities in the Market Square. Our very own Nijmegen becomes Knotsenburg and celebrates with a parade in the city centre. Sunday carnaval officially starts in Maastricht (now known as Mestreech) with a parade throughout the city.

Although you can get tickets for some of the bar crawls and events, a lot of carnaval celebrations can be celebrated for free. So get yourself a train ticket, a colourful outfit and a beer and get celebrating!