If your autumn schedule needs some spicing up, here are ten tempting events happening in Europe and Canada this October.

Waves Vienna in Austria (October 2–4)

Waves Vienna is a music festival and conference that showcases alternative, rock, indie and electronic acts mostly from Eastern and Western Europe. This year over 100 homegrown and international artists are set to perform at a bunch of fantastic locations in the city’s first district, including public spaces, concert halls, popular clubs and a handful of other intriguing venues. The line-up features names like Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip, Mount Kimbie, Hidden Cameras, Scott Matthew, Mirel Wagner, First Aid Kit and many, many more. The conference part of the festival includes topical lectures, panel discussions and workshops.

Music Night in Moscow, Russia (October 4)

This one’s a free event with concerts taking place at around 250 venues throughout the city from 12 pm until late. With the aim of bringing music to the masses, concerts will also be held in public spaces like malls, pedestrian zones and even on public transport. In the past Music Night featured only classical and jazz performances, but this year contemporary musicians will also participate.

London Cocktail Week in England (October 6–12)

What a fun way to combat the oncoming cold! For an entire week, over 200 of the city’s best bars will be offering £4 cocktails to wristband wearers, as well as pop-ups, parties and tastings galore. So, what are you waiting for? Grab yourself a £10 wristband and join the party!

Edinburgh Restaurant Festival in Scotland (October 9–23)

Here’s your chance to experience amazing food prepared by world-renowned chefs. This festival celebrates Edinburgh’s best restaurants, cafés, delis and food markets with a range of fantastic dining deals and gastronomic events. It kicks off on October 8th with a glamorous gourmet evening at Ghillie Dhu hosted by four of the city’s top chefs. Remember to book in advance!

Festival of Lights in Berlin, Germany (October 10–19)

This year Berlin’s Festival of Lights will celebrate its 10th anniversary by once again illuminating the entire city with enchanting light installations. For ten nights, many of Berlin’s most famous landmarks, monuments and buildings will be transformed by the works of both German and international light artists. The best part is that it’s completely free!

Photo credit: Stadtlichtpunkte

Warsaw Film Festival in Poland (October 10–19)

Warsaw Film Festival has grown from a modest small-scale student project into a premiere film festival listed alongside big names such as Cannes, Venice and San Sebastian. The programme includes full-length feature films, documentaries and shorts. The screenings will be held at two different locations – Multikino Zlote Tarasy and Kinoteka. As the festival has become very popular, organisers strongly recommend buying tickets in advance.

Moscow Design Week in Russia (October 14–19)

Moscow Design Week is an annual design exhibition that showcases creative projects by renowned designers and industry professionals from Russia, Europe and North America. This year’s theme is “innovation to save the planet”. Participants will get the chance to explore the use of contemporary design to help solve ecological issues.

Photo credit: 2do2go.ru

Doclisboa in Lisbon, Portugal (October 16–26)

This documentary film festival examines the relationship between the cinematographic and the real. The programme is divided into 12 sub-categories and features both feature-length and short films. Screenings will take place at various venues across the city.

Reykjavík Comedy Festival in Iceland (October 24–26)

This is the first international comedy festival to be held in Iceland. Organised in cooperation with Comedy Fest Europe, it brings world-class comedians such as Stephen Merchant (“The Office”, “Extras” and “The Ricky Gervais Show”) and Jim Breuer (“Saturday Night Live” and “Half Baked”) all the way to Reykjavík.

Montreal Zombie Walk in Canada (October 25)

Last year over 10,000 people took part in Montreal’s Zombie Walk and this year it’s expected to draw an even bigger crowd! You can either do your zombie makeup yourself or get it done by professionals at the event for $15. The walk itself is free.

Photo credit: Franck Blais

Opening photo credit: Sebastian Thiel