Halloween has become one of the great travel occasions: a time when certain cities lean fully into the season's atmosphere of spectacle, history, and the pleasurably unsettling. It's a great opportunity to have a break before the Christmas festivities get into full swing, or to embrace the fun full-on, whatever shape it might take!  Here are five cities that do Halloween with particular conviction.

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

New Orleans at Halloween is the city at its most perfectly matched to an occasion. Its relationship with death, mystery, and celebration — the above-ground cemeteries called Cities of the Dead, the Voodoo traditions, the ghost tours of the French Quarter — gives it a Halloween atmosphere that no amount of decoration can manufacture elsewhere. The Voodoo Fest music festival runs over the Halloween weekend, the French Quarter fills with extraordinary costumes that would look theatrical anywhere else but feel entirely appropriate here, and the city's bars, restaurants, and jazz venues operate at full capacity. Late October in New Orleans is also one of the year's best weather windows: warm, pleasant, and manageable.

• Hotel Saint Vincent is a former 1861 orphanage in the Lower Garden District, restored and reimagined into a 75-room hotel with a Southern Gothic atmosphere that suits Halloween exactly. The old wrought-iron gates, grand staircase, lush verandas and gardens, psychedelic wallpaper in the rooms, and mid-century furniture give it a character that is simultaneously glamorous and slightly unsettling — ideal for the season! Balconies, deep soaking tubs, and the hotel's popular pool and bar complete a very strong property.
• Loft 523 is a boutique hotel in the Warehouse Arts District on the edge of the French Quarter, with generously sized loft-style rooms (the smallest approaching 500 square feet) and a minimalist industrial aesthetic that suits the neighbourhood. Its location between the French Quarter and the Warehouse District offers easy access to Halloween festivities while providing slightly more space than traditional French Quarter hotels.
• Maison Metier is a guest-only hotel in the Warehouse Arts District with 67 rooms styled as Parisian chambers, nightly charcuterie and wine hour, a concealed bar called Salon Salon, and morning coffee left outside the door in a basket. For those who want Halloween's New Orleans atmosphere without being in the middle of it, the Warehouse District's quieter streets and the hotel's genuinely refined personality provide a very welcome contrast.
• The Pontchartrain is one of New Orleans' most storied hotels, a 1927 building on St Charles Avenue in the Garden District that has housed writers, musicians, and artists for decades. The hotel's long history, its elegant rooms, and its position on St Charles Avenue — along which the streetcar runs and where the Garden District's finest houses are located — make it a very atmospheric Halloween base.

San Francisco, California, USA

If you're heading to San Francisco at Halloween, you cannot miss the Castro neighbourhood's famous outdoor party; it's one of the largest Halloween street parties in the world. But that's not to say that the rest of the city doesn't have fun too! Haight-Ashbury, the Mission's Día de los Muertos celebrations (which coincide with Halloween weekend), and San Francisco's general willingness to embrace theatrical self-expression make it one of the country's most enjoyable Halloween destinations.

• Hotel Triton is a boutique hotel on Grant Avenue at the edge of Chinatown and Union Square with a playful, art-forward identity — eclectic furnishings, commissioned artworks, and a warm, unpretentious atmosphere — that suits the creative spirit of San Francisco's Halloween. Celebrity-designed suites and a dedicated commitment to the arts and to local culture give it a character entirely its own.
• Hotel Emblem is a design hotel on Sutter Street near Union Square with rooms that draw on the city's Beat Generation literary heritage — the Beats were centred in North Beach, adjacent to this part of the city — with books, typewriters, and a creative atmosphere that suits San Francisco's cultural identity. The Halloween period is one of the hotel's most entertaining times of year.
• The Marker is a boutique hotel on the corner of Geary and Taylor Streets with a warm, jewel-toned aesthetic and a Michelin-recommended restaurant, Tratto. The Tenderloin-adjacent location puts guests in the most characterful and unpredictable part of the city, and the hotel's personality — rich colours, bold patterns, a friendly atmosphere — suits the season well.
• Hotel Nikko is a larger property on Mason Street near Union Square with Japanese-influenced design, a sophisticated spa, and an indoor pool. For those who want to combine Halloween's revelry with genuine relaxation facilities, it is the most complete option among the four.

Madrid, Spain

Madrid celebrates Halloween with considerable enthusiasm and an increasingly theatrical approach — the city's nightlife is among the best in Europe year-round, but Halloween weekend brings it to a particular pitch. The old districts of La Latina and Malasaña fill with costumed crowds, the clubs of Gran Via and Chueca host Halloween parties that run until dawn, and the city's tapas bars and terrace restaurants continue undisturbed as the party builds around them. Madrid also has one of the finest collections of European art in the world: the Prado, the Reina Sofía (home of Guernica), and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum make for excellent daytime programming before the evening's festivities.

• Brach Madrid is one of the city's newer luxury boutique hotels, a property in the Barrio de Salamanca neighbourhood with a design that draws on Paris (the Brach brand is French) while remaining firmly rooted in its Madrid setting. The rooms are elegant and well-appointed, the restaurant and bar are strong, and the location offers access to the city's finest shopping and dining.
• Posada del Dragon is a small boutique hotel in the La Latina neighbourhood, one of Madrid's most historically atmospheric and gastronomically rewarding quarters, in a beautifully restored historic building with individually designed rooms. Its location puts the tapas bars of Cava Baja and Cava Alta right outside, and the neighbourhood's narrow streets and medieval character make it particularly atmospheric at Halloween.
• One Shot Prado 23 is a boutique hotel from the Madrid-based One Shot group, on the Paseo del Prado and very close to the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía, and the Thyssen. The rooms are well-designed, the service is warm, and the location between the three great museums of the Paseo del Arte is unrivalled for those combining the city's cultural life with its Halloween festivities.
• Casa de Las Artes is a boutique property in the Barrio de Las Letras — the literary quarter where Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Quevedo once lived — with a design that references the neighbourhood's artistic heritage and a position that puts guests close to both the Prado and the tapas bars of the Santa Ana neighbourhood.

Munich, Germany

Munich at Halloween is Oktoberfest's more introspective cousin — the beer festival has ended, and the city has recovered its composure, but the festive spirit lingers through October. The city's Gothic and Baroque architecture, the English Garden (one of the world's largest urban parks), Marienplatz with its Glockenspiel, and the extraordinary museum island, home to the Deutsches Museum and the Alte Pinakothek, all deserve time. Bavaria's castle country — Neuschwanstein is 90 minutes south — is at its most dramatic in late autumn, with mist and golden trees.

• Flushing Meadows is a boutique hotel in the Glockenbachviertel neighbourhood, Munich's most creative and LGBTQ-friendly quarter, with individually designed rooms and a rooftop pool that is one of the city's most desirable spots on the last warm days of autumn. The hotel's personality — design-forward, socially engaged, and slightly irreverent — gives it a character that is ideally suited to the Halloween season.
• 25 Hours Royal Bavarian is a large, characterful design hotel near Munich's central station, with rooms decorated with Bavarian folklore motifs, taxidermied animals, and a strong sense of Bavaria's tradition of the theatrical and macabre. The hotel's irreverent personality suits Halloween perfectly, and the location near the station gives easy access to the rest of the city and further afield.
• Parkhotel Rothof is a hotel in the Bogenhausen neighbourhood on the eastern side of the English Garden, a quieter and more residential Munich hotel than the central properties. The building has its own park, the rooms are well-appointed, and the neighbourhood gives access to the English Garden's extraordinary autumn scenery.
• Hotel Krone is a historic hotel in the heart of Munich with a long history and an old-fashioned solidity that suits the city's dual personality: simultaneously very modern and deeply rooted in its Bavarian traditions. The central location, warm service, and genuine character make it a reliable Halloween base.

York, England

York at Halloween is probably the single most atmospheric destination for the occasion in Britain. The city claims to be the most haunted in England with reason: 2,000 years of history, Viking streets beneath the mediaeval ones, Roman walls surrounding a mediaeval core, the Shambles (a crooked medieval street that inspired Diagon Alley), and the magnificent Minster all combine to create an atmosphere of genuine historical depth. The Ghost Trail, the ghost tours that run every night through the year but with particular intensity at Halloween, and the Viking and Roman heritage exhibitions all add a dimension unavailable in other British cities.

• Grays Court is the oldest inhabited house in York, a 12th-century building in the shadow of the Minster that operated as a private residence for 900 years before opening as a hotel. The 13 rooms preserve original architectural features from across the building's remarkable history, the walled garden provides a quiet retreat from the city's Halloween activity, and the Jacobean long gallery is one of the finest historical interior spaces of any hotel in Britain.
• New Holgate is a boutique hotel in a Victorian townhouse near the city walls, with individually designed rooms and a warm, personal atmosphere. Its location outside the walls but close to the Micklegate Bar allows easy access to the city's Halloween celebrations while also providing a slightly more residential base than the hotels within the historic core.
• No 1 York is a luxury bed and breakfast in a beautifully restored Victorian townhouse at the edge of the city centre with six individually designed rooms, exceptional service, and the kind of attention to detail that only a very small, owner-operated property can provide. It has consistently received some of the strongest reviews of any accommodation in the city.
• The Fat Badger is a boutique hotel and pub in the heart of York with rooms that reference the city's Viking and medieval heritage in a contemporary way, and a bar that draws locals and visitors alike. The hotel's personality — warm, slightly irreverent, with good food and drink — suits the festive spirit of Halloween weekend in York.

Still not sure? 

• Browse through our full list of best value hotel options in New York
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