Step back into the 1600s at the extraordinarily popular Florida Renaissance Festival, a month-long celebration of "olde times and monstrous pomp." Taking their cue from Shakespeare's immortal words, "All the world's a stage/And all the men and women merely players", each year the organisers of the festival manage to transform Quiet Waters Park into a Renaissance-era village, replete with jesters, falconers and artisans selling hammered pewter, lute-playing minstrels, jousting knights, and beer by the stein. Make sure to dress like a lord or a lady - unless, of course, you want to stick out.

Venue: Quiet Waters Park, Deerfield Beach

Date: 30 March to 14 April 2013

Website: www.ren-fest.com