Don't listen to anyone who complains that the nights are already drawing in and there's no more fun to be had in the evenings. If you can afford it, head to the warm south for one of the summer festivals, or north for longer evenings; if you can't, how about a visit to a lido? BBC Weather (bbc.co.uk/weather/worldweather) has five-day forecasts and sunset times for most cities.
Until June 30
· Stars of the White Nights Festival, St Petersburg
ticketsofrussia.ru/ white-nights/
Fly out to St Petersburg next weekend and see the Nutcracker, Raymonda and Swan lake ballets, all on successive nights.
July 1-27
· Aix-en-Provence Festival
festival-aix.com
A number of Aix's operas will be held in the open air.
July 5-27
· Festival d'Avignon
festival-avignon.com
As you might expect at France's equivalent of the Edinburgh festival, Avignon also has a lively fringe scene known as "off-Avignon". The schedule is online at avignon-off.org. The town of Carcassonne holds its own, smaller, festival (festivaldecarcassonne.com) between July 4-28 with a similar mix of theatre and music. (Both sites are in French.)
July 16-21
Stockholm Jazz Festival
festivals.fi/english/
Guardian readers like Finland; so much, in fact, that you voted it your favourite European country in the recent Guardian/Observer awards. Scarcely a day goes by without a Finnish festival of some kind, but Helsinki's is one of the biggest. The Festival of Contemporary Finnish Dance (pyhajarvi.fi/ tanssit/) is also worth a mention; a festival pass costs €100 (£64).
Until September 14
Nuits de Fourviere, Lyon
nuits-de-fourviere.org
Cinema, plays, opera, music and ballet, staged on the site of Lyon's Roman theatres.
All summer
Go swimming at a lido
spri.cam.ac.uk/people/ ojm21/lidos/Lindex.htm
Detailed guide to every open-air swimming pool in the country - even tidal seawater lidos and disused pools.
Find a golf course
ifyougolf.com/coursefinder/home
It's a little too late to take part in the Midnight Golf tournament, which takes place in Iceland, on the most northerly course in the world. This excellent directory lists both course opening hours and prices.
Go to a London park or a National Trust garden
royalparks.gov.uk
The royal parks host an extraordinary range of events, from the usual brass bands to clowning "laughologists" for children, and an illustrated lecture tracing the history of the death ritual in Brompton Cemetery. Downloading the leaflet is a little unwieldy, so print it out if you can. Outside London, try the National Trust (nationaltrust .org.uk/main/thingstodo/event) for evening activities.
Go for an evening stroll kent.gov.uk/sp/countrysideaccess/index_spring.htm
shropshirestar.com/ features/walks
Two of the excellent local websites suggesting short walks which should be completed by nightfall. See also the Scotsman's recommendations (travel.scotsman.com/htm/strolls/) and its section on finding Scots Pines.
