The picnic grew from elegant outdoor meals of the Middle Ages, which were connected to breaks from hunting, and the word itself comes from French. The French Revolution spread the custom as aristocrats fled to other Western countries and brought their picnicking habits with them. In 1802 a fashionable group of over 200 Londoners formed the Pic Nic Society, which staged theatrical entertainments and lavish meals followed by gambling. Picnics later became a form of protest because they temporarily occupy public space peacefully. The Pan-European Picnic on 19 August 1989, held on both sides of the Hungarian-Austrian border, was part of the push toward German reunification, and it indirectly contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.