All over the world, people celebrate the arrival of the New Year in similar ways, usually with a spectacular display of fireworks, street parties, music and dancing, and plenty of fabulous food and drink. Yet each destination has its own unique touch and ambience. From New York's Time Square to the latest dance party in the land of Down Under, you're sure to find one that's perfect for an unforgettable New Year's Eve party.
Credit: y.caradecParisParis
Paris, France (prices and hotel photos)
It doesn't get much more romantic than watching the incredible light show and fireworks at the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris - or taking one of the New Year's Eve boat cruises along the Seine if you want a more intimate and somewhat private venue. No matter what your idea of a perfect New Year's Eve party is, you will find that the streets of the City of Light really come alive with thousands of people celebrating with lots of champagne and dancing the night away. In addition to the big show, small fireworks can be legally bought and sold in Paris, which means an abundance of colour and sound all night long.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.comLondonLondon
London, England (prices and hotel photos)
London's big party includes an elaborate light show accompanied by the chimes of Big Ben with over 250,000 visitors flocking to the banks of the Thames, along with a host of parties and clubs to choose from. The city's three-hour extravaganza also includes some 10,000 performers along with a large group singing along with "Auld Lang Syne." The party continues throughout the night and activities on 1 January include a long parade with colourful band floats, costumed dancers and a procession of the Queen's horses. The best places on earth to see the festivities are along the Victoria Embankment, Waterloo or Westminster bridges - on the water, enjoy a dinner cruise on the Thames.
Hotel Information
Credit: bigstock.com Sydney Sydney
Sydney, Australia (prices and hotel photos)
Sydney is one of the first capital cities in the world to welcome the New Year, so not surprisingly, you'll find many ways to celebrate here. At Sydney Harbour, you can join the boats full of revelers to watch the overhead fireworks extravaganza at midnight. Or, book one of the many waterfront restaurants on the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a front row seat to the brilliant light display. You can also expect to see indigenous smoking ceremonies, aerial flyovers, mini-light shows and an illuminated boat parade. A big dance party is also held at Bondi Beach.
Hotel information
Credit: Anthony QuintanoNYCNYC
New York City, New York (hotel prices and photos)
For more than a century, a large glittering ball has been lowered in Times Square on New Year's Eve. At 11:59pm on 31 December, the geodesic sphere begins its 70-foot drop, before confetti is released into the city sky amidst one of the largest parties on the planet. More than a million people typically arrive for this world-famous party that features great musical performances and a wishing wall where you can write your resolutions for the coming year.
Hotel information
Credit: mugleyMelbourne
Melbourne, Australia (prices and hotel photos)
The city of Melbourne in Australia attracts over half a million people with its exciting New Year's Eve celebration. It features two official fireworks displays, including an event to kick off the evening's celebrations in Yarra Park. At midnight, the extraordinary light show fills the entire city with colour as rockets are launched from the rooftops of Central and Victoria Harbour. In between, the city's stages host all kinds of live performances by indigenous folk musicians and Brazilian samba dancers in Federation Square, street performers and celebrity appearances on the waterfront. Visitors will also find rides and all kinds of sports activities.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.com New Orleans New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana (hotel prices and photos)
New Orleans is famous for hosting big parties and is also home to one of the best New Year's Eve fireworks in the United States. With a brilliant kaleidoscope of colours cascading over the Mississippi River, the 15-minute show is the highlight of an evening of festivities that includes the famous Fleur de Lis descent in which a large object fell from the roof of the Jax Brewery in Jackson Square, reminiscent of the Times Square Ball drop. In The Big Easy, parties often continue until dawn, with live music in all the bars and clubs in the French Quarter.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.comBangkok
Bangkok, Thailand (hotel prices and photos)
Bangkok is an exciting international city that is famous for celebrating a big party, and is one of the best in Asia for New Year's Eve. On 31 December, Bangkok pulls out all the stops for its celebrations, with every bar and nightclub packed with revelers, although the biggest event is in CentralWorld Square, where several hundred thousand people gather for a light show and live concerts. A number of restaurants offer rooftop dining including champagne and magnificent views of the fireworks, while numerous beer gardens line the streets. Families can also find a great place in Asiatique, a night market for all ages that is one of the most popular places to count down to the New Year.
Hotel information
Credit: Dave_BChileChile
Valparaiso, Chile (prices and hotel photos)
Valparaiso, the cultural capital of Chile, situated in the hills along the Pacific Ocean, hosts one of the most extravagant New Year's Eve shows on the continent. The city is home to a three-day festival with millions of visitors coming to witness its famous fireworks display - the largest in Latin America. To bring good luck in the coming year, locals wear yellow underwear, eat a dozen beans at midnight and put a $1,000 pesos in their shoe. Fireworks are launched from 17 different points along the coast between Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, with the spectacle ending with a cascade of sparks cascading over the water. The evening also includes a dance party full of joyous revelers that lasts until dawn - and sometimes beyond.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.com Scotland
Edinburgh, Scotland (prices and hotel photos)
The beautiful Scottish city of Edinburgh holds its annual Hoganay Hoopla, which simply means a celebration of the last day of the year. It lasts for four days and includes a city-wide torchlight parade, concerts and a huge street party on Princes Street. You'd be hard-pressed to find a city that does New Year's Eve with as much enthusiasm - 'Auld Lang Syne', written by Scotsman Robert Burns, takes on a special meaning when sung on the streets of Edinburgh. One of the largest fireworks displays in the world takes place at midnight, with the magnificent Edinburgh Castle as a backdrop, while the party continues until after sunrise. On 1 January, activities include a run down the Royal Mile, a dip in the icy waters of the River Forth, a dog sled race and the Loony Dook Parade.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.com Barcelona
Barcelona, âSpain (prices and hotel photos)
Barcelona is the party capital of Spain and saves the best for the last day of the year. In the hours until midnight, huge street parties occupy Plaza Catalunya, Las Ramblas and Plaza Reial, with huge crowds singing, sipping champagne and counting down the minutes and seconds until the New Year. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs host special events to celebrate, while fireworks light up the sky at the end of Barceloneta beach. Find a spot near the marina for the best view and be sure to stay during the first week of the New Year to see the 3 Kings Parade with its brightly coloured floats, marching bands and torchlight processions through the city streets.
Hotel information
Credit: borkur.netReykjavik, -IcelandReykjavik, -Iceland
Reykjavik, Iceland (hotel prices and photos)
Reykjavik might be one of the coolest places to celebrate the New Year, but Iceland's capital city stands out in one of the hottest celebrations on the planet. Locals organise a big city party that starts at 6pm with mass in Reykjavik Cathedral - listen or listen on the radio and then share a meal with family and friends before heading outdoors to watch the neighbourhood bonfires that are meant to symbolise the burning of the previous year's problems. Thousands of fireworks can be seen lighting up the sky from every corner of the city, while flame-fuelled gatherings typically feature lots of drinking, folk songs and people dressed as elves and trolls. Sometimes the Northern Lights make an appearance to complement the already spectacular firework displays. At 5am, you will find locals queuing for hot dogs and heading to the hot springs for an invigorating bath.
Hotel information
Credit: wikimedia.org Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (prices and hotel photos)
Brazil's cultural capital is best known for its turbulent Carnaval, but its New Year's Eve celebrations take place at the famous Copacabana beach, which hosts a series of events. The party includes giant stages along the shoreline and a wide range of heavy-drum music, extravagant Carnival-style costumes, traditional dance performances and fairground attractions that entertain visitors throughout the evening. More than two million people fill the beach with a mass of white, the colour believed to bring good luck in the coming year. They sip champagne, dance the samba and throw handfuls of flowers into the ocean as a gift to Yemanja, the goddess of the seas. During the countdown to the New Year, a procession of boats set off thousands of dazzling fireworks over the ocean.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.comHong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong, China (rates and hotel photos)
In Hong Kong, you'll find one of the best fireworks displays on earth, with an extraordinary fireworks display that includes eight minutes of light and sound showers over Victoria Harbour and a Times Square countdown that includes a midnight ball replica. If you want to see a good spot, make sure you arrive at least eight hours before the New Year officially begins. The best views can be found from the water by boat, but if you're on land, the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon or the bars in the Lan Kwai Fong district are also great places to celebrate.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.comPassenger Boat in SlovakiaPassenger Boat in Slovakia
Bratislava, Slovakia (hotel prices and photos)
In the Slovak capital of Bratislava, its medieval old town hosts over 10,000 people for concerts, open-air dance parties and a fireworks display on the Danube River. Multiple stages are spread throughout the area with some of the best local bands, dance groups and a variety of other performers entertaining all night long.Old Town is divided into a 'concert zone' for those who want to enjoy the music and 'party zones' for people who want to socialise, while massive screens broadcast celebrations from other capitals around the world. It is an unpretentious, noisy affair, with the use of rehtackas - wooden noisemakers intended to chase away any negative energy from the past year.
About the Hotel
Credit: royaltyfreephotosDubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (hotel prices and photos)
For its 2014 celebration, Dubai entered the Guinness Book of Records for having the largest fireworks display ever with 479,651 projectiles fired in six minutes over 400 parts of the Dubai coastline. New Year's Eve here is sure to be an unforgettable experience, with performances by global superstars who will also bring an unsurpassed dimension to massive parties that stand out from those held around the world in terms of grandeur and celebration. For the best seat here, enjoy an iconic view of the brilliant display from the luxurious Burj Al Arab hotel.
About the Hotel
Credit: Andreas PerhabVienna, AustriaVienna, Austria
Vienna, Austria (hotel prices and photos)
If you're looking for a cultured celebration, Vienna offers dignified balls, classical music concerts and some of the world's best symphonies on New Year's Eve. You will also find revelers in the city centre, in Silvesterpfad, with the party starting at 02:00. and lasting until after midnight. It is filled with hot mulled wine, caramelised apples and, when the Pummerin bell rings from the tower of St Stephen's Cathedral, a fireworks display begins over Prater Park. A dinner cruise on the Danube offers some of the best views of the magnificent display, but you'll want to save some energy for 1 January, when a giant crowd will gather in front of City Hall to watch the famous New Year's Eve concert by the Vienna Philharmonic on a huge TV screen.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.comSt. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Russia (hotel prices and photos)
St Petersburg's magnificent boulevards and bridges look incredible when covered in white and lit up with Christmas lights. The opulent Hermitage Museum is especially beautiful on New Year's Eve when it is surrounded by crowds waiting for the fireworks display over the Neva River. During the countdown, revellers sip champagne and send hundreds of paper lanterns into the night sky. Russians celebrate Catholic Christmas on 25 December and Orthodox Christmas on 7 January, which means that a visit during this period is right in the middle of the holiday season. The city's main attraction, the Nevsky Prospect, is decorated with dazzling lights and images of Father Frost (Russia's version of Father Christmas) are everywhere.
Hotel information
Credit: oopsartHawaii
Hawaii (hotel prices and photos)
If you want to be in one of the last places on earth to enter the New Year, the Hawaiian Islands are a great place worth waiting for. Enjoy the tropical climate and fantastic fireworks from the beach. You will find light shows lighting up the beachfronts at several locations on Oahu, including Ko Olina, Waikiki and Aloha Tower, as well as Wailea, Hana and Manele Bay on Maui. On Kauai, Poipu Beach is the place to be. Waterfront bars and clubs offer theme nights and outdoor music concerts, while a wide range of boat cruises offer all kinds of fun ways to celebrate the New Year.
About the Hotel
Credit: Derek KeatsDerek Keats
Cape Town, South Africa (hotel prices and photos)
Cape Town offers the chance to bring in the New Year atop one of the world's most spectacular natural wonders. Revelers can celebrate atop Table Mountain until 12:30, enjoying the uninterrupted view of fireworks from the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Or join those below for a concert of music and the brilliant light display. A carnival-themed train, live music and a variety of other entertainment including DJs in the Cape Quarter keep things going well into the night. On New Year's Day and the day after, watch the parade with 10,000 performers in white paint dancing and singing through the streets.
Credit: bigstock.com Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada (prices and hotel photos)
Las Vegas is a big party all year round, but on New Year's Eve more than 300,000 visitors show up to celebrate. At 6 p.m. on 31 December, the famous Strip is closed to car traffic and open to those who wish to celebrate by walking, drinking, mingling and watching the series of fireworks being shot off from surrounding rooftops. Live bands, pyrotechnics and laser shows transform the four-mile area into a giant street party. Most hotels, clubs and bars also offer special shows and activities.
Hotel information
Credit: bigstock.comBerlinBerlin
Berlin, Germany (prices and hotel photos)
The German capital has a well-deserved reputation as a festive city, celebrating its freedom with non-stop partying since the fall of the Wall in 1989. At Silvester, which is New Year's Eve in Germany, more than a million people fill the 'Party Mile', which stretches from the Brandenburg Gate, lined with music stages and numerous food and drink tents serving hot wine, beer and local German specialities such as currywurst - pork sausage topped with a curry ketchup. At midnight, revellers can enjoy a fireworks display followed by parties at all kinds of dance clubs such as Berghain, legendary for its wild parties that sometimes last for more than 12 hours.
About the Hotel