New Year’s Eve celebrations can have many faces. Some people prefer to have fun with their loved ones, others like crazy parties in the open air, and others like to dance in the club until they are out of breath. How do the people of Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul, or Amsterdam say goodbye to the old year and welcome the New Year? Although fireworks and toasts are pretty common on New Year’s Eve in all of these cities, each one has its own way to start the New Year. What exactly?
Music and illumination – New Year’s Eve in Berlin
Are you planning to spend the end of the year in Germany? Travel to Berlin for one of the world’s largest open-air New Year’s Eve parties – “Celebrate at The Gate”. As the organizers of the event assure, only Sydney, New York, Paris and London match Berlin in a flourish on that day. Hundreds of thousands of people will gather in the heart of the city between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column this year. In previous years, it was as many as one million! What attractions will be waiting for you there on December 31, 2021?
The organizers are planning a concert starring the singer Adal Tawil, extremely famous in Germany. The stage will be situated from the side of the Tiergarten on 18th Marca Square. A 15-minute fireworks show is also planned, during which up to 15,000 fireworks will light up the sky. It will be broadcast in 100 countries around the world. If you want to be sure you won’t miss anything, be at the Brandenburg Gate a few hours before midnight. In the past, entry gates to this free event were closed due to overcrowding. Are you going to spend more time in Berlin? The first New Year’s Eve attractions will be waiting for you and your friends at the Brandenburg Gate on December 30.
In the rhythm of Waltz – New Year’s Eve in Vienna
Do you associate New Year’s Eve in Vienna with an elegant New Year’s Eve ball in the town hall? Rightly so – it is the most famous banquet in the world, during which smartly dressed guests dance in the rhythm of Viennese Waltz. Do you prefer less formal New Year’s Eve parties? The Austrian capital celebrates the New Year in many ways. Choose the old town, which on December 31 becomes a dancing ballroom under a starry sky. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has not planned any official concerts, but there will be an array of attractions. Certainly, on New Year’s Eve, the sky above the city will be lit with fireworks and the streets will be filled with an amused crowd.
To keep up with tradition, Pummerin, the famous bell of St. Stephen, will toll at midnight. You will also hear Johann Strauss’s “On the Beautiful Blue Danube”, so be sure to remember the dance steps. Do not be surprised if Viennese, shrouded in shawls and hats, start dancing on the cobblestones of old streets! Do you want to experience something unforgettable? Take a trip to the Ferris wheel and admire the sky lit by fireworks from a height of 65 meters. If you prefer crazy parties until dawn, head to Vienna’s largest club, Praterdom, or other nightclubs in the Prater district.
On the waves of the Danube – New Year’s Eve party in Budapest
The capital of Hungary is the perfect destination for New Year’s Eve if you put a great atmosphere in the first place. Hungarians, as has been known for a long time, are extremely hospitable. Budapest, on the other hand, in the opinion of many, looks the most beautiful in the winter, illuminated by a thousand lamps. There is nowhere you can celebrate the end of the year in such an atmosphere as on Gellert Hill, Margaret Island, or Andrássy Avenue, which around Christmas are not only filled with the amused crowd but also with the smell of freshly baked chestnuts. In the vicinity, you can also jump out for a delicious coffee or a relaxing bath in thermal pools. How to spend the last day of 2021 in Budapest?
You can go on a Danube cruise with dinner and live music. Most ships on New Year’s Eve depart from the wharf from the Pest side around 4 pm, becoming a ballroom on the water. Imagine New Year’s toasts being raised at midnight on board a ship! If you dream of an elegant New Year’s Eve, you can try to get a ticket to the gala and New Year’s Eve concert at the Danube Palace. Do you prefer the casual atmosphere of street parties? On New Year’s Eve, city residents and tourists celebrate, among others, on Vörösmarty Square and the renovated West Square. You can feel the amazing atmosphere of these places with a thermos, a bottle of champagne, or Hungarian wine in your hand.
Fun on high – New Year’s Eve in Istanbul
Are you planning to combine sightseeing with New Year’s Eve celebration in some unusual place? Choose Istanbul! The city is a blend of oriental and European influences, creating a unique atmosphere. Although there are no official New Year’s Eve parties in the most famous city in Turkey, you will have plenty of opportunities to party like a star. Like the Istanbul people, you can first enjoy a great multi-course dinner with your friends at one of the thousands of restaurants in the city. Having satisfied your hunger, you will certainly have more energy to have fun outdoors. Remember that Turks will not start celebrating outdoors until about an hour before midnight. Want to take part in Istanbul’s biggest New Year’s Eve party?
Head for the most popular and entertaining Taksim Square in the European part of the city in the Beyoğlu district. You can celebrate in the street or in one of the local bars and clubs where guests will surely have fun on the terraces and rooftops. An interesting way to spend New Year’s Eve in Istanbul is also a cruise on the Bosphorus. From the deck of the ship, it will be wonderful to admire not only the illuminated Boğaz Köprüsü, or the Bosphorus Bridge, and the monuments of Sultanahmet. Imagine the sky shining with fireworks reflecting in the dark surface of the water. Do you want to celebrate like the Turks? You can buy a Turkish national lottery ticket and wait for the results around midnight. Maybe fortune will smile on you?
Amsterdam fireworks on Amster river © iStock
Ice dancing – Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve
If you want to contribute to extending your collection of unforgettable memories, go to Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve. This year, in the capital of the Netherlands, a great outdoor New Year’s Eve event is organized for all comers. It will take place in the heart of the city of Amsterdam, i.e. at atmospheric, illuminated with thousands of lights Museumplein. What attractions can you expect? The largest fireworks show in the city will certainly take place, and there will also be concert vibes at the stage where the greatest national music stars will perform. Remember to stock up before dusk falls. Currently, in the Netherlands, due to the restrictions related to the COVID pandemic, stores close at 7 p.m.
Do you like ice skating? Amsterdam’s largest open-air ice rink on the Museum Square will be open on New Year’s Eve until 9 p.m. Its surface is 3400 square meters! Longer, because until 11 p.m. you will be able to ride on the ice rink at Rembrandtplein. Do you prefer New Year’s Eve party indoors? In a city famous for its great clubs, you will surely find a place where you can enjoy the music until dawn. You can also go to the covered, but famous for its hot atmosphere and low temperature (-10 degrees Celsius), Amsterdam Ice Bar. See what fun in the ice bar is like.
Do you already know where you will spend New Year’s Eve 2021? Do you choose lively Berlin or traditional Vienna? Atmospheric Budapest or a bit oriental Istanbul? Maybe you became fascinated by the vision of New Year’s Eve in Amsterdam? Do not wait until the last minute and book cheap flights to one of these cities now. They are the perfect places to welcome the new 2022.
