The turn of the year is a very special time. Shortly after the Christmas holidays, it is still freezing cold, sometimes snowy and the world is preparing for a new year with good intentions and new motivation. Many enjoy New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Eve with family and friends at home and look forward to cherished rituals. For others, however, the time of New Year’s Eve has always been a time to travel. When can life in a foreign place be felt better than among emotional people who take to the streets together to celebrate the new start? For all those travel enthusiasts, here are some beautiful destinations for the next turn of the year, starting with the festivities in your own country.
Start the new year in Germany
The largest New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Germany and also the one with the most onlookers can be admired every year in Berlin . If it is too hectic for you here, you should get into the diversity of our country according to your preferences. In Dresden , the fireworks await in front of the magnificent baroque backdrop on the banks of the Elbe, in Cologne the cathedral on the Rhine shines. Fans of the “stiff breeze” go to the sea, where they can escape the New Year’s Eve hustle and bustle on the rough sea. On Sylt , the traditional open-air New Year’s Eve party takes place, in Rostock-Warnemünde the “Lighthouse in Flames”. Germany is a travel destination of diversity and so it is very easy to find impressive New Year’s Eve scenery on the Müritz, in the Eifel or even at one of the mountain lakes in the Allgäu . If you were born for the alpine world anyway, you rent a lonely mountain hut with your family on New Year’s Eve and celebrate the turn of the year in a cozy atmosphere with a justified hope of crystal-clear New Year’s snow.
Celebrating New Year’s Eve in the heart of the EU
For a long time now, it has not been an effort to travel to neighboring countries. If you already know the party in Berlin, you should have experienced the fireworks with a view of Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower in London or Paris once in your life. In Vienna , on 31.12. Waltz courses in the open air, in Rome it is a little quieter with the distant view from the Pincio Hill to St. Peter’s Basilica. The “queen of all party nights”, on the other hand, awaits in Krakow with multimedia shows and live performances, while the small English coastal town of Weymouth is an insider tip: a kind of carnival is celebrated here and at New Year’s there is the big brunch at the sailing club. If you want to fly a little further, two islands are particularly recommended. It can be a little warmer in Madeira when the big fireworks along the coast of Funchal drive away the evil spirits for the New Year. There is almost certainly snow on Iceland and in addition to countless campfires, the fairytale northern lights lure not only on the extremely long New Year’s Eve.
Ahead of our time towards the East
The further east you go, the stranger the New Year’s Eve customs become. In Russia, where Moscow is a good place to celebrate on Red Square, Christmas is celebrated on New Year’s Eve with Father Frost. In Japan , mystical customs and a spiritual turn of the year full of tradition await travel fans. Every year, the fireworks display on Sydney Harbour is known from the news , which is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of its kind. A little later in world time, the journey continues to Shanghai, China, where one of the most impressive skylines in the world has been created within a few decades. But Hong Kong is also not slouching and offers German travelers in distant China familiar European tones. In Dubai , on the other hand, it is believed that this desert city by the sea was built for a lot of money just for a special night like this. If you want to experience a countdown in front of a skyscraper backdrop like in New York in the Far East, you can fly to exotic Thailand and enjoy the legendary “One Night in Bangkok“.
Slipping into the New Year in New York and Rio
In addition to Sydney , New York is likely to be on everyone’s bucket list for New Year’s Eve long-distance travel. In the city, which never sleeps and certainly not on New Year’s Eve, well over a million people meet every year in Times Square to long for the famous “Ball Drop” since 1907. In general, the USA with its world-famous cities, but also the natural highlights such as the Grand Canyon or the Yellowstone National Park are suitable for the end of the year according to personal preferences. In Rio de Janeiro , on the other hand, everyone knows what to expect that night: daylight fireworks at the Copacapana, dazzling samba dances, many cocktails and everyday life in Germany completely pushed out of their minds. Hawaii is wonderfully warm with temperatures around 25 degrees. Waikiki Beach is a simple place to live, and with the festivities felt there on your own body, the New Year can only be extraordinary.
Bonus tip: Prague for everyone
It may not be the classic New Year’s Eve destination, but Prague is always worth a trip and basically offers something for everyone on New Year’s Eve. The journey by bus, train or plane from Germany is fast and cheap and a pearl among European cities awaits. The private New Year’s Eve fireworks around the Vltava River give Prague a new liveliness and can be enjoyed either on one of the busy bridges or far away from the hustle and bustle. At night, you can immerse yourself in hearty parties (for example at the TV tower), but also romantically look out over the city from the castle or kiss each other on one of the many boats. New Year’s Day should be dedicated to the omnipresent culture and from 6 p.m. onwards it will continue directly with fireworks: The Czech Republic proudly celebrates its national holiday and so Prague can celebrate a second time.
