Top 10 Spots for New Year's Eve
Posted by Ivica Miskovic in Arts and Entertainment
10. THAILAND , Bangkok , Three Times the Fun
New Year's Eve takes place not once, not twice, but three times in Thailand, and its capital—Bangkok—does it in style. Your first New Year's Eve extravaganza takes place alongside the rest of the Western World on Dec. 31. Head to Bangkok's Central World Plaza, where you can dance the night away watching spectacular fireworks, Thai musicians throwing down the beat and raucous street parties. The second New Year's Eve is in mid-January when the Chinese New Year is celebrated in Bangkok's Chinatown, complete with funky colorful dragon parades, lion dancers and more fireworks. Finally, your third New Year's Eve festivities happen in April with the Songkran festival: celebrate the Thai calendar with more parades, costumes and water balloon-throwing festivities.
9. SPAIN , Barcelona , 12 Grapes for 12 Months of Prosperity
Be a part of Barcelona's año nuevo celebrations with its never-ending partying and plenty of drinking. Be sure to indulge in a traditional New Year's Eve dinner with family or friends. At each of the twelve strokes of midnight, be sure to eat twelve individual grapes, a symbol of good luck for the coming year. Then do as Spain's locals do: spill out onto the streets of the Gothic Quarter and Las Ramblas and dance the night away in the local clubs. Stay awake 'til dawn and head for the beach for a breakfast of hot chocolate and churros as the sun rises.
8. SCOTLAND , Edinburgh , Living High on the Hogmanay
Wear a kilt or don't, but be sure to indulge in the Scottish capital's massive New Year's Eve Bash. Hogmanay is a four-day festival that culminates on New Year's Eve. You'll not only get to drink some of the finest whiskey in the world, but indulge in a celebration that offers up everything from parades and concerts to dog races and wild parties, culminating of course, in a fireworks spectacular. Take part in the "first-footing" tradition by giving coal or shortbread to friends and family who are the first to set foot into your house in the New Year.
7. INDIA , Goa , Goa to the Beach
If you want beautiful photos of your New Year's Eve celebrations, then head to Goa, India, where the stunning natural scenery is the perfect backdrop for your reveling. All-night beach parties are how Goa rings in the New Year. Put on your bikini and get your groove on with the ongoing rave parties, illuminated with glow sticks. The best-known party is "The Hill Top"—a three-day bash where Indian women sell cups of tea, cakes and food on mats laid out for the people who need to take a break from all that dancing.
6. ICELAND , Reykjavik , Cold Temperatures, Hot Nightlife
Given that it's the northernmost capital of the world, Reykjavic has a great deal of experience in figuring out how to celebrate during long, dark nights, and New Year's Eve is no exception. The evening begins with Mass at Reykjavik's Cathedral. But if you can’t attend, you can join locals in listening to the Mass on the radio before having dinner. Join locals in listening to the Mass on the radio before tucking in to dinner. Then, watch Aramostaskaupi (The New Year's Comedy) on local television, in which performers lampoon local politicians, artists and businesspeople. Then it's time to rug up warm and head out into the streets with your Icelandic neighbors, where you'll stand around a large Brenna (bonfire) before watching the fireworks displays, which are dotted throughout the city. Then head downtown to party the night away and to live up to the city's motto: the colder the temperatures, the hotter the nightlife!
5. FRANCE , Paris , Lighting Up the City of Light
The City of Light is always spectacular in the evening, but on New Year's Eve, Paris turns into a mass of twinkling gems. The Champs-Elysees is the place to head if you want to be at the center of the party. Starting at around 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve, people start to flock to the famous street, often bringing along bottles of wine and Champagne and plastic flutes. Don't worry; there are lots of places along the Champs-Elysees, all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe, where you can find good views of the Eiffel Tower to watch the midnight fireworks. Also, don't be surprised if you both give and receive kisses (small ones on each cheek) to the throngs around you when the clock strikes midnight and you shout 'Bonne Année!' to one and all.
4. CZECH REPUBLIC , Prague , Bring Your Own Fireworks
Nobody does fireworks on New Year's Eve quite like the Czechs, so don't be surprised when the entire city of Prague bursts into an explosion of light and color at midnight. Spend the night wandering in and out of the many pubs and cafés, but at the stroke of twelve, be sure to head to Old Town Square or Charles Bridge. Climb the hill to the Prague Castle or the "Stalin statue," where the fireworks are launched. Or spend the evening on one of the riverboats where you can wine and dine until the fireworks begin. And if the aerial fireworks are not enough for you, you can pick up hand-held fireworks at Old Town Square and let them off along with the locals. Just be sure to block your ears.
3. CANADA , Niagara Falls , Thirty Thousand Reasons to Celebrate
A New Year's celebration in a stunning setting is what makes Niagara Falls' New Year's Eve bash a huge draw every year. "Party in Niagara" is organized annually by the Niagara Parks Commission, and the Niagara Falls New Year's Eve event planners provide party-goers with an outdoor alcohol-licensed area, food and drink stalls, and spectacular fireworks over the Niagara Falls waterfalls at both 9 p.m. and midnight. Best of all, the event is free. Held annually in Queen Victoria Park, it attracts around 30,000 people each year. Be sure to stop by Clifton Hills, the major tourist promenade in the town of Niagara Falls, where local and international musicians perform.
2. UNITED STATES , Texas, Austin , First Night Fireworks
Head to the Texan city renowned for its cool nightlife. On New Year's Eve, Austin really pulls out all the stops with its annual First Night Austin event. This family friendly celebration of the arts takes place in the streets and at select indoor venues, offering nearly everything from dance and theater to music and food. Streets are closed down for the Grand Procession and for the plethora of festivities that include the requisite fireworks, along with digital portraits, sculptures, puppet shows, clog dancing, jugglers and drumming.
1. UNITED STATES , Nevada, Las Vegas , Sin City Celebrations
The city that parties every night throughout the year certainly knows how to throw a New Year's Eve bash to remember. There are so many clubs, hotels, bars and casinos to choose from in Las Vegas, Nevada, that it's almost impossible to not celebrate in style. Outdoors, the Strip is closed to traffic so everyone can watch the grand fireworks displays high above the city's neon lights. If you can wade through the crowds, make your way downtown to the Fremont Street Experience and join the massive block party, complete with confetti, a massive wine toast, concerts by big-name rockers, and a five-block-long illuminated canopy 90 feet overhead, on which state-of-the-art sound and light shows are shown.
credited to gayot.com
Posts
