With 2014 coming to an end soon, the time to make plans for the biggest party of the year is now. Soon, the holiday season will be upon us, you’ll have a million other things to do, and while you are occupied by these tasks, availability at all the best venues in the best destinations will be disappearing rapidly by the day.
Since your days of ringing in the New Year at your old favorite dive bar are long behind you, it’s time you experienced New Year’s Eve in one of the more classy destinations that can be found on this planet. Knock a major item off your bucket list – check out one of the following four cities on the evening of December 31st this year…!
1) New York City, USA
We may as well start this list with a city that is world famous for the high profile nature of its New Year’s Eve celebrations. New York City has been dropping a glass globe in Times Square since 1907, but considering that doing this involves arriving in the highly popular tourist destination at 2 pm and then not moving for twelve hours, we have some alternative suggestions as to how to usher in 2015 in a far more enjoyable fashion.
Rub shoulders with the crème de la crème of the New York social scene at 1 OAK, or watch Sir Elton John play in the New Year in style at the Barclays Center – either one of these is much more preferable than freezing your tush off outside to see a disco ball drop tens of feet down a pole.
Additionally, if your head isn’t killing you the next morning, try to head over to Coney Island to take in the spectacle that is Polar Bear Club’s New Year’s swim. Shiver vicariously as untold numbers of hearty souls dash into the frigid waters of Coney Island Channel, warming yourself with a hot chocolate as they thrash about in water that is barely above zero degrees Celsius.
2) Auckland, New Zealand
While there are South Pacific islands that technically greet the New Year before the largest city in New Zealand does, there is no doubt that Auckland is the best place for someone seeking to be among the first in the world to welcome the year 2015.
Those looking for a distinctly ethnic experience will enjoy High Affair, which is a New Year’s Eve event put on by DJ Areeb, one of the best Bollywood fusion disc spinners in the nation (if not the world), while Highlife is due to put on a repeat of its highly popular party at the Stonyridge Vineyard last year, which featured fine wines and liquors, gourmet food and high quality live acts.
Given that Auckland is known as the City of Sails, taking advantage of one of numerous dinner/party cruises is also highly recommended, as it gets you away from the crowded streets and it pits you in prime position to view one of the more stunning NYE firework displays in Oceania.
3) Tokyo, Japan
The Japanese may place a high level of importance on the occasion of New Year’s Eve, but in this affair, as in many others, they do the holiday much differently than we do it in the west. This fact alone makes spending the New Year in Tokyo well worth the effort, as the residents of this city attach a great spiritual importance to this time of year.
While the firework displays in Tokyo are truly spectacular (they were among the first nations in the world to make use of this celebratory munition, centuries before they caught on in the west), you may wish to be situated near a temple at around the stroke of Midnight, as the bells here are rung 108 times exactly to ring in the New Year.
Traditional temple visits called Hatsumode are also quite the sight on the following morning/afternoon, so if the sake you drank the evening before hasn’t hurt your head too much, make an effort to check out places like the Meiji Jingu Shrine, where locals seek purification for their souls, and the energy to attack the New Year with vigour.
As for places to check out in Tokyo on New Year’s Eve, don’t miss the high class restaurants and nightspots in Shibuya, while those looking to let their hair down a bit more will find clubs that are more free wheeling in Shinjuku.
4) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
With Rio being fresh off the World Cup, and set to welcome the world again for the Summer Olympics in 2016, there is no question that Brazil’s most high profile city is on a serious roll lately. This festive metropolis will only get busier as the next major event draws closer, so take this New Year’s Eve as an opportunity to experience the passion of the people of Brazil without feeling too crowded.
Be sure to bring some white duds, as it is customary for people here to wear this colour in order to attract luck in the coming year, and wear them to a party at one of the hotels facing Copacabana Beach (the appropriately named Copacabana Palace is an inspired choice), where you will be separated from the masses (and the pickpockets that work within these teeming crowds), and have a front row seat to one of the world’s most audacious firework displays. Given that this holiday is second only to Carnival in grandeur, this is certainly no exaggeration.
Book your best NYE yet! Call one of our expert consultants now on +44 207 255 1234.
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR REVIEW...