Where are the best places to celebrate New Year's Eve abroad?

Quick picks

• Biggest fireworks: Sydney Harbour, London's Thames, Rio's Copacabana.

• Best street party: Edinburgh's Hogmanay.

• Most meaningful: Tokyo (temple bells and first shrine visit) and Seoul (the Bosingak bell).

• Warm and cheaper: Bangkok, or northern Thailand.

• Central Europe on a budget: Budapest and Prague, both with markets still open after Christmas.

First, check your dates against what's open over the holidays: 1 January closes more than you expect in Japan and Europe.

The big fireworks cities

1. London. Tickets are the only way into the fenced viewing areas along the Thames. The Mayor of London's office put the first batch on sale on 23 October 2026 through Ticketmaster only, at £55 (≈ $73) or £40 (≈ $53) depending on area (£35 (≈ $47) or £20 (≈ $27) for Londoners), up to 4 per buyer, plus a booking fee. A smaller final batch follows later in the year. Our London NYE tickets guide has every viewing area. Without a ticket, watch from a pub or a hill, and book your bed early via where to stay in London. We spent 8 days in London in November and December 2023.

2. Sydney. The harbour has dozens of vantage points. Some are free with no ticket (for example Mrs Macquarie's Point and the lawns of the Royal Botanic Garden), some are free but booked (the Opera House forecourt, with bookings reported to open at 10:00 on 26 December), some are ticketed by councils or NSW National Parks (the harbour islands and headlands), and the Cahill Expressway is by ballot. Free spots close once full, often by afternoon. Check the official Sydney New Year's Eve site for current releases. It is midsummer, so bring water and sun cover. We spent 2 days in Sydney in February 2023; see best time to visit Australia.

3. Rio de Janeiro. Réveillon on Copacabana beach draws millions: Reuters reported millions on the sand to ring in 2025, and the official count for 2018 was 2.4 million. Fireworks are fired from barges offshore, and the tradition is to wear white. Not on our route, so we have no Rio guide, so this pick rests on the reporting above.

Edinburgh, Prague and Budapest

4. Edinburgh. Hogmanay is a multi-day festival with a ticketed Street Party on 31 December. Edinburgh Tourism lists Street Party tickets from about £33 (≈ $44) early-bird, rising nearer the date, sold through official sellers rather than on the gate; packages with the Concert in the Gardens cost more. It sells out, so buy on the official Edinburgh's Hogmanay site only. Not on our route.

5. Prague. Midnight on the Vltava and Old Town Square is crowded and loud, with private fireworks set off across the city. For 2025, Prague cancelled its official city fireworks over noise and animal-welfare concerns, so do not plan around a central display without checking the city's announcement for this year. The main Christmas markets stay open to 6 January 2027 (our Prague markets guide). We spent 5 days in Prague in September 2022: see our Prague guide and where to stay in Prague.

6. Budapest. Parties on the Danube banks and in the thermal baths are the draw, plus Advent Bazilika, reported to run to 1 January 2027 (Budapest markets guide). Note that supermarkets and malls close early on 31 December, and most retail shuts on 1 January. We spent 5 days in Budapest in October 2022: see our Budapest guide.

Asia: bells, shrines and river fireworks

7. Tokyo. New Year (shōgatsu) is Japan's biggest family holiday. At midnight, temples ring their bells 108 times (joya no kane), though most now restrict ringing to monks, and many people make the first shrine visit (hatsumōde) over the first three days; Meiji Jingu stays open through the night. Many workplaces close roughly 29 December to 3 January, and many shops close on 1 January, though convenience stores and shrines stay open. Light-ups are in our illuminations guide. We spent 9 days in Tokyo in March and April 2023: see our Tokyo guide.

8. Seoul. The Bosingak bell in Jongno is rung at midnight on New Year's Eve, with around 100,000 people expected in 2023. That year Line 1 trains passed Jonggak station without stopping from 23:00 to 01:00, and the city ran subway trains to 02:00. Check Seoul's announcements for 2026. Korea's bigger holiday is Seollal: see our Seollal 2027 guide. We spent 10 days in Seoul in June and July 2023: see our 3 days in Seoul guide.

9. Bangkok. ICONSIAM on the Chao Phraya has run Thailand's headline countdown, with river fireworks seen along both banks; CentralWorld hosts the big street-party countdown. Thailand gives 31 December and 1 January as public holidays in the 2026 calendar. Rooftop bars and river cruises sell out and charge set NYE menus. See our Bangkok guide and where to stay in Bangkok; we spent 10 days in Bangkok across December 2022 and January 2023.

10. Northern Thailand. The quieter option: cool nights, lanterns and temple visits. We were in Chiang Rai from 28 December 2022 to 4 January 2023, after Christmas in Chiang Mai. See our Chiang Rai guide and how many days in Chiang Rai.

Costs and planning

New Year's Eve is a fixed date, so flight prices around it do not fall much by waiting. Fly out by the 29th and home on the 2nd or later to avoid the worst peak; see when to book holiday flights and how to find cheap flights.

For any of these cities, book the bed before the event ticket. A cheaper approach is to stay one stop out on a direct transport line and travel in, but check late-night services first: London and Seoul have run extended services on the night, while in many cities the last trains leave before the crowds do.

Pickpocketing rises in any crowd of 100,000: carry one card and a little cash, and agree a meeting point in case phones fail.

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