New Years in Europe

Flynn

I'm meeting a friend from Oz somewhere in Europe this new years. A quick search has thrown up some great suggestions.. here

Has anyone been to any of these cities for new years? Will only be there from the 28th - 2nd so mainly looking for a party scene and big new years celebrations.. at the moment thinking Madrid as i'm hoping it to be as good as Barcelona.. but would like to hear your experiences..??

Cheers.

ardmacha

Madrid is lively and people do eat the 12 grapes in Sol.
Central Europe does a mighty new year, loads of people about, beer and sausage stalls. Berlin is good, Vienna is very busy but is a bit more reserved, also Prague and Munich are up there. IMHO Budapest is pretty quiet by comparison.

Cost wise some places that are good have premium hotel rates then, while other places less popular have much lower hotel rates and flights can be busy too.

Madrid is grand, but it is relatively cold there then, not so different from Ireland. Barcelona would still be more like this time of year in Ireland. Central Europe could be very cold, but snow can make it memorable too. I haven't been in Dubrovnik, but are there direct flights there at that time of year?

rossie1977

berlin is really good, the concert in the tiergarten is the big event that attracts 100s of thousands, but when we were there it was very cold

rome there wasn't much happening at least back in 2003, the one advantage of visiting rome that time of year is that the tourist attractions are clear of tourists on january 2nd

Flynn

Thanks for the reply's, is the cold in Berlin that bad that it would put you off going? I'm not too pushed about finding somewhere "warmish" as heading to Europe in December i'm not expecting much, actually wouldn't mind some snow!

I've been to Barcelona already but see it as a kind of summer destination. Is this also true of Madrid?

Paris is out as that's where my mate will be coming from beforehand, also not too keen on brussles as i've been and would like to go somewhere new..
Proving very hard to decide!

ardmacha

Thanks for the reply's, is the cold in Berlin that bad that it would put you off going?

It didn't put me off going . Frosty weather can be pleasant enough if you are dressed properly. But you'd probably need a woolly hat, gloves etc and a decent coat which a lot of Irish people don't bother with here. It could be like December 2010 was here or then again last year was mild in Germany also and not much different than here. You won't know when booking a flight,but can check what to pack closer to the date. A glass of glühwein helps keep the chill out.

You won't get warm in Europe in December, to get mild Barcelona or Naples would do the trick.

You are certainly right not to rate Brussels.

MeMeJK1

Berlin is great for New Years. So many things going on to chose from that you would definitely find something for all tastes. I don't think it will be particularly warm in any of the cities quoted that time of the year so I wouldn't make a decision based on the weather for this particular occasion.
Amsterdam is also not too bad for New Years as of things going on but personally I found the city too overcrowded and dangerous at times as fireworks were often aimed into the crowd.

Flynn

ardmacha wrote: »

It didn't put me off going . It could be like December 2010 was here or then again last year was mild in Germany also and not much different than here.

Last winter was my first in ireland in 4 years (and apparently the mildest in recent years) but i can imagine it! Once again, thanks for the info, i'll let ya know where we decide

Flynn

MeMeJK1 wrote: »

Berlin is great for New Years. So many things going on to chose from that you would definitely find something for all tastes. I don't think it will be particularly warm in any of the cities quoted that time of the year so I wouldn't make a decision based on the weather for this particular occasion.
Amsterdam is also not too bad for New Years as of things going on but personally I found the city too overcrowded and dangerous at times as fireworks were often aimed into the crowd.

I think you're right on the weather, i'm not gonna use it to sway my decision although i'd imagine a bad winter could bring about some cancelled flights on the way home but feck it! Berlin is lookin likely now..