How To Party In Two Cities On NYE
Looking for a fun place to party for New Year’s Eve that might not first come to mind?
PubClub.com has the place: Zurich, Switzerland!
Yes, Zurich. It’s an awesome city anytime of the year and for New Year’s Eve, 200,000 people line the banks of the river, pack into the park by the lake and watch a spectacular fireworks show over the water.
People come from all over Switzerland – the trains run on time and it’s only two hours from even the far corners of the country – to soak in the show and the atmosphere.
They start arriving about 8 and the party goes on until the early morning. PubClub suggests arriving by when the others do and strolling along the river to the lake. Start at the bridge by the train station and walk down the River Limmat. Stop and chat with people along the way, walk down to the edge of the river with your final destination somewhere along Lake Zurich.
Along the way, there are cafes packed with people warming up for the night, even sitting outside despite the chilly weather. Walking this area is electric with all the people; it’s the Swiss version of the Las Vegas Strip on NYE.
Where the river meets the lake, there’s a wide walkway and it goes on for several kilometers and eventually turns into a park. So just park it somewhere along the way and enjoy the show.
People in Swizterland are friendly – and fun, despite some prominent sterotypes – so feel free to start a conversation. Who knows, you may be partying with them all night!
And in Switzerland, you can legally drink in the streets, so bring your own cocktails, coolers, wine or champagne. If you don’t have your own, don’t worry; vendors sell adult beverages.
But wait, there’s more!
An hour from Zurich (by train) is the lovely little city of Lucerne (also spelled Luzern). And it, too, has fireworks.
These are launched over Lake Luzern.
And here’s the really interesting part: They start at 8, last 15 minutes and because of the efficient and easy-to-use train system (get the Swiss rail pass which also works on all city trams and even boats), you can catch this show, then be in Zurich by about 10 and catch that fireworks celebration.
Only in Switzerland can you see two fireworks shows in the same night.
And both over water.
Top Tips: Dress warmly as it will be chilly, perhaps even with snow on the ground…Get a room in Old Town Zurich…After the fireworks, walk back along the river to the Bierenhall or Splendid Bar for a post-NYE party in fun bars…Bring your skis and spend the first couple days of the New Year skiing the nearby Alps.
We tried this. The problem is the Lucern fireworks are the evening of new year’s day – didn’t learn this until 7:50 when we asked someone where they’d be when we thought it ods that there weren’t more people. Zurich does them just past midnight on New Year’s Eve. So yes, cou could do both but Zurich First and Lucern 8 hours later!
Well dang – it must have changed the past few years. We’ll be sure and update this article. Thanks and hope you enjoyed your New Year’s Eve!