Best cities to celebrate new year

New Year’s Eve is one of the most overly hyped occasions of the year, with celebrations all over the world. But the news often show images from the same old places. The fireworks illuminating the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, fireworks next to Big Ben in London, the giant ball hovering above Times Square in New York (this is actually the 100th year they are doing this and they have a new design for the ball), and so on.

So when I stumbled upon this top 5 list by Sherman’s Travel, I felt it was refreshing:

1. Aspen, Colorado
2. Bangkok, Thailand
3. Barcelona, Spain (bring your grapes!)
4. Edinburgh, Scotland
5. Goa, India

Fireworks in downtown Sydney.

Many of the entries were expected, but I definitely didn’t see Aspen coming.

Unfortunately, celebrating New Year’s Eve abroad can be a pain. For the most popular destinations, the hotels are sometimes sold out one year in advance (trust me, I’ve experienced this). And even if you get a room, that particular weekend is of course going to be very expensive for other reasons such as restaurant prices.

However, last year I celebrated New Year’s Eve in Sydney and it was a blast. This year I’m not that fortunate, but I wish all my friends and readers a Happy New Year!