New Year's in Vienna
New Year’s Eve celebrations in Vienna are for many people synonymous with the Vienna Philharmonic Silvester concert that takes place at the same venue (Musikverein) each year. The tradition began at the eve of World War 2, in the year 1939, to remind the Austrian people that there was still hope ahead in the coming year. During the worldwide broadcast, the Vienna Philharmonic play a vast repertoire of music from the Strauss family and its contemporaries. If you are keen on classical music, you might consider making advance bookings (which are decided on a lottery basis) for this once in a lifetime event.
The city hosts several New Year's Eve events, starting from December 30, in the beautiful surroundings of the Imperial Palace. The Schonbrunn Orchestra performs a concert followed by dinner, Palais Auersperg hosts an elegant concert that takes you back in time, Palais Palffy is the venue of the famous Vienna Waltz Concert.
However, Vienna New Year’s is not just about the appreciation of high culture. On the last day of December, the city is convulsed in a spectacular street party. The place to be is the historic city center of Vienna, around the Hofburg or Stephansplatz, where the city organizes music, food and drinks, and the revelry extends into the wee hours of the morning. The Prater is another great location to celebrate New Year’s Eve, with its vast choice of clubs and discotheques, street parties and an amusement park that’s open all night! The city organizes a spectacular fireworks display that is best witnessed from the Prater or the city center.
If you’d like to visit a club for a New Year's party, head to Flex where you’ll find live music (and a party that goes on forever), or alternatively go to Schwedenplatz where you find many bars and clubs, from the more somber to the more raucous.
If you’ve had quite enough of the crowds on the first day of January, we suggest you make your way to the Schonbrunn or Belvedere gardens for a leisurely walk, or else savor a quiet afternoon at the Palmenhaus at the Burggarten.
The Vienna New Year's experience is one that everyone shall cherish. We wish you "Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr"!
