It’s one of the most anticipated party nights of the year, but New Year’s Eve can be more fizzle than fizz for those that plan last minute. If you have no idea what you’re doing, that means you. Luckily, chic options await within a flyable distance that mix foodie affairs and VIP galas with DJ dance parties that we consider the best of New Year’s Eve.
Snow or Sea? That is the question, but not for the Moncler bunnies taking to the slopes of Courchevel for swish parties at Cheval Blanc and Les Airelles that follow with 2am dance party at Les Caves du Courchevel and fireworks over 1850. In St. Mortiz, new La Coupole at Badrutt’s Palace brings a new sushi concept by Nobu Matsuhisa that’s the perfect pre-meal to the midnight madness inside King’s Club that means you never have to leave the hotel. For those that prefer the sea, St. Barth’s will be party central for the world’s billionaire elite with the infamous NYE party by Roman Abramovich and more public soirees at Nikki Beach and Le Yacht Club that roar until 4am with DJs imported from Paris for the night.
In Rio, the fireworks and crowds of Copacabana are best enjoyed with a suite at the Copacabana Palace that offers early evening affairs at Cipriani and Mee �" its new Japanese fusion eatery. The Paris Opera offers early evening galas at both the Garnier and Bastille houses with party club revelers flocking to 79 for its Moulin Rouge hip-hop extravaganza, masked party at Silencio and fashion decadence at uber-glam Castel that’s now curated by Andre Saraiva. London’s fireworks over the Thames would be ideally watched from riverfront perches like the new Tom Dixon-designed Mondrian with earlier 7-course dinner at Sea Containers by Seamus Mullen. And in Las Vegas, choose between Lady Gaga with Tony Bennett and Drake at the Cosmopolitan, Calvin Harris at Hakkasan, Bruno Mars at Tryst, Iggy Azalea at Drai's and new SLS Las Vegas hosting Steve Angello at Life and Robin Thicke at Foxtail that are the hottest tickets in town.
