Ten cities for the last night of the year, ranked on the fireworks, the place you watch them from and the party around them. Mapped, with what to book.
Every city sets off fireworks at midnight; few make the whole night worth the trip. We ranked these ten on the night itself: the fireworks and where a visitor can watch them, how the city celebrates beyond the countdown, and how easy it is to be out.
Two shows over the Harbour Bridge, a family display at 9pm and the main one at midnight, watched by more than a million people on the foreshore. Most vantage points are free but fill by early evening, so pick one and arrive with food and water.
The biggest crowd on any beach: Riotur counted 2.6 million on Copacabana for 2026, under 12 minutes of fireworks fired from 19 barges. Wear white like everyone else, and jump seven waves at midnight for luck.
Hogmanay is a festival, not a night: a torchlight procession on 29 December, a street party on Princes Street on the 31st, fireworks over the Castle at midnight. Street party tickets sell out, so book in summer.
No official show: the whole city fires its own rockets, bought from the volunteer rescue teams whose biggest fundraiser it is. Go to a neighbourhood bonfire in the evening, then climb to Hallgrímskirkja for midnight.
Fireworks over the Thames around the London Eye, for about 100,000 ticket holders on the riverbanks. Tickets have been required since 2014 and go on sale in October; without one the riverside viewing areas are closed to you.
The ball drop in Times Square is the countdown the world watches, and being there means pens that open mid-afternoon, no bags and no toilets. For an easier night, run the four-mile NYRR Midnight Run in Central Park.
Año Nuevo en el Mar lights the bay of Valparaíso and Viña del Mar from barges and the shore, about 18 to 20 minutes of it for 2026. The hills make an amphitheatre: take a mirador above the port and the view costs nothing.
A free party with DJs and fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate, and private rockets in every other street. Police ban fireworks in zones around the gate from 6pm, so the party there is the calmer view of a loud city.
Fireworks off the Burj Khalifa headlined 48 displays across 40 sites for 2026. Downtown roads close from 4pm and the Metro runs non-stop, so ride it in and arrive hours early for a place on the boulevard.
The first major city to reach midnight, with about five minutes of fireworks fired from the Sky Tower itself. The easiest night here: free, compact and seen from the waterfront or any street with a view of the tower.
Subscribe to the Wimup newsletter for new guides, travel news and more.
