The best city in Europe to celebrate New Year’s Eve is in UK — but it’s not London

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Christmas is here, which means it’s almost time to ring in the New Year in style and pop a few corks.

Many people will likely head to London to celebrate the start of 2024, but it turns out the capital might not actually be the ‘best’ place to do so.

Brits might be surprised to discover that London didn’t top a list of the 10 best destinations in Europe for New Year’s Eve, despite people flocking here in their droves each year to watch the iconic firework display.

According to research by loveholidays, who used Instagram posts and activity to determine where the most popular locations for parties were located across Europe, it’s Manchester that comes out on top for ‘vibes and views’.

The online travel agent claims the city’s 20 Stories is the perfect spot to go on December 31, with the restaurant and bar in Spinningfields having racked up more than 20,000 New Year Instagram posts.

The bar is known for its impressive 360-degree views over Manchester, and tickets are still available for this year’s New Years bash if you’re looking for somewhere to go.

Prices aren’t the cheapest though, as they start from £75 for standing options, with drinks and dinner available as add-ons. 

Alternatively, if you’re in Manchester and want a cheaper way to celebrate, you could always go and watch the Castlefield Bowl fireworks for free.

The event has pedestrian access from Liverpool Road and Duke Street and kicks off at 10pm, with a DJ set from Hits Radio’s Jordan Lee.

If Manchester doesn’t appeal, there were plenty of other alternative options in the top 10 list, including Warsaw in Poland which came in second, with social media users loving a rooftop bar named Level 27.

The stylish venue in the heart of Warsaw has garnered 17,042 posts on Insta with the hashtag #level27.

This was closely followed by Salling Rooftop and the Roof Garden in Aarhus, Denmark, and MH5 in Munich, Germany.

London did make it into the top 10 list, narrowly missing out on a spot in the top five places to celebrate, coming in sixth just behind rooftop bar A For Athens, in Athens, Greece.

The Instagrammable spot of choice for London was Frank’s Café at Bold Tendencies, which has previously been named the best rooftop bar in the whole of Europe. However, it’s important to note that Frank’s Café is currently closed for the winter season, so sadly no one will be celebrating New Year’s there anytime soon.

But, as we all know, there’s no shortage of fantastic things to do in the capital on NYE.

Rounding out the 10 were bars in Budapest, Copenhagen, Istanbul, and Bordeaux.

Interestingly, none of these rooftop spots were in chic European hotspots like Paris, Rome, or Milan, which were all notably absent from the list.

And Europe’s ‘City of the Year’ didn’t make the cut at all.

For those who haven’t heard, Amersfoort, a small Dutch city that’s been hailed as an alternative to Amsterdam, recently scooped this accolade for 2023.

Located in the Utrecht province and home to around 160,000 people, Amersfoort has a lot to offer visitors, including a perfectly-preserved Mediaeval city centre. 

Lots of city’s quaint architecture can be seen in the Murrhuizen area – a selection of homes built when the city expanded in the 15th century.

As well as a very rich history, it also has a lot going for it when it comes to urban development and sustainability too. And as an added bonus, travel to the ‘undiscovered’ destination from the UK is pretty simple, too.

It’s easily accessible by train (which takes about 40 minutes) from Amsterdam Centraal – the same station that the Eurostar pulls into from the UK. Although, it’s worth pointing out that this is disrupted for six months in 2024, so passengers will need to change at Brussels.

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