Many Swiss celebrate New Year’s Eve with a dinner with the family - either at home or out at a restaurant - and go out to party later. Lots of restaurants offer special deals for New Year’s Eve, usually consisting of a more or less extended menu and champagne at midnight. Choose your favourite restaurant in our restaurant chapter - and don’t forget to call them as a reservation is essential. It goes without saying that all the bars and clubs in town have New Year’s Eve decoration and parties - including rather high New Year’s Eve admission fees. If you’re not touring in too large numbers, bar hopping might be a good alternative to a club option, even though especially the Niederdorf area will be really crowded.


Silvesterzauber The biggest New Year’s Eve Party in Switzerland is called Silvesterzauber ('New Year's magic') and takes place around Zurich's lake shore. Dozens of food stands, bars and tents with party music turn the area around Bellevue and Bürkliplatz into a huge open-air party. The climax of the evening is the firework display. At exactly twenty minutes past midnight hundreds of rockets take off from boats on the lake. Around 200,000 people attend, so make sure you don’t get stuck snogging behind a tree and miss all the action. You wonder why the fireworks start twenty minutes late - for 15 minutes before and after midnight the city's church bells ring to bid the old year farewell and to welcome the new one. www.silvesterzauber.ch. Open 14:00 - 03:00. Free admission.