Las Vegas is not the only place that knows how to start the new year. On the contrary! Launched in 1990, the New Year’s Eve trail in the Austrian capital has since become one of the biggest New Year’s Eve events in the whole of Europe.
Originally, its aim was to spread out the flow of visitors in Vienna’s city center a little so that not everything crowded around Stephansplatz. Today it ensures, among other things, that visitors from all over the world flock to Vienna even after the Christmas markets. But a visit is by no means everything you can experience in Vienna on New Year’s Eve.
A sporty start to the new year
Travelers from the USA in particular are often extremely surprised by the public holiday regulations in Austria. What they rarely have on their radar: January 1st is an important public holiday in Austria, on which not only the authorities but also stores for everyday needs are closed. It’s therefore worth doing some quick shopping in the morning for anything you think you might need over the next two days. After that, however, you can get straight on with the New Year’s Eve events. The Vienna New Year’s Eve Run has been a fixture in the calendar of events on December 31 for 49 years. It usually starts at 11 a.m. in front of the University of Vienna.
The running route takes you once around Vienna’s Ringstrasse. Over five kilometers, you pass some of the city’s sights, can admire the Christmas lights once again and set the tone for next year with a sporting event at the end of the year. The atmosphere is always great, partly because many of the runners start in costume. If you want to take part spontaneously, you can register in person on the day of the race. The entry fee is then €40, but there is a wonderful medal for everyone who crosses the finish line.
Sparkling into the New Year
While Christmas is still a typical family celebration in Austria, New Year’s Eve is a different story. People usually start the new year with friends. Many groups of friends have developed special traditions. One that occurs frequently is the champagne breakfast with salmon. For this, people living in the capital also go to places that are usually avoided because of the tourists. Take the Schwarze Kameel on Graben or the Haas & Haas teahouse, for example. Many hotels, such as the Hotel Daniel, also offer a sparkling brunch on December 31. At Chez Bernard at the Hotel Motto on Mariahilfer Straße even serves breakfast until 2.30 pm. So it’s the ideal place to drop in after the New Year’s Eve run, freshly showered and ready for culinary excesses. The setting is stylish, the atmosphere great. Lunch with oysters and champagne is also served from 12:30 to 4 pm.
Real New Year’s Eve pros then head straight to the New Year’s Eve trail. The two-kilometre route connects a total of eight typical New Year’s Eve locations in the city: Am Hof, Rathausplatz, Freyung, Hoher Markt, Neuer Markt, Kärntner Straße, Graben and Stephansplatz. In addition to stalls with punch, sparkling wine and lucky charms, there is a program from 2 pm. It ranges from a Danube waltz course on the Graben to various concerts and a joint midnight countdown. The detailed program can be viewed here. Important to know: There are access controls and it is forbidden to bring fireworks. Locals like to come in the early afternoon to escape the crowds. Subway trains, buses and streetcars run continuously on the night of December 31 to January 1!
New Year’s Eve fireworks in Vienna
There have been no official fireworks displays in Vienna for some time now – in terms of environmental and animal protection. In general, there are strict rules regarding the setting off of pyrotechnics. In the city, for example, only sparklers, firecrackers and table fireworks are allowed. Swiss firecrackers and rockets are actually prohibited. The fines for violations can be quite severe. Especially if you fire off fireworks near old people’s homes, nursing homes, animal shelters, hospitals or churches. Fines of up to €4,300 can be imposed. But that doesn’t stop private pyro fans from setting off numerous rockets.
If you like to welcome in the New Year with a bang, the best place to go is to one of the city’s viewpoints. But what are the best spots for watching fireworks in Vienna? Weather permitting, there are excellent views from Wilhelminenberg, Schafberg, Bellevue Wiese, Kahlenberg and Nussberg, for example. A visit to the Vienna Prater is also a good alternative or addition to the New Year’s Eve trail. At the winter market on the Riesenradplatz, you can celebrate from 12 noon with DJ sets and live music.
New Year’s Eve customs in Vienna
In many parts of Austria, some New Year’s Eve customs have survived. On the one hand, it is traditional to burn incense in the house or apartment on December 31 to say goodbye to the evil spirits of the past year. Wax pouring, on the other hand, involves melting a figure made of special wax on a spoon over a candle and then pouring it into cold water. The shadow that the solidified wax casts on the wall is said to provide information about one’s fortunes in the coming year.
In Vienna in particular, it is customary to eat Manner Glücks-Fische made from biscuit dough. In order for these to work their magic, however, they have to be eaten from the tail up. Rather less common, but still often a tradition, is watching the New Year’s Eve episode of “Ein echter Wiener geht nicht unter”. As in all other countries around the world, the last seconds of the old year are marked by a countdown. When it reaches zero, it is traditional to first listen to the ringing of the Pummerin (the bell at St. Stephen’s Cathedral). Either live or via radio broadcast. This is followed by the Viennese waltz, to which people dance into the New Year. Finally, a toast is raised with sparkling wine, champagne, Prosecco and a “Prosit!”. By the way, real locals with style do this with champagne bowls from the Auguarten manufactory.
January 1 in Vienna: public holiday and hangover mood
As already mentioned, the city is quite quiet on January 1. The stores for everyday needs, i.e. supermarkets and drugstores, are closed, as are boutiques and other stores. If you really need something urgently, you can use petrol stations or supermarkets at train stations or the airport. Many museums also use January 1 to close their doors. However, the Albertina, the MAK and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, for example, are open.
Many locals use the day to get a good night’s sleep and then have a hearty breakfast. Then at 11:15 a.m. the world-famous New Year’s concert. If you haven’t managed to get hold of tickets yourself – and most people haven’t – you can watch via livestream as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, perform a potpourri of classical pieces. As every year, you can look forward to the traditional encore: the Weninger version of the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss Vater. The otherwise disciplined opera audience regularly goes off like a neighbor’s cat.
