Ask any real Berliner if visiting the Berlin on New Year’s Eve is a fun idea and most will reply with an emphatic “Auf Gar Keinen Fall,” which can be translated as “Hell no!” Much like other big world cities, the Hauptstadt on 31 December becomes flooded with aggressive tourists and drunken teenagers looking for a rowdy night out to remember, leaving trails of disappointment and vomit in every district.
This is not to say that a lovely Silvesteris impossible in Berlin, it just requires a bit of preparation and stealthy maneuvering.
Go to a house party
Most natives will agree that the ideal way to spend a Berlin NYE is at a chill gathering in someone’s flat. If you don’t know anyone that’s hosting, there’s a good chance you can meet someone who is. Simply go to a bar, start talking to people and you will be surprised how quickly you can get yourself invited over for (in the most traditional circumstances) sekt, the mandatory viewing of “Dinner for One” (A 1963 British comedy sketch that is traditionally watched every NYE by Germans everywhere) and Bleigießen (“Lead Pouring” or more accurately, tin pouring, as lead is poisonous).
This is a game where you pour heated liquid metal into cold water which creates tiny strange sculptures that are then used to predict the fate of the participant in the coming year. If you are unsuccessful in charming your way into someone else’s NYE event, and you have a flat of your own, why not host and prepare the aforementioned rituals?
When the war breaks out, take a walk down the street
Berlin’s distinct NYE charm comes from the intersection of two liberal approaches to public drinking and fireworks. A top notch light show can be seen completely free of charge from almost any corner of Berlin within the ring (the area of the city contained by the Ring Bahn, an above-ground train with a large, circular route.)
Setting off fireworks on the street, off of balconies and even at each other is a common Berlin Silvester practice that begins during the day and peaks as the new year rings in with a seemingly endless barrage of explosives.
The ideal way to enjoy this multicolored, purge-esque carnage is from a balcony, but if you are not so fortunate to have such a vantage point, a walk to the corner or down the street at some point in the evening is a mandatory experience. Just go to a späti, get some beer and/or cheap sparkling wine and post up with some friends to watch the chaos unfold.
From indoors one wonders if a reenactment of The Battle of Berlin is taking place. Outside, the streets glow with blazing, colorful flares.
Public intoxication and cheap explosives … what could possibly go wrong?
On second thought, maybe stay off the street
Depending on what district you’re in, it could be best just to avoid outdoors altogether. While the entire city is ablaze with festive pyrotechnics in varying degrees of questionable safety, some areas of Berlin have gotten straight up crazy on past NYEs, with incidents of people setting trash cans and other sundry on fire. In some districts, children will shoot fireworks off of balconies at rivals on the street, so if you do brave the outdoors, be mindful of the occasional stray bottle rocket flying past your head.
Brandenburger Tor
If you must go out, and you want to drink and see some fireworks in a more controlled situation, Brandenburger Gate is a very mainstream and bountiful way to ring in the new year with food trucks, a ferris wheel, live performances and of course, a professional pyrotechnic show. Tickets are 20 euros, and bringing in your own alcohol or fireworks is strictly prohibited. Once inside, you can still drink and watch things go boom, just with a more official and less guerilla warfare-like vibe.
If you’re looking for something a bit more fancy, grown-up, safe and contained, a historisches Ballhaus awaits you. Located on Auguststraße in the heart of the Mitte district, Clärchens is a 111 year old ballroom and high end restaurant that survived two World Wars, a divided city, a Cold War and a Reunification.
A landmark and a living piece of Berlin history, Clärchens is open on NYE with a prix fixe menu offering traditional German fare and dancing all night. Book tickets here as early as possible, recommended for a chill and more mature evening out.
Probably don’t try to go to any of the big Techno Clubs
With temperatures below freezing, lines stretching four-plus hours for entry and door policies at their hardest due to massive influx of party tourists and non-Berliners, it’s probably best to avoid the city’s storied boom boom rooms.
If you really need a transcendent booty-shake on or around the 31st, try to go out the night before or the day after.
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