07 Dec

NYE in Prague – 5 things to do & 5 things to avoid

There are two different approaches to NYE. For some, the question “What are you doing on New Year’s Eve” evokes feelings of anxiety and stress. Really, another year is over again? For others, the party planning, dress picking, dinner organizing can’t start early enough. You, dear guest, could belong to either of those species. Whether you are coming to stay with us in Prague to forget about the unticked boxes of your 2015 bucket list or booked your accommodation in Sir Toby’s already in March to spend the most perfect New Year’s Eve ever with your friends - we got you covered with helpful recommendations and party advice. Just keep on checking our blog during the upcoming weeks!

And for now, let’s start with some essentials. Here’s a top 10 list of things to do and things to avoid in our beautiful Prague around NYE.

Absolutely do

1. Make a plan! All good and even just the decent restaurants will be pretty much booked out. Popular clubs might also be pretty crowded with long waiting lines at the entrance. Booking a ticket in advance will save you some time & stress. So do your research before and/or ask us, we will be happy to help!

2. Find a good lookout spot. And get there in time. Public transportation might be limited at this day and hour, taxis are rare and will happily overcharge you. If you can't avoid taking a taxi, trust the cars with AAA on it.

Image by Michal Barbuščák

3. Go shopping! Christmas sales are still on. Looking for something special to bring home from Prague? How about some custom made diaries from Papelote studio? Or Czech design from Harddecore?

4. Watch the official New Year’s fireworks on the 1^st of January. In fact, the city doesn’t organize fireworks on the 31^st but only on 18.00 the day after. They are set off from Vítkov hill for the first time this year. Good spots to see it will be Riegrovy sady, Letná park, Strahov and Petřín, but also the river bank in Holešovice close to Sir Toby's.

Image by Karelj / CC BY-SA 3.0

5. Watch Dinner for One... A British sketch from the 60s which is less known in it's country of origin, but a really important German NYE tradition. And yes, there is a connection to Sir Toby's!

Absolutely don’t

1. Hang around Old Town Square around Midnight. That probably counts for every main square anywhere in Europe. It will be crowded. There will be inconsiderate people throwing fireworks around. You won’t see much.

2. In general, be cautious in crowded places. Pickpockets are likely to enjoy the combination of crowded places and tipsy tourists.

3. Get too drunk too early so you won’t forget your carefully crafted plans!

4. It can get pretty cold in here. Make sure you dress accordingly, especially when you are not used to the central European winter!

5. Miss your train on January 1^stin case you have a ticket booked! But well… Maybe you should stay for the fireworks anyway. Or even a few more days to relax and start the year off with some great memories and experience, proudly provided by Sir Toby’s.