All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
For most New Yorkers, Times Square is a place to be avoided at all times—especially and unequivocally on New Year’s Eve. The Ball Drop looks fun and exciting when watched from the warmth and privacy of your couch but in real life, it looks like a million people packed between police barricades and squished up against each other in the cold for way too many hours, waiting for a 10-second countdown. And there are no public restrooms.
Have we convinced you to avoid it yet? Good. But fear not: The city still knows how to celebrate New Year’s Eve in a big way—you just need to know where to go. Here are some other fun and interesting (and, notably, bathroom-accessible) ways to spend New Year’s Eve in New York City.
City Cruises’s New Year’s Eve Dinner Cruise
When: December 31, 10:00 pm to 1:00 am (boarding time 9:00 pm)
Where: Pier 61, Chelsea Piers
Price: $620 for Silver Ticket, $720 for Gold Ticket, $840 for Platinum Ticket
How to book: Tickets available online
The glittering city skyline and a spectacular fireworks display (weather permitting) will be your backdrop on this three-hour cruise along the East and Hudson Rivers. Settle into the Bateaux, a class-enclosed boat, to enjoy a three-course dinner, an open bar, and a live band—plus those aforementioned views. Upgrade to a Gold ticket to get Champagne service and a keepsake flute, or a Platinum ticket for Champagne and an enviable window table. Tickets can be booked on City Experiences’s website.
The Peninsula New York New Year’s Eve Rooftop Party
When: December 31, 10:00 pm to 2:00 am
Where: The Peninsula New York, 700 Fifth Avenue
Price: $650 per guest; or $850 per guest with dinner
How to book: Tickets available online
Welcome the new year from 23 stories above Fifth Avenue at this long-running, black-tie New Year’s Eve event. For the occasion, the five-star Peninsula New York hotel’s glamorous Salon de Ning will be transformed into a Winter Wonderland–inspired party with live music and lighted dance floors that spill out onto a heated rooftop terrace. For $650 per person (not including tax or 18 percent gratuity), you’ll have access to a raw bar, passed hors d’oeuvres, and an open bar serving specialty cocktails. If you’d like to splurge even more, grab a ticket that includes a five-course dinner in the hotel’s Clement restaurant for $850 per person. Book tickets for the rooftop party and dinner on the Peninsula’s website.
NYRR Midnight Run
When: December 31, 11:59 pm
Where: Central Park
Price: $70 registration fee
How to book: Register online
For those inclined to get a head start on their healthy resolutions, there’s a four-mile road race in Central Park that begins right at the stroke of midnight (fireworks included), right after a 2024 countdown starting at 11:59 p.m. The course will take you around the park’s inner loop, starting and ending at the 72nd Street Transverse—with sparkling cider at the halfway mark. The registration fee is $70, or $55 for NYRR members, and you can sign up online. (Note for runners: Be sure to pick up your bib at the NYRR RUNCENTER on W 57th St. before race day.)
Westlight at the William Vale
When: December 31, 9:00 pm to 2:00 am
Where: The William Vale, 111 North 12th Street
Price: $275
How to book: Tickets available online
With delicious drinks and food, great design, and incredible views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, Westlight is one of the city’s best rooftop bars. It’s also mostly enclosed, so you won’t be freezing. For its New Year’s Eve party, a $275 ticket gets you an open bar, specialty cocktails, music by the Silver Arrow Band, and a champagne toast at midnight. Upgrade to a reserved table for a selection of shared plates and festive party favors. If it ends up being a clear night, head out onto the terrace at midnight to catch the fireworks over the city. General admission tickets are available here, while dinner reservations can be made on Westlight’s website.
The Roxy Hotel presents New Year’s Eve
When: December 31, 9:00 pm to 1:00 am
Where: The Roxy Hotel, 2 Avenue of the Americas
Price: Starting at $199 per person
How to book: Tickets available online
Get transported back to the 1970s at the Roxy Hotel’s “New York, New York” bash—a Studio 54-themed party complete with DJ dance parties, an open bar, and a midnight countdown. Guests can also stroll through an exhibition of Dustin Pittman's photographs—he's famous for capturing the likes of Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger, and Truman Capote. General admission tickets start at $199, but you can upgrade for premium atrium seating, table service, and stationed hors d’oeuvres for $400 per person; tickets can be purchased on the Roxy’s website.
Soho Grand’s Black & White Masquerade Ball
When: December 31, 9:00 pm to 2:00 am
Where: Soho Grand Hotel, 310 W Broadway
Price: Starting at $249 per person
How to book: Tickets available online
Continuing with the Truman Capote theme, the Soho Grand is putting on its 14th annual Black & White Masquerade Ball—an homage to the writer’s infamous Grand Masked Ball in 1966. Guests of the black-tie affair will get to see the hotel’s lobby decked out in black-and-white decor, plus enjoy a premium bar, tiers of hors d’oeuvres, and dancing. General admission tickets are $249 per person; but if you really want to splurge, purchase a private table ($3,000–$5,000) that comes with salon lounge seating, table service, and fancy bites like caviar bellinis, oysters, and truffle mac & cheese balls. General tickets can be purchased online, while inquiries for table reservations can be sent to newyearseve@sohogrand.com.
New Year’s Eve Dinner at The Carlyle
When: December 31, 5:00 pm (dinner) or 9:00 pm (gala)
Where: The Carlyle, 35 E 76th Street
Price: $170 per person for dinner; $895 per person for the black-tie gala
How to book: Reservations available online
The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel on the Upper West Side has long been a favorite hangout of travelers and locals alike. The grand hotel is worth visiting any time of year, but it also happens to be one of the best places to celebrate New Year’s Eve in New York. One option is to enjoy a three-course dinner at Dowling’s (the in-house restaurant), with prepaid reservations starting at $170 per person. Seatings begin at 5:00 pm and are limited to two hours.
And then there is the much more lavish (and expensive) option: a black-tie gala that includes a five-course dinner with live music, followed by dancing in the hotel’s Art Deco lobby. Tickets for the gala start at $895 per person and seatings begin at 9:00 pm. Note that this event is currently sold out, but you can add your name to a waitlist and keep your fingers crossed.
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
