Beiruting News

Here are the top 10 spots to ring in 2016:
(In alphabetic order)

Berlin

Any night's a great night to go out in Berlin, Europe's undisputed party mecca. But you can count on Germany's capital - like cuckoo-clockwork - to offer an even more outrageously good time each New Year's Eve.

Cape Town, South Africa

No New Year's Eve neck-craning here. In beautiful, balmy Cape Town, they watch the fireworks from above. Head to imposing Table Mountain - possibly the coolest fireworks vantage point on Earth - for a bird's-eye view of the pyrotechnics blasting off from the city's Victoria & Alfred Waterfront far below.

Dubai

They do New Year's Eve - like everything else - big in Dubai. The new Muslim year of 1437 will already be almost two months old come Dec. 31, but Emiratis wouldn't let that stand in the way of a spectacular party.

Edinburgh, Scotland

The unique Scottish take on New Year's celebrations, called "Hogmanay," is renowned the world over. Across the country, Scots celebrate with open-air concerts, giant bonfires, fireworks displays and cèilidhean, a kind of Gaelic hootenanny. In Edinburgh, things begin a day early, on Dec. 30, with a torchlight procession along the historical Royal Mile, ending in a sound and light show and fireworks.

Goa, India

Tony Caribbean island St. Bart's may be many high-end travelers' top pick for beachside New Year's Eve bashes. But sun lovers of all economic stripes who share a taste for exotic adventures increasingly make tracks for Goa, India's smallest and richest state, to usher in each January.


Hong Kong

The Chinese invented fireworks. No wonder Hong Kong places a premium on outdoing its global rivals on the pyrotechnics front each Dec. 31. In fact, it has to make an effort to trump itself - "Asia's World City" offers a 10-minute multimedia laser-light show incorporating more than 40 skyscrapers every cloudless night of the year.

Las Vegas

It may seem improbable, but Sin City manages to kick things up a notch each New Year's Eve, with pyrotechnics and parties - not mention jackpots - lighting up across town, from the neon-bathed honky-tonk of Downtown Las Vegas' Freemont Street Experience to the mega-casinos of the Strip.

London

Twelve "bongs" from Big Ben will kick off New Year's celebrations and signal the start of the UK's largest annual fireworks display above the River Thames. Hundreds of thousands of spectators will line the banks of the Thames River for a 45-minute public street party, with all the sky-rocketry and such synchronized to a live DJ set - but all the tickets are sold out.

Los Angeles

Think southern California and New Year's, and the iconic Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena will likely spring to mind. And you wouldn't be wrong; the spectacular Jan. 1 event is a must-see and rightly so. But you can get a jump-start on the festivities by heading over to watch floats being assembled the night before, after you ring in 2016 in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and other nightlife- and celebrity-rich Los Angeles-area destinations.


New York

What better place to party at midnight, and long after, than the city that never sleeps? Times Square is the Big Apple's iconic New Year's Eve destination, drawing some 1 million revelers to its five square blocks each Dec. 31 for noise- and merrymaking, celebrity entertainment and, of course, watching the famous crystal ball drop. Arrive early for prime viewing; spots - and free party favors - are doled out on a first-come, first-served basis.