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Photograph: Matt Stanley

Guide to New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia 2018

Discover all the best ways to celebrate New Year's Eve in Philadelphia with our list of the best parties and events

Josh Middleton
Written by
Josh Middleton
&
Brandon Baker
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After a crazy-pants 2017, we could all use a good rager on New Year’s Eve. Philadelphia offers no shortage of parties and events, whether you want to ring in 2018 under a booming sky of fireworks at Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest or dance your cares away at one of the coolest Philadelphia nightclubs. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of parties to suit every type of reveler on New Year’s Eve in Philadephia, including dinners at some of the best new restaurants in Philadelphia and some shindigs for kids. Find all that and more below.

When is New Year’s Eve?

New Year’s Eve takes place on the last day of the year—December 31, 2017. Most parties get going in Philadelphia around 8pm.

When are the fireworks in Philly on New Year’s Eve?

In Philadelphia, you have two chances to catch the SugarHouse Casino New Year's Eve Fireworks spectacle on the Delaware River Waterfront—at 6pm and then again at midnight. They can be seen from most anywhere in the city, but we like a good rooftop or a spot along the river so you can look straight up at the lights in all their glory.

Best parties on New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia

Howl at the Moon

Howl at the Moon

The Center City dueling piano bar concludes 2017 with a four-hour open bar that includes an hors d’oeuvres buffet from 9 to 10pm, a complimentary...

NYE Live!

NYE Live!

XFINITY Live! organizes a New Year’s Eve wonderland for those wanting a little more variety in their countdown-to-midnight festivities. Hop between five...

New Year’s Eve at Rumor Nightclub

New Year’s Eve at Rumor Nightclub

Center City’s marquee dance club Rumor, a multi-room space decked out in neon lights that pulsates from state-of-the-art speakers, celebrates the new...

New Year’s Eve at Field House

New Year’s Eve at Field House

The spacious 12,000-square-foot Field House—certainly big enough to not feel so sardine-packed while you toast at midnight—lets patrons get down...

Eyes Wide Shut Masquerade

Eyes Wide Shut Masquerade

Embracing a more enigmatic New Year’s Eve experience, U-Bahn’s Eyes Wide Shut Masquerade invites guests to show up wearing masks and black-tie...

Burlesque Ball

Burlesque Ball

With Burlesque Ball at Tabu Lounge & Sports Bar, Gayborhood event hosts HoneyTree EvilEye and Flirt Vonnegut promise a sass-filled and sexed-up New...

New Year’s Eve at Dirty Franks

New Year’s Eve at Dirty Franks

Though Dirty Franks is better known for its New Year’s Day mummer’s bash, when revelers pop in starting at 9am to pregame for the day’s...

New Year’s Eve at Tattooed Mom

New Year’s Eve at Tattooed Mom

Tattooed Mom, the coolest bar on South Street, welcomes partygoers into its graffiti-laden space for a cover charge of $0—making it one of the cheapest...

Concerts on New Year’s Eve in Philly

Dark Star Orchestra at Electric Factory

Dark Star Orchestra at Electric Factory

Electric Factory welcomes cover band Dark Star Orchestra into its approximately 3,000-person-capacity music venue to rock the first hours of 2018 with the...

New Year’s Funkin’ Eve

New Year’s Funkin’ Eve

For its funk-focused NYE bash, FringeArts adorns its spacious bar and performance space with balloons and fire pits. Bust a move on the dance floor to...

Where to eat on New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia

The Little Lion

The Little Lion

New Year’s Eve is an all-day affair inside The Little Lion, the sprawling Old City bar and restaurant that’s tucked inside an ornate 19th-century...

Square 1682

Square 1682

While the rest of the city parties hard, Square 1682’s mission is to offer a relaxing, sophisticated and food-driven New Year’s Eve experience. The...

Brü Craft & Wurst

Brü Craft & Wurst

Touting schnitzel and tinsel, Brü fills its German Bier Hall with a buffet of hors d’oeuvres and a sea of pints, offering a five-hour open bar with...

New Year’s Eve events for families

Countdown2Noon

Countdown2Noon

For tired parents and little ones with a strict bedtime, this popular New Year’s Eve bash celebrates the dawn of 2018 with a ball drop at noon and again...

New Year’s Eve Party on Ice

New Year’s Eve Party on Ice

Spend your final hours of 2017 twirling on the ice at Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest. Attendees can enjoy food and drinks from Garces Group, Chickie’s...

Where to see fireworks on New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia

SugarHouse New Year’s Eve Fireworks

SugarHouse New Year’s Eve Fireworks

Ring in 2018 twice on New Year’s Eve with not one but two massive firework shows over the Delaware River at 6pm and then again at midnight. Most people...

Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest

Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest

Spend your final hours of 2017 twirling on the ice at Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest, which is hosting two parties on ice in conjunction with the 6pm and...

Independence Seaport Museum

Independence Seaport Museum

Independence Seaport Museum opens its terrace to offer guests a close-up view of the first showing of the SugarHouse fireworks. The spectacle begins at 6pm...

Midnight From the Top

Midnight From the Top

One Liberty Observation Deck hosts its very first New Year’s Eve party in 2017, offering a stunning 360-degree of the midnight fireworks show from 57...

What to do on New Year’s Day in Philadelphia

Go to the 2018 Mummers Parade

Go to the 2018 Mummers Parade

It’s a Philadelphia tradition, when dozens of performers dressed in lavish costumes march down Broad Street.

Center City
Two Street

Two Street

Get rowdy with the mummers after the parade’s over at this wild block party in South Philly.

Center City