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New Year's Eve rooftop bar celebration
Photograph: Katje Ford

Best New Year's Eve events and parties in Sydney

Sydney welcomes the new year before most cities in the world, and we do it pretty bloody well. Here's our guide to the best places to ring in 2024

Written by
Alannah Le Cross
,
Alice Ellis
,
Jasmine Lopez
&
Winnie Stubbs
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This year has been a doozy when it comes to Sydney nightlife – with the addition of a slew of sexy new wine bars, unfathomably epic hotels (we’re looking at you Capella) and some seriously swish rooftop venues giving our evenings the boost we didn’t know they needed. With such a stellar run of new openings, we expect to see some pretty impressive debut NYE parties joining the old faithfuls on this year’s festive calendar.

To help you choose between the good and the great, we’ve put together a round-up of the best parties to book this NYE – so you can ring in 2024 with a bang (or an intimate dinner – pick your poison).

Want to watch the fireworks without the hefty price tag? Here's our guide to the best free spots in Sydney to watch the NYE fireworks.

Ready for a celebration right now? Here are our picks of the best bars in Sydney.

Sydney's best New Year's Eve events

  • Bars
  • Cocktail bars
  • The Rocks

If you're looking for a distillery party with a harbour view, you’re greedy. Luckily, you’re also in luck – with The Rocks precinct’s cavernous warehouse distillery bringing exactly that. Tickets for Hickson House Distilling Co’s New Years Eve party start at $245 per person, and include free-flowing drinks, roaming canapés, live DJs and access to The Rocks precinct for a range of viewing aspects of our city’s spectacular pyrotechnics display.

  • Museums
  • Milsons Point

Seeing in 2024 from Luna Park is a ludicrously fun option, with each guest at their coveted Harbour Party promised a night of unlimited rides, access to Sydney’s first immersive underwater bar and an exceptional view of the fireworks. DJs will be playing all night across three stages, and there's the option to upgrade to a Diamond VIP ticket, which includes a harbour-view sit down dinner.

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  • Hotels
  • Luxury hotels
  • Darling Harbour

Another new kid on the block, the sprawling W Sydney opened this year after years of anticipation, and we expect their inaugural NYE party to be a big one. Festivities will include dessert from the 2am Dessert Bar and a dance party with free-flowing Veuve. Book a room for the night so you can start the year with a morning swim overlooking the harbour.

Sydney’s home of drag will make sure you see out 2023 in the most fabulous style with three levels of glittery, unpretentious debauchery. This year's party will see Superficial turn the basement into a euphoric pop club, with the main bar playing host to what the Impy does best: drag and DJs. VIP ticket holders can head to the rooftop for complimentary drinks and bottomless pizza.

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Bars
  • Cocktail bars
  • Sydney

The sky-high cocktail bar Dean & Nancy on 22 is bringing its signature sense of 1960's glamour to New Year's Eve, with a sultry evening of cocktails, live music and a tastefully opulent menu. Tickets start at $200, and include a welcome cocktail of your choice, a night of masterfully presented food, and a glass of sparkling wine to toast at midnight. New York-style views across Sydney’s skyline are complimentary.

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  • Bars
  • Pubs
  • Woolloomooloo
  • price 2 of 4

Step back in time at this beloved Woolloomoolo watering hole. The Old Fitz's farewell to 2023 will start with a glass of Champagne on arrival followed by a French-style banquet, all soundtracked by glamorous, gypsy jazz group Coucou Zazous. Tickets are just $120 per person – for dinner and a show on the last night of the year, that's pretty unbeatable.

  • Things to do
  • Fireworks

View Sydney is hosting a series of expertly curated events this New Year's Eve, including a sit-down dinner and a cocktail party on the big night, followed by a brunch on New Year's Day with free-flowing drinks and live DJs to keep the party going.

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  • Hotels
  • Luxury hotels
  • Darling Harbour

Clue Millésime – located on the 35th floor of Sofitel Darling Harbour – is offering a ridiculously opulent event for hotel guests. Book a suite or club room for the night, and you’ll have access to a glittering evening of canapés, jazz and bottomless Veuve as well as a pretty unparalleled dessert station from Executive Pastry Chef Ian Burch.

  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Sydney

If you’re looking to see out the year in one of the city’s most spectacular dining rooms, turn to Brasserie 1930: the handsome brasserie that occupies the ground floor of Capella Sydney. The inaugural New Year's Eve dinner at Sydney’s newest harbourside hotel is set to be a sparkly one, with $380 tickets securing you a glass of Champagne and a menu that matches the stately setting.

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  • Restaurants
  • Circular Quay
  • price 2 of 4

This sprawling restaurant on the top floor of Customs House offers what you could call an unrivalled view of Sydney Harbour at the worst of times, and New Year's Eve is no exception. Tickets for this particularly glittery NYE event will set you back $1,320 per person – and include a six-course dinner paired with Australian wines and Perrier Jouët Champagne.

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  • Restaurants
  • Barangaroo

If you're in the mood for a bit of luxury this New Year's Eve, head over to Barangaroo where you’ll find industry-leading chef Alessandro Pavoni’s A'Mare. Known for his corralling of inventive seafood and gorgeous views together over at Ormeggio at the Spit and Chiosco by Ormeggio, Pavoni is now rubbing together the wood of A’Mare in order to send sparks flying this New Year’s Eve. The four-course menu costs $390 per person, and includes delicate dishes including poached Moreton Bay Bug and Sardinian style roasted suckling pig.

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Tequila tasting at Mejico
  • Restaurants
  • Sydney

How does a tequila masterclass and four-course feast sound? Avocado-smashing, margarita-shaking restaurant Mejico is throwing a Mexican-inspired New Year's Eve party, complete with a DJ, featuring a modern interpretation of Mexican meals made from market-fresh ingredients. As well as dishes like kingfish ceviche, jalapeño poppers and Wagyu steak, you'll get access to a mini tequila masterclass and two-hour beverage package – all for just $150 per person.

  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Lavender Bay

For an intimate New Year’s Eve north of the bridge, head for dinner at Loulou Bistro – a staunchly French bistro tucked away near the base of the Harbour Bridge in Milsons Point. Head chef Ned Parker has curated an a la carte menu of Loulou favourites just for the night. After dinner, wander down to Lavender Bay and watch the fireworks light up the sky.

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  • Bars
  • Breweries
  • Eveleigh

If you're in the mood for a relaxed New Year's Eve, head over to BrewDog where you and a furry friend can ring in the new year at the bar and taproom's dog-friendly beer garden. Their doors will be open from 11am-1am, and speciality cocktails will be served all day long. When recovery time rolls around on January 1, head in for a beer and burger. Entry is free on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

  • Restaurants
  • Surry Hills

This Surry Hills drinking spot is covering all bases for Sydneysiders looking for an exceptionally fun NYE without the glitter. Their bottomless lunch will run from midday to 3pm, with free-flowing drinks to get you ready for the night ahead. Entry is free, but reservations are strongly recommended.

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  • Restaurants
  • Barangaroo

Fire, smoke, ice and steam. It sounds like it’s out of a George RR Martin novel, but actually, it refers to the four dedicated open kitchens that husband and wife restaurateurs Ross and Sunny Lusted have installed in the middle of their sprawling eatery Woodcut. This restaurant has got you covered for New Year’s Eve. Nestled right along the water in Barangaroo, you’ll have gorgeous views of Sydney Harbour and the perfect seat for the fireworks. Revel in this one-of-a-kind dining experience that celebrates Australian food with wood, charcoal and steam. Woodcut will be offering a luxurious four-course menu at $320/adult and $100/child.

  • Things to do
  • Food and drink

If you are into luxe living, and want to see our city's famous fireworks without getting swallowed alive by a mammoth crowd, there is a place for you. Bennelong arguably has Sydney's bougiest harbour view. This New Year's Eve, the fancy folks over yonder will be putting on a special dining experience for all those who enjoy the high life, with a night of haute cuisine, live entertainment and a prime view of the firework’s beneath the sails of our city’s most famous house. An evening at Bennelong on December 31 starts at a cool $1,600 per person – inclusive of Champagne on arrival and at midnight, a four-course menu (plus canapés) by Executive Chef Peter Gilmore, and premium wine pairings throughout.

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Bars
  • Pubs
  • Watsons Bay
  • price 2 of 4

If you’re keen to catch the fireworks from a different vantage point, this gin-fuelled affair on the eastern shores of Sydney Harbour is the one. Tickets start at $105 per person for a one-hour drinks package, or go all in for VIP status – a $349 ticket will score you a three-course meal, four-hour drinks package and unrestricted access to the entire venue (including a private bar area for VIPs only).

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Surry Hills

Dinner at Chin Chin (the Sydney mainstay known for its buzzy vibe and excellent contemporary Thai menu) is always a good idea. Start your NYE here with cocktails and a well-priced set menu, then head out into the night.

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A Hollywood-inspired evening at the Botanist
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Kirribilli

Another north-of-the-bridge option comes from our friends at the Botanist, whose theme for this year's NYE is 'Hollywood Walk Of Fame’. For $199, you'll score a glass of sparkling on arrival, a two-hour drinks package and a night of canapés in the Botanist's Art Deco drinking den.

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  • Hotels
  • Luxury hotels
  • Barangaroo

CIRQ – the terrace style cocktail bar on the 26th floor of Crown Sydney – is celebrating the start of 2024 with a masquerade ball: complete with flowing Champagne and appropriately high-end canapés. As Sydney's tallest rooftop bar, views are guaranteed to be spectacular, so make sure your mask doesn't obstruct your eyesight. Tickets to this sky-high, black tie event start at $988 per person – it's a once in a lifetime sort of party, and a very sparkly one at that.

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Sydney

The concept at this three-venue soiree is a house party like no other, which is something of an understatement. Taking over The Charles Grand Brasserie and Bar and sultry late-night basement lounge Tiva, House of 66 is set to be a deliciously ostentatious affair complete with a Martini trolley, a Champagne tower, an elegant French menu and a transcendent soundtrack from New Zealand based DJ Frank Booker. Each of the venue’s three spaces will offer a different experience, and different ticket types will give you access to just the one or all three, with additional Champagne packages available for those who want to really double down on the celebratory French theme.

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  • Bars
  • Darling Harbour
  • price 2 of 4

Baragaroo's spaceship style venue is hosting a three story time warp of a party – with each floor soundtracked by a different decade.On the top floor, you’ll travel back to the 90s – with rooftop cocktail bar Smoke transforming into a nostalgic haven. One level down, Rekodo will be offering a 70s themed disco, and on the ground floor you can step straight back into the noughties. The best news? Entry is free (you'll want to get in early to secure a spot).

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Mediterranean
  • The Rocks

The inaugural New Years Eve at our restaurant of the year is set to be something special, and we're entirely unsurprised. 

The banquet menu comes in at an affordable $180, inclusive of a glass of Champagne. Le Foote's uniquely magical energy comes as standard, and you'll be steps away from spectacular views of the fireworks above Circular Quay.

 

A Parisian style dinner at Hubert
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Sydney
  • price 3 of 4

Dinner at Hubert is as close as you'll come to 1950s Paris without leaving the country (and actually traveling back in time). That air of timelessness is particularly magical on New Year's Eve. See in 2024 with live jazz and a masterfully crafted French menu from Executive Chef Brendan Fong.

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Bars
  • Cocktail bars
  • Paddington

There's are several reasons this perfectly playful Mexican mecca won our bar of the year, and we have a feeling their NYE offering might give us one more.

Swing by the colourful Oxford Street spot for canapés and cocktails on your way into the city, with $160 scoring you three hours of elevated Mexican snacks (think cured snapper tostadas and blue swimmer crab tacos) and three of El Primo's signature cocktails.

If you can't bring yourself to leave before the countdown, head into the intimate hidden mezcal den La Prima – it'll be open until 1.30am.

  • Clubs
  • Darling Harbour

Located in Darling Harbour's Cockle Bay, this large three-story nightclub is playing host to two different events this NYE. If you're looking for a drink by the water, snap up a $27 ticket to their Tokio Hotel event which is taking over the ground floor. If you're in the market for a dance, head upstairs to the rooftop bar which will be serving up a varied dance music line-up (from EDM to RnB) and views across Darling Harbour (tickets start at $99). 

 

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  • Travel
  • Manly

Manly's recently revamped beachside hotel has made a name for itself for offering wellness-focused staycations with a side of debauchery, and their NYE celebrations are doubling down on the theme. $75 will score you a glass of Champagne and a degustation dinner at the hotel's Bistro Manly, with views acorss the sand. At 55 North – the hotel's marble-trimmed bar – a nostalgic noughties soundtrack from Kenobi will set the tone until 1pm, when it's time to head to bed so you start the year feeling fresh as a daisy (the magesium-enriched pool should help with that).

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