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Places to Play on New Year's Day
Party Guide!
Where to Spend
the Day After the Night Before
The Rose Bowl makes LA one of the top places to spend New Year's Day.
Instead of being partied out after New Year's Eve, PubClub.com says Party On!
One of the things about NYE – be it epic or just mildly entertaining – is the letdown on the next day. There's simply no great party on the horizon. Or so it seems.
But it doesn't have to be that way. The world has just offered its inhabitants an entirely new year and the way we look at it, the party has only just begun!
With that in mind, PubClub.com presents The Best Places to Spend New Year's Day. So get ready to let that "shampoo effect" (that is, one or two drinks triggering a near-instant left-over buzz from the previous night) do its role and put you on a roll each Jan. 1.
– TOP NEW YEAR'S DAY PARTY PLACES –
In Vegas, the party does't sleep when New Year Day arrives.
• #1 – LAS VEGAS. The fireworks along the Strip are but a memory, the confetti from Freemont Street is gone and Las Vegas returns to what amounts to normal in this city.
Well, not exactly. It's New Year's Day and in Las Vegas that can be nearly as much fun as New Year's Eve itself.
That's because there's always a party in Vegas. Days can begin with champagne at bunch (for those who got enough bubby the night before there's always mimosas or Bloody Marys), the sports books in the casinos are absolutley the best place to park it to watch the bowl games (make a few wagers and drink the day away for free) and when the games are done, there's all that great Las Vegas nightlife!
Here are other reasons Las Vegas is PubClub.com's #1 Place to Spend New Year's Day. There are plenty of places to find a lively atmosphere, the pools are open, prices for hotel rooms drop after NYE and the crowds are manageable because many revelers have headed back home on the 1st but there's still plenty of people around who want to party.
Top Tip: If NYD – that's New Year's Day – falls on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, as is the case in 2010 and 2011, make a weekend of it.
Weather: Poolside warm by day, chilly when the sun goes down. Definitely pack a jacket.
Hot Links: PubClub's Visitor's Guide to Las Vegas. PubClub's Bar Guide to Vegas. Las Vegas Visitor's
Bureau.
• #2 – NEW ORLEANS. Just the fact that it's New Orleans is enough. After all, the Big Easy is our top pick for Where to Party on New Year's Eve. On NYD, things start slowly but finish strong. The 3-for-1 drinks kick in at the Bourbon Street bars at 4 and that goes until 7. After that, well, things are jumping by then and there's the bowl games to watch with a beer (or rhree) in hand. And the Sugar Bowl is that evening.
Top Tip: Don't turn on the party pulse too early in the day. A couple of lunchtime drinks are to be expected, but save the charging ahead for the 3-for-1s in the late afternoon.
Weather: Could be cold or warm, sunny or rainy. Check the forecast before packing.
Hot Links: PubClub's Visitor's
Guide to New Orleans. PubClub's City
& Bar Guide to the Big Easy. New Orleans Visitor's
Bureau.
Imagine having this view to get the New Year off to a great beginning.
• #3 – SKI RESORTS (LAKE TAHOE, WHISTLER). An invigorating – as well as incredibly inspiring – way to begin the New Year is atop a ski slope. A full day of fun runs down a beautiful mountain followed by Ski Apres activity and capped with a night on the town combines vigorous physical activity with vigorous partying. Our top two picks are Lake Tahoe and Whistler.
For scenery from up top, it's hard to top Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe. Many of the runs stare directly down on Lake Tahoe and if the cool air doesn't immediately wipe away any hangover from the previous night, the view will certainly will do the trick.
Whistler/Blackcomb mountain has the ability to take the breath away entirely and the skiing and snowboarding is outstanding. One area where it stands above Tahoe is nightlife; the Apres spot is the Longhorn (watch out for the World's Most Dangerous Canadian, who is the one ordering all those shots) and there are dozens of other good bars and clubs all within walking distance in the Village.
Then again one could leave the skiing or boarding for the next day and simply plop down at a table in front of a TV at the Longhorn or with an order of Sex Cheese and view of the slopes at Garibaldi Lift Company and waste the day away.
Top Tip: In Tahoe, get in as much skiing/boarding as the legs can stand. In Whistler, do a "half-and-half." That's half a day on the slopes and half chillin' in the bar(s).
Weather: 20s on the hill, 30s in town (F) unless a sudden unexpected
chill hits.
Hot Links: PubClub's Guide to Lake Tahoe. PubClub's Resort
Guide to Whistler. The bars of Whister nightlife
guide. Lake Tahoe Visitor's
Authurity Whistler Visitor's
Bureau.
The USC Song Girls always look rosy for the Rose Bowl game.
• #4 – LOS ANGELES. New Year's Day traditionalists can argue there is no better way to start things off than at the Rose Bowl Parade. It's a 75-plus year tradition that really SAYS the New Year is here. While other parades have come and gone (like the Orange Bowl) this one continues year after year. Heck, they've even held it on January 1 the year the football game was played on Jan. 2.
And then there is, of course, the game. The Rose Bowl. The Granddaddy of them all. In keeping with tradition, it matches USC against some overmatched opponent from the Big 10 Conference resulting in another 11- or 12-win season for the Trojans. The exception is when USC is playing in the national championship game. In this case, another Pac-10 team is allowed to hoist the trophy. Or this year when the Trojans have proven to be human, after all. Ohio State has clinched its place in the 2010 game.
Still, those Big 10ers are warmed by not the result of the game but by the warmth of the sun. When people back in snow-filled cities and towns tune into the Rose Bowl and see fans dressed in t-shirts and shorts, another 50,000 Midwesterners move to L.A.
That, too, is tradition.
Top Tip: Line up along the parade route on NYE – and dress warmly! – to get a good spot for the Rose Bowl parade. For the game, tailgate on the golf course or by "the backstop."
Weather: Why do you think those 50,000 Midwesterners move here?
Hot Links: PubClub's Visitor's Guide to Los Angeles. PubClub's Best in LA List. Tournament of Roses Website.
Palm trees without Pasadena – Palm Springs is a warm California alternative.
• #5 – PALM SPRINGS, CA. For those who like to bask in the sunshine, want a bit of Rose Bowl atmopshere in the air but don't want to wake up at 5 a.m., or battle the traffic to get there, then there is Palm Springs. About two hours east of Los Angeles, it is a small-town oasis with an easy-to-stroll street of bars, shops and restaurants. Did we mention bars? Plus there's golf. In fact, Palm Springs has so many courses that Bob Hope said he used to tee off and then choose which one to play based on where his ball landed. How's THAT for a way to begin the New Year!? There's even snow for those who crave it via a ride up the Palm Springs Tram. which is so close to town one can be back lounging by the pool within the hour.
Top Tip: Pack a jacket, sweatshirt and jeans along with the shorts and swimsuit as it's cool at night and in the mornings. After all, this IS a desert.
Weather: See L.A.
Hot Links: PubClub's
Visitor's Guide to Palm Springs. PubClub's Bar & Nightlife Guide to Palm Springs. Palm Springs Visitor's
Bureau.
Start the New Year with a tan on Waikiki Beach.
• #6 – WAIKIKI BEACH, HONOLULU. How about breakfast overlooking the ocean from the open-air restaurant/bar Lulu's for starters? Then a walk down Waikiki Beach. Maybe some surfing, perhaps a ride in an outrigger canoe. Or just tanning in the sand. Followed by a sunset booze cruise. Drinks at Duke's, rum concoctions at Rum Fire (have Charlie be the bartender) and nearly all night out at the leid-back bars and/or clubs. Just hang all your worries on a giant coconut tree.
Top Tip: Bring – and use – suntan lotion.
Weather: Warm and a bit humid.
Hot Links: PubClub's Visitor's Guide to Honolulu. PubClub's Bar and Nightlife Guide to Honolulu. Luau Larry's Suntan Tips for Hawaii.Oahu Visitor's
Bureau.
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