Where to ... party
Paris
The city of light lives up to its name on New Year's Eve. Firework displays range from the grand to the impromptu. Traditionally, crowds gather at the Champs-Elysées to let off bangers and find a place to watch the Eiffel Tower erupt into a spectacular light show and tout le monde bestows double kisses on friends and strangers alike. For something mellower, head up to the Sacré-Coeur church in Montmartre for enticing
• Eurostar (eurostar.com) has returns from London from £109. The Hotel des Trois Collèges (00 33 1 43 54 67 30; 3colleges.com) near the Sorbonne has rooms from €105
Gisborne, New Zealand
Gisborne in New Zealand boasts that it is the first place on earth to see in the new year. This year the Rhythm and Vines festival on the Waiohika estate will see performances from the Kooks, Franz Ferdinand and Carl Cox. There are 120 performances over four stages and, with a beach 700m away, you'll also find surf competitions, volleyball and more than a smattering of VW campervans. It's surrounded by vineyards, so the wine is guaranteed never to run out and southern hemisphere sunshine should also be on tap.
• Three-day tickets from $185 NZ. Bridge & Wickers (020 7443 6555; bridgeandwickers.co.uk) offers a 10-night fly-drive holiday on North Island, including flights, accommodation and car hire, from £2,172, or £997 for accommodation and car hire only. More information from rhythmandvines.co.nz
Tignes, France
This French ski resort will be holding a free outdoor party for 15,000 people on 31 December. David Guetta, the Franco-Moroccan DJ who usually plies his trade in Ibiza will be embracing temperatures of -20C to entertain the snowboard set.
• Seven nights half-board (with wine and afternoon tea) at the three-star Hotel Curling costs £1,149 including flights from Gatwick with First Choice (0871 664 0130, firstchoice-ski.co.uk). More information at tignes.net
Edinburgh
The Scottish capital plans to up the ante at Hogmanay this year. The festivities will last from 30 December to 2 January. Partying will take many forms, from an outdoor concert with Groove Armada and singer Paolo Nutini, to a ceilidh at the Assembly Rooms and a 'silent disco'. New this year is Feet First on 1 January, a series of free outdoor performances and plays along the Royal Mile. Tickets from £10.
• The Malmaison hotel in Edinburgh (0845 365 4247, malmaison.com) has two-night stays, room only, from £370 over new year. More information at edinburghshogmanay.org
Krakow, Poland
Celebrations at the city renowned for throwing the best New Year's party in Eastern Europe centre on its main square, awash with colonnades, history and, from early evening onwards, revellers drinking beer and glühwein. This is New Year at its most wintry - expect snow flurries and roasted chestnuts. This year there's a free concert mixing Polish favourites and enjoyably cheesy international artists; last year Shakin' Stevens headlined.
• British Airways Holidays (0844 493 0787; ba.com) has two nights' B&B at the four-star Andel's Hotel in Krakow from £364 departing on 30 December
Where to ... turn over a new leaf
Foxhills resort, Surrey
Watch nearby fireworks light up the sky while lying, cucumber juice in hand, in the hot tub of the UK's first spa garden. Featuring yew hedges that form private treatment cubicles, a lawn for tai chi, a natural swimming pool and Finnish sauna, it's the latest addition to the Foxhills hotel and resort, which is offering a one-night Delightful Detox package, available on New Year's Eve. It includes Elemis body sculpting cellulite and colon therapy, hammam cleansing ritual and also a private training, Kinesis or yoga session.
• From £335 full board, based on two sharing. Details from 01932 704555; foxhills.co.uk
Budapest, Hungary
Swap a pub crawl for a spa crawl in Budapest. Locals here have been enjoying the thermal springs that gush from Buda's limestone bedrock for 2,000 years: they'll spend hours each week soaking in the mineral-rich waters of the public spas, many of which are open until late on New Year's Eve. Start at Széchenyi Gyógyfürdo, which has a dozen thermal pools and is the local hangout for chess players, who plot their next moves while immersed in the water. Next head to Gellért Gyógyfürdo, one of the city's oldest and most elegant spas, with columns, beautiful majolica tiles and stone lion heads spouting water.
• Expedia (0871 226 5215; expedia.co.uk) has four nights' B&B at the Danubius Hotel Gellert, which has its own thermal bath and spa, from £418 (based on two sharing), including flights from Heathrow on 30 December
Ragdale Hall, Leicestershire
Ragdale Hall Health Hydro and Thermal Spa, the grande dame of spas, is laying on a two-night Healthy New Year package from 31 December. After a fruit-abundant breakfast in bed, while away time in the spa, with its waterfall pool and volcanic salt bath, before being rubbed and scrubbed with a 50-minute treatment - choose from a 'refresh and revive' face and back therapy, a 'natural harmony' facial or a full body massage. You also get either a back, shoulder and neck massage or a conditioning hand or foot treatment. It's not all herbal teas though: on New Year's Eve there's champagne at midnight.
• From £302 (based on two sharing), including breakfast, lunch and dinner. 01664 433000; ragdalehall.co.uk
Ksar Massa, Morocco
If detoxing isn't enough, and you want to get fit too, head for Morocco. In:spa is hosting a New Year retreat at Ksar Massa, a kasbah-style hotel above an isolated, eight-mile stretch of beach in the Souss-Massa National Park, about an hour from Agadir. This is a week-long renovation programme, with daily yoga and fitness training, a one-on-one nutrition consultation, personal training session and three deep tissue massages. Expect plenty of 'cleansing' food, too. If you need time out, head for the hammam and swimming pool.
• Seven nights from 30 December from £1,895, excluding flights. 0845 458 0723; inspa.co.uk
Seaham Hall, County Durham
If yoga and circuit training aren't quite your bag, why not combine your spa break with dancing? Seaham Hall is offering a two-night stay from 31 December, where you can pamper yourself rotten in the spa, with no fewer than 45 treatments to choose from, before a slap-up dinner in the Ozone restaurant. As the clock strikes 11pm you head to the ballroom to waltz your way into the early hours of 2009. Wake up to breakfast in bed before hitting the spa and treating your tired dancing feet to a foot-cleansing ritual.
• From £380 (based on two sharing), including breakfast, lunch and dinner. 0191 516 1400; seaham-hall.co.uk
Where to ... avoid New Year
Ethiopia
Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar, which means that 31 December carries no cultural clout - this country's new year is in September. There are many reasons to visit Ethiopia, from Axum, reputed home of the Queen of Sheba, and the 12th-century churches that have been hewn from rock at Lalibela, to the abundant wildlife of the Simien Mountains, including the gelada monkey and the walia ibex.
• A tailor-made 12-day holiday with Cox & Kings (020 7873 5000; coxandkings.co.uk) arranged around New Year starts at £2,495, including flights, accommodation and all meals
Knoydart peninsula, Scotland
Known as Scotland's last wilderness, the Knoydart peninsula is an enticing blend of glens, lochs and rivers in a protected landscape that faces Skye, Eigg, Rum and Muck. It's not an easy place to reach, but worth the effort. Although it's on the mainland, the only access is on a ferry from Mallaig, seven miles away or a 16-mile walk. The only village, Inverie, is surrounded by three Munro mountains, which effectively block mobile phone signals. Other forms of life are still going strong, including the Old Forge pub, with local food and traditional music.
• The Gathering (01687 460051, thegatheringknoydart.co.uk) has a four-night break from £250, including breakfasts, special Hogmanay dinner and a 4WD tour with a ranger. More information at knoydart-foundation.com
Libya
A walking holiday is one way of keeping the new year festivities in perspective. This year, Explore has organised a 12-day tour of the Libyan Sahara. Starting in Tripoli, the trip takes in the ancient city of Germa, rock art dating from 8000 BC in the Akakus mountains, and the Dawada Lakes before ending up in the spectacular Phoenician city of Leptis Magna. Leaving on 30 December, you spend New Year's Eve in Sebha, on the edge of the Sahara.
• The trip with Explore (0844 499 0901; explore.co.uk) costs £1,049 including flights, most meals, all transport and accommodation, including seven nights' camping
Mallorca
Make a start on that novel, or get to grips with your new camera. La Serrania is a retreat centre where the accent is on tranquillity. From 27 December to 3 January, guests - rather than having a set itinerary - will do what they please. Set in the hillside above Pollença, it serves healthy meals, and massages, Pilates classes and a couple of excursions are also on the menu.
• Single rooms cost €750 for the week, or €1,200 per couple, full board, not including flights. See laserrania.com
Hay-on-Wye, Wales
You can make New Year as quiet or as noisy as you like at Cwm Cottage near Hay-on-Wye. Near the border with England, it lies on the edge of the Golden Valley at the end of a secluded lane with just one other house in sight. Surrounded by fields, it has three bedrooms, a large kitchen and a sitting room with a wood-burning stove. The nearest pub is a mile away, with Hay four miles further.
• Brecon Beacon Holiday Cottages (01874 676446, breconcottages.com) charges £485 for a week from 28 December.
Where to ... take the family
Yorkshire dales
How's this for a family New Year? After watching The Sleeping Beauty pantomime at Britain's most complete Georgian theatre, in Richmond, you stroll back to your rather luxurious eco-lodge in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, where you huddle up in front of the woodburner and floor-to-ceiling windows to watch nearby fireworks set the sky ablaze. Natural Retreats' lodges - of which there are 18, set in 26 acres on the River Swale - have cool open-plan living spaces, smart bedrooms and flat-screen TVs. As for their eco-credentials, they're made of sustainable timber with solar glazing (which draws in the sun's heat to help keep them warm) and the water for drinks and showers comes from a natural spring.
• Five-night stays for families of up to six cost from £880 between 20 December and 4 January. 0161 242 2970; naturalretreats.com
Kiruna, Sweden
Here's a sure-fire way to get your kids beside themselves with excitement: tell them they're off to Lapland for New Year. Activities Abroad has a four-night trip, departing 29 December, to Kiruna in Swedish Lapland. As well as learning about the Sami people, you'll ride on a reindeer sleigh, go husky sledding, and take snowmobile and snowshoe safaris. You'll also visit the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, and spend an evening looking for the Northern Lights.
• From £1,495 for adults, £915 for children, including full-board accommodation, flights from Heathrow and transfers. Suitable for children aged six or over. Details at 01670 789991; activitiesabroad.com
Cornwall
Cocktails, ice skating, fireworks - Retallack in St Columb, a five-star Cornish retreat, has all the key ingredients for a smashing family New Year. Stay in one of its cosy lodges and you can hire bikes, pitch and putt on the mini golf course and check out the pool and spa before dashing to Padstow for the midnight fireworks. On New Year's Day, there'll be champagne/bellinis for the adults and virgin cocktails for the kids as well as free ice-skating at the Eden Project, with its giant hanging lanterns and light-and-fire sculptures.
• A three-night stay costs from £550 for a two-bedroom lodge. 01637 882400; retallackresort.com
Kitzbühel, Austria
Join swarms of families in the ski resort of Kitzbühel to watch 100 of the town's ski instructors shoot down the famous Hahnenkamm run in formation, then jump en masse through a metre-high wall of flame. Equally spectacular will be a fire show set to the Blue Danube, and a fireworks display. While the resort is big on skiing, there's also the chance to go on sleigh rides and balloon trips.
• Crystal Ski has seven nights' half-board at Hotel Bruggerhof from £905, including flights on 27 December and transfers. 0871 231 2256; crystalski.co.uk
Disneyland, Paris
If there's one place you can count on for a family-friendly New Year it's Disneyland. The entire resort is taken over by festive fever, with Santa Claus's Village, Minnie's Jolly Holidays Show and Mickey's Winter Wonderland, and on 31 December there's a Times Square dinner buffet party with Disney characters at Disney's Hotel New York (£112 for adults, £35 for children).
• Prices for a two-night package from 30 December from £329 per adult, £90 per child, including B&B at Disney's Hotel Santa Fe, three-day hopper tickets and Eurostar travel from London. 08448 008 111; disneylandparis.com
