From Oman to Bressanone, 5 ideas for New Year's Eve

BRESSANONE - Exotic, fun, relaxing or sporty: the New Year is celebrated by traveling alone, with friends or family. Here are 5 destinations in Italy and abroad that combine the love of adventure with the pleasure of having fun, allowing yourself an unusual toast.
Traveling by off-road vehicle among the silky dunes of Oman, pearl of the Horn of Arabia, between the ancient Bedouin traditions and the desert oases: this is what from 28 December to Epiphany offers the adventurous New Year's Eve trip to Originaltour (www. originaltour.it). With a local guide you travel through the desert between the villages and oases to Duqm, staying in the luxurious Bedouin-style tents of the Desert Night Camp where the arrival of the new year is celebrated. The return to Muscat involves a night in Ras al-Jinz, the easternmost point of the Arabian Peninsula, on whose beach green turtles go to lay their eggs. In Muscat you can visit the Sultan Palace, the Portuguese period forts, the Muttrah souk for shopping and the Bait Al Zubair museum, a former private home where you can admire clothes, costumes, tools, weapons and jewels typical of the Oman. For those who want to organize the trip alone: ​​www.experienceoman.om The most beautiful lagoon city in the world never ceases to amaze: for New Year's Eve Venice offers many cultural events, concerts, festivities in the square and private dances. The heart of the New Year is Piazza San Marco, which hosts music shows and the inevitable fireworks to greet 2019 in one of the most suggestive locations in Italy. The most awaited event is the concert on 31 December at the La Fenice theater, where the orchestra conducted by Maestro Myung-Whun Chung accompanies the choir with symphonies by Verdi and Puccini. The most romantic can dine on the boat and admire the lagoon from a unique perspective, enjoying the fireworks display from the water. Those who prefer the traditional New Year's Eve dinner are spoiled for choice among the many restaurants and taverns in the city; those frequented by the Venetians are, for example, in the Cannaregio district, towards San Polo, and in the Santa Croce district. Art lovers can visit the Peggy Guggenheim exhibition until January 27th. The last dogaressa, and discovering 60 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by the American collector and philanthropist during her long stay in the lagoon, from 1948 to 1979. Until February 16, the Novecento exhibition at Palazzo Franchetti allows you to take a trip in the 20th century art, from futurism to the Bauhaus, from De Chirico's metaphysics to surrealism.
Celebrating New Year's Eve in Lisbon between an exclusive exhibition dedicated to pop art and concerts in the square: King Holidays (www.kingholidays.it) offers a year-end trip to the Portuguese capital starting from Rome, Milan, Bologna and Venice.
In Lisbon, the fun is concentrated in the squares with concerts, dances and traditional fireworks to be admired from all "high" areas of the city, not before the cod dinner in one of the many taverns. It is a must to contemplate the sunset of 31, the last one in the westernmost point of Europe, listening to the nostalgic notes of Fado and then prepare for the celebrations of the longest night of the year. Thousands of people flock to the traditional year-end concert at Praça do Commercio in the Baixa district, when twelve strokes announce the start of the fireworks at midnight, creating striking plays of light reflected in the waters of the Tagus. Those who prefer to spend the evening in a club can opt for the Barrio Alto, where dozens of restaurants, bars and clubs can be chosen, offering parties until dawn with live music. The atmosphere in the streets of Alfama is quieter, the historic heart of the city, an ideal destination for Fado lovers. Those who love art will have until January 5 at the Cordoaria Nacional, a former factory in the Belem district, the exhibition "Pop Art Stars", dedicated to the icons of the current of the last century with masterpieces by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein.
New Year's Eve in Bressanone, a welcoming and enchanting South Tyrolean city in the Valle Isarco between Bolzano and Brennero, is celebrated with the classic torchlight procession on the Plose; in the city from 10 to 17 chimney sweeps will distribute, according to tradition, lucky charms to passers-by: meeting them is a sign of good luck. Those who love skiing can leave at 5.30 pm from the Plose refuge to participate in the torchlight procession along the slopes of the Bressanone mountain and conclude with a toast in the valley station at the P3 Apres Ski. From 10 pm the cathedral square of Bressanone turns into an open-air dance floor with live performances by the band The Lads and dJ Shany and dJ DoubleDee. And then lights, music and songs in the courtyard of the bishop's palace, with the traditional Christmas market and the wooden houses in Piazza Duomo. There are many places to stay in the city but in a wood of Sant'Andrea, a town overlooking Bressanone, it is possible to stay in the largest hotel in Italy built on trees: the My Arbor hotel is an ecological resort built like a stilt house above trees. The property offers an excellent wellness center and the possibility of guided hikes on skis, accompanied by Maestro Ivan. From January, moreover, you can admire the sunset from 2,447 meters high with a stop at the Plosehütte refuge and the descent to the valley on the Trametsch slope. Info: www.brixen.org Leaving after Christmas and toasting the new year on Phuket beach: Kibo Tours (www.kibotours.com) organizes a trip to greet 2020 among the oriental beauties of Thailand. Three nights in the lively and colorful capital Bangkok with a visit to the most famous temples, the great Buddha statues and the Royal Palace and 6 nights in Phuket, where you can relax in the sun on its expanses of white sand and have fun at the beach parties. Phuket is the largest island in the country and the main beach destination, known as "the pearl of the Andaman". Here the beaches are bathed by transparent turquoise waters, dominated by the green hills and jungle with coconut palm woods that reach the sea. Phuket offers activities of all kinds among its 17 beaches and 30 between islands and islets. For those who want to organize the trip alone: ​​turismothailandese.it (ANSA).