All of those places have a lot of nightlife. But - any place you go on Christmas even and Christmas day many many (almost all?) places will be closed. New Year's Eve will have tons of nightlife but usually for big $$$. New Year's Day - many things will be closed.

Suggest you check now of major sights to see what will be open on holidays. Also - museums re usually not open in the evening - so it you're thinking of staying up til 4 or 5 am and then starting to tour at 4 pm - I think you options will be pretty limited. But again, you need to check major sights websites to see.

Traveling on Christmas day might be a problem, every thing will be closed down so you won't be doing much partying on your first night in Prague. It may be difficult to find a restaurant that is open. I'd start googling now for places that are open.

Hi alex,

i can't help you with the travelling on 25th December, but based on our experiences in both Prague and Budapest between Christmas and New Year, you'll find plenty going on, and I can't think why Berlin would be any different.

Appreciate all your responses . I guess we will change our travel plan so we leave for Prague on 26th. You guys have mentioned about mostly all restaurants and cafes being closed on 24th and 25th . What about the Christmas market? . Would`nt we be able to find food at Christmas market or will that also be closed on 24th and 25th? . Also i was wondering is its a good idea to spend xmas in Budapest.

Alex

Christmas in Berlin is "over" on Dec 26. You will still see the light decorations in the streets, but no more Christmas markets or stuff in the department stores etc.
But anyway, Berlin is not such a "christmassy" city.. either Prague or Budapest are better, I'd probably lean a bit towards Prague.

In addition to the big and crowded Berlin NYE party (usually around 1 million people at Brandenburg Gate between the Gate and Grosser Stern roundabout with many live acts on several stages - all for free, by the way), nightlife will be buzzing each night as much as any other of the 365 nights of the year.

NYE is one of the biggest party nights of the city with probably decent crowds at clubs, bars, pubs and streetlife busy (and loud) till the morning hours. You can stock up on firecrackers anywhere - but don't buy that stuff outside of regular stores from street vendors or such. The latter sell illegal fireworks and esp. more powerful firecrackers that can cause lots of harm (and do each year).

You don't have to rely on pricey dedicated NYE parties, though. Each and every place will be open and even when some clubs charge at the door, the fee is usually more nominal (€5 or so). The pricey NYE parties are more a thing of pricey establishments like varietés, night clubs, or special venues anyway.
You should check visitberlin.de a few weeks before you go, though. They usually have a section on special events over the holidays.

Subways run all night more frequently (every 5-10mins) than during regular nights so getting around is no problem.

January 1st will be a more quiet day. You can expect many museums and sights to be closed or open late.
Check this list of the major state-run museums:
http://www.smb.museum/smb/service/index.php?p=2&objID=3296&n=2&lang=en

Weather can be cold and dry or wet and mild. There is no "normal" weather other than that it will hardly be warmer than plus 5 to plus 10C during the day. Minus 5 to minus 15 would also be normal for Berlin.

I love Bratislava in summer because all restaurants and pubs have seatings outside and the atmosphere is great. But if I was you, I probably wouldn't go there in December but rather concentrate on the other three cities.

But I've never been there in winter, so someone else might offer a better opinion.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Prague last year. The markets were still open and were fun, the weather was mild, the city was quite busy and there was more than enough open to keep us busy.

This year we will also be in Berlin for New Years Eve, arriving on 28 December. The Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market, our favorite, will still be open and there is always a lot happening there. Berlin is a favorite of ours as there is so much to do at any time of the year.

Thank you everyone for the great comments and advice. It should help me plan my trip better!