I will be in London for New Years 2004/05. Any ideas?

What sort of thing do you like doing?

One thing I would strongly recommend you avoid is Trafalgar Square - crowded and miserable. You will have a better time almost everywhere else.

Keep an eye out closer to the time for more organised events, but most of us locals go to our locals.

I'm with David, what do you like to do? Do you want a nightclub? A civilised dinner? An organised 'cabaret' style event? To be honest, London does tend to be a very boozy place on New Year's Eve, so be prepared!!

I once spent NYE, in London, in a very popular club of sorts. Midnight came and we got to hear a recording of Big Ben striking midnight....WOW!

Lesson learned: be in a different club at midnight on NYE in London because I am sure things had to have been much more fun elsewhere.

I wouldn't bet on it!

NYE is one of those occasions when people who never normally go out feel the need to - amateurs in other words - amateur drinkers, amateur clubbers etc etc all wrapped in a cowl of enforced jollity. It's the last gasp of the office party season. Think drunken secretaries dancing around their handbags.

There are some nicer places - but I'd need to know what rings your bell.

NYE in Central London really is nothing to write home about. Almost anywhere else will probably be preferable.

I've found New Years Eve in London a big let down in the past. Last time I was there 4 years ago Trafalgar square is a totally alcohol free zone. Also many of the pubs abd bars charge addmission fees so you are not inclined to travel from bar to bar. Consider going out into one of the neighbourhoods for the night.

If you like nice restaurants, go to a nice restaurant - then it's their problem to get you a taxi home

Preferably not in the centre - depending on where you are staying, somewhere like a bit further out like Hampstead would be best.

They'll probably put the radio on for Big Ben, and there may be free champagne

How about sitting and waiting for the big ball to drop on a certain London poster's head?

The ball would have to be huge, really huge! And very, very heavy to make even a dent! Now, where is that phone book?

Being from Los Angeles, I have spent NYE both inside a club/bar and outside under the stars. I have also been to Time Square and Las Vegas on NYE. Now I am not expecting anything like New York, but how about a place where everyone gathers to celebrate outside and party.

Trafalgar Square is the place for that in London - but it's not without it's draw backs

Grab a copy of Timeout when you arrive. It should list good NYE events. However, I'd look around for a great dinner for the evening. Every place is super expensive for the night, but if the budget allows book a great place. Many places will have pre- set dinners with a fixed price.

If I can do nothing else, at least let me talk you out of Trafalgar Square.

This is the greatest let-down since Liza Minelli's wedding night.

The area is very crowded (with very drunk people) the area itself is "dry" and no alcohol is allowed in the square. There is very little if anything laid on in the way of entertainment or refreshments.

The police and Local Authorities spend the period leading up to NYE actively discouraging people from going to the square.

Most pubs have a ticket system (often free for regulars but rarely much more than a fiver). Clubs may have special events and charge accordingly.

Most Londoners go to the pub (see above). For instance I spent last NYE in the Uxbridge Arms in Notting Hill and very nice it was too.

I wouldn't got to Trafalgar Square for a bet.

Could you tell me more about this Uxbridge Arms in Notting Hill. We are staying near Notting Hill at the Copthorne Tara.

Thanks

The Uxbridge Arms is in Uxbridge Rd (behind the Gate cinema) and is a perfectly ordinary English pub. It's old fashioned; serves good beer and caters to an older local crowd. Other than that it's very ordinary (in a good way). It's near Geale's too.

There is another pub very nearby (name escapes me but you can't miss it) that is a bit more lively.

Notting Hill is well served for pubs, as is the area around your hotel.

I'm thinking it would be pretty busy on New Years Eve. I just returned from a week in London and you can't even walk the streets at night on a regular Saturday. We're talking wall to wall people to the point where you don't feel safe, and the queues for the clubs are long. Once you get in you cannot move or talk to anyone it is so loud.

If possible, I would choose an organised event with good crowd control.

We will also be in London for New Year's Eve so wouldn't mind suggestions for a family of five. We have three teenagers (not of an age to go out and do their own thing yet). We will be staying in South Kensington. Could someone also tell me if public transport is a problem on New Years Day. I know that it is virtually shut down on Christmas Day. Is it the same on New Year's Day?