New Year's Eve and New Year's Day races in Europe from the UK

New Year’s Eve 2026 falls on a Thursday. That makes it an easy one to book: fly out on the Tuesday or Wednesday, race on the 31st, see the year out, and fly home on Friday 1 or Saturday 2 January. Spain calls these races San Silvestres, Italy and the German-speaking countries have their own versions, and Zürich goes one better with a marathon that starts at midnight.

This guide covers the races worth a flight from the UK, what each one costs to enter, and the logistics that catch people out — mostly bib collection, which at the biggest races happens days before the race and never on the day.

One date matters this week. Entries for Nice’s Prom’Classic on 10 January open on Thursday 8 October, and last year’s places sold out in under three days.

Photo: Jorge Fernández Salas / Unsplash

The races at a glance

Race	When	Distance	Entry	Trip page
San Silvestre Vallecana, Madrid	Thu 31 Dec, waves 17:00–18:20	10K	€27–€31 + €0.80 fee	Trip page
Cursa dels Nassos, Barcelona	Thu 31 Dec, waves 17:15–17:35	10K	About €18.50	—
BOclassic, Bolzano	Thu 31 Dec, 11:30	5K (amateur race)	€30 (€35 after 24 Dec) + €15 Runcard	Trip page
New Year’s Marathon, Zürich	Fri 1 Jan, 00:00	10.55 km, half or full marathon	Roughly CHF 30–90	—
Prom’Classic, Nice	Sun 10 Jan, 09:00	10K	Published when entries open on 8 Oct	Trip page

San Silvestre Vallecana (Madrid): Thursday 31 December

Official site: sansilvestrevallecana.com · 2026 rules (Spanish)

Madrid’s New Year’s Eve 10K is the biggest race on this list and the most fun: costumes, music, and a city that is already out for the night. The popular race has six waves. The 17:00 and 17:15 waves need proof of a sub-50 or 50–60 minute 10K; everyone else chooses 17:35, 17:55 or 18:20 when they enter, and cannot switch on the day.

The course is not flat. It starts on Calle Concha Espina by the Bernabéu and runs down Serrano, past Puerta de Alcalá, Cibeles and the Prado. The first seven kilometres or so are mostly downhill. Then Avenida de la Albufera climbs for about a kilometre around km 8–9, and the last stretch through Vallecas keeps rising to the finish on Calle Candilejas, next to the Vallecas stadium. Bank nothing on the descent that you will need for the hill.

Entry is €27 for the first 10,000 entries, €29 up to 20,000 and €31 up to 42,000, plus a €0.80 booking fee. Around 17,000 had entered by early October. Entries close at 23:00 on 23 December or when places run out. When you enter you also choose:

• Your bib-collection slot, between 26 and 30 December, 10:00–21:00 at the Daoiz y Velarde sports centre (Avenida Ciudad de Barcelona 162). Bring photo ID, your confirmation email, and printed proof of time if you are in a fast wave.
• Bag drop: €1 for a fixed bag drop at the finish, or €5 to hand a bag in at the start (14:30–16:30) and collect it at the finish.

The race T-shirt is your bib. The rules say it must be worn fully visible from the start pens to the finish arch, so a costume has to go around it, not over it.

Where to stay: on Metro Line 1. Portazgo station is next to the finish, and Line 1 runs straight to Sol, Tirso de Molina or Antón Martín. From there it is one change to Santiago Bernabéu or Concha Espina for the start. Salamanca and Chamberí are closer to the start but leave you a longer trip home from Vallecas.

After the race: Puerta del Sol hosts the midnight grapes, but it is not a walk-in party. In 2025 police cleared the square at 21:00 and let people back in from 22:00 through four controlled entrances, with a 15,000-person cap. Glass and fireworks were banned. If you want to be in the square itself, get there soon after 22:00.

Indicative cost: about £495 on our San Silvestre trip page — £27 entry, 3 nights × £120, and £110 for flights into MAD. New Year’s Eve hotels and flights can run above those defaults, so price them early.

Cursa dels Nassos (Barcelona): Thursday 31 December

Official site: cursadenassos.barcelona · 2026 rules (Spanish)

Barcelona’s New Year’s Eve 10K is flatter and smaller than Madrid’s. It starts on Calle Selva de Mar in Poblenou (Metro L4) with waves at 17:15, 17:21, 17:28 and 17:35, and runs out along the seafront avenues towards Pla de Palau before turning back. The course closes at 19:10.

Entry is about €18.50 including fees, plus €2 for a disposable chip if you do not have your own. The cap is 14,000, and the race has sold out every year since 2019. As in Madrid, you pick a bib-collection day and time slot when you enter, and bibs are not handed out on race day. Someone else can collect for you within your slot if they bring your confirmation and ID. Bag drop is free, next to Selva de Mar Metro, but you must ask for it on the entry form. Refunds are only given for reasons that are the organiser’s fault.

We do not have a Barcelona New Year’s Eve trip page yet. For a rough budget, price Barcelona hotels in Poblenou or the Eixample, and flights into BCN for 30 December.

BOclassic (Bolzano): Thursday 31 December

Official site: boclassic.it · Amateur race

Photo: Antonio Sessa / Unsplash

BOclassic is a different kind of New Year’s Eve race: a small Alpine city, a famous elite field, and a race that is over by lunchtime. Amateurs run the Ladurner race at 11:30: four laps of a 1.25 km loop, so 5 km, starting and finishing on Piazza Walther and passing the Piazza Erbe market and the Via Portici arcades. A non-competitive “just for fun” run goes at 10:45. The elite men race 10 km at 12:50 and the elite women 5 km at 13:30, on the same loop you have just run.

Entry is €30 until 24 December, then €35. If you do not hold an Italian athletics licence, you also need a FIDAL Runcard, which costs €15 for runners from outside Italy. Entry fees are not refunded. Bibs are handed out on race morning only, 08:00–12:00 at the Race Office in the parish centre (Piazza della Parrocchia 24), a short walk from the start.

Getting there: SkyAlps flies direct from Gatwick to Bolzano this winter on Wednesdays, Sundays, and Saturdays from 18 December. The Wednesday 30 December flight lands at 20:15, the evening before the race. Fares on this route are usually higher than the low-cost flights into Verona, from where the train up to Bolzano takes about 1 hour 40 minutes.

Where to stay: the old town around Piazza Walther, on the loop and near the Race Office.

Indicative cost: about £560 on our BOclassic trip page — £39 for entry plus Runcard, 3 nights × £130, and £130 for flights via Verona.

New Year’s Marathon (Zürich): Friday 1 January, 00:00

Official site: neujahrsmarathon.ch

If you want to be running when the year turns, this is the race. The Zürich New Year’s Marathon starts at midnight at the Unterrohr sports hall in Schlieren, just outside Zürich. Everyone starts together on a lap of 10.55 km: one lap is the quarter marathon, two the half, four the full marathon, and a team run splits the marathon between two to four people. You are allowed to drop to a shorter distance mid-race and be ranked on that.

Know what you are signing up for:

• It is dark and mostly off-road. The course is about 90% natural surface and is not lit. The organiser recommends a head torch.
• It is not completely flat. Each lap climbs 19 m.
• It runs late. The finish closes at 05:00, and you must start your last lap before 03:40.
• There are no refunds, even with a doctor’s note, but you can buy cancellation insurance when you enter. If the race sells out, there is an official resale tool from November.
• Bibs are collected at the hall on 30 December (16:00–18:00) or 31 December (19:00–23:00). There are changing rooms with showers, and a restaurant opens at 19:00.

Entry fees rise the later you enter. marathon.de lists CHF 30–60 for the quarter marathon, CHF 40–70 for the half and CHF 60–90 for the full marathon (about £28–£83). Places are limited.

Getting there: S-Bahn S11 or S12 from Zürich main station to Schlieren takes 9 minutes and runs every 15 minutes on 31 December. The hall is a 10-minute walk from Schlieren station. On the way back, the SN1 night train and the S11 and S12 run into Zürich.

We do not have a Zürich trip page yet. Price Zürich hotels near the main station for an easy S-Bahn ride, and flights into ZRH. Zürich is one of Europe’s more expensive cities for a hotel, and New Year’s Eve does not help.

Prom’Classic (Nice): Sunday 10 January

Official site: promclassic.com

Photo: Constantin / Unsplash

Not a New Year’s Eve race, but the one to book if you would rather spend 31 December at home and chase a time in January. The Prom’Classic is a flat out-and-back 10K on the Promenade des Anglais, starting at 09:00 on Sunday 10 January 2027. The organiser is selling 20,000 places this time, split into three start waves, after last year’s 15,000 went in under three days (Nice-Matin, in French).

Entries open Thursday 8 October on the official site: 10:00–12:00 for runners with a French athletics licence, then 13:00 French time (12:00 UK) for everyone else. The organiser will publish 2027 prices when entries open.

Do the health pass before Thursday. French races require runners without a French licence to hold a Pass Prévention Santé for timed races. It is an online health-awareness module run by the French athletics federation, costs €5 and lasts a year. A UK club membership does not replace it.

Indicative cost: about £450 on our Prom’Classic trip page — £30 entry, 3 nights × £110, and £90 for flights into NCE.

Lisbon’s São Silvestre is on 26 December

Lisbon’s São Silvestre is often listed as a New Year’s Eve race, but the 2026 edition is on Saturday 26 December at 21:30. It is a 10K at night from Avenida da Liberdade, through the Baixa to Cais do Sodré and back, with a climb to Marquês de Pombal near the end. Entry starts at €18. Race packs are collected on 22 or 23 December (10:00–19:00) or on race day (10:00–17:00) at the Casal Vistoso sports complex (official rules, in Portuguese). It suits a Christmas-week break rather than a New Year’s Eve one.

Booking a New Year race trip

• Hold a free-cancellation room, then enter. Race places and New Year’s Eve hotels both run out. A refundable room means neither leaves you stuck.
• Check minimum stays. Some hotels set a minimum number of nights over New Year’s Eve. Check before you build the trip around two nights.
• Arrive in time for bib collection. Madrid’s ends on 30 December. Barcelona’s is in a slot you book. Bolzano’s is on race morning, Zürich’s is on the 30th or the evening of the 31st.
• Plan the night after the race. Barcelona’s course closes at 19:10 and Madrid’s last wave has until about 19:40, which still leaves time to shower, eat and head out. Zürich’s marathoners finish in the small hours of 1 January.
• Keep New Year’s Day light. Book a 2 January flight home if you can.

Cost comparison

Indicative DIY totals from our race pages (one runner, one room, three nights, UK departure):

Race	Entry (indicative)	Nights × hotel	Flights	Indicative total
Prom’Classic, Nice	£30	3 × £110	£90	~£450
San Silvestre Vallecana, Madrid	£27	3 × £120	£110	~£495
BOclassic, Bolzano	£39	3 × £130	£130	~£560

These are calculator defaults, not live quotes. New Year’s Eve is peak season for hotels and flights in every city here, so change the nights and prices on each trip page to match what you actually find.

The traps

Arriving on the 31st for Madrid. No bib collection on race day. If you cannot make your 26–30 December slot, someone else can collect for you with a photocopy of your ID, your written authorisation and your confirmation.

Assuming Bolzano is a 10K. The amateur race is 5 km. Only the elite men run 10 km.

Running Madrid as a flat PB course. The first seven kilometres are mostly downhill and the Albufera climb comes when your legs are already tired. Pace the downhill.

Turning up to Zürich without a head torch. The course is unlit and mostly off-road, at midnight, in winter.

Missing the Nice health pass. Without a Pass Prévention Santé you cannot complete entry for the timed race. Do it before 13:00 French time on Thursday.

What to do next

If you want the classic New Year’s Eve race, open the San Silvestre Vallecana trip page, set your nights, then enter — and pick a bib-collection slot that fits your flight. For something smaller, price the BOclassic trip page or look at Barcelona’s Cursa dels Nassos. If a January PB appeals more than a party, set an alarm for Thursday’s Prom’Classic entries and do the Pass Prévention Santé today.

For more European 10Ks across the year, see the best 10K races in Europe.