Ring In the New Year at Uppsala Castle and Gunillaklockan
As midnight approaches, the crowd thickens on the slope below Uppsala Castle. Locals gather here and at Gunillaklockan to count down the new year, and the castle hill becomes the city's de facto gathering point for the evening. There is no official municipal fireworks display in central Uppsala, so what you see overhead is private — and private fireworks in Sweden require a permit, granted on the basis of impact on people, animals and the environment. If you would rather watch from indoors, several rooftop restaurants in the city offer views over the celebrations below.
Book a New Year's Eve Table Before Anything Else
Uppsala's restaurants fill fast on 31 December, and reservations are recommended well in advance. A spread of options runs from modern Asian to Belgian, from bistro to rooftop:
- Miss Voon (Suttungs gränd 6) — modern Asian cooking and cocktails with city views.
- Villa Anna (Odinslund 3) — a refined hotel restaurant menu; rooms are also bookable if you want to stay put.
- Dryck och Mat (Olof Palmes plats 2) — White Guide-listed, set in the historic station building, with midnight snacks and drinks served on a heated terrace.
- Frans Bistro (Dragarbrunnstorg) — New York-style bistro fare.
- Restaurant Aaltos (Sysslomansgatan 14) — Italian-inspired New Year's menu in an interior by architect Alvar Aalto.
- Bacán (Dragarbrunnsgatan 20C) — a rooftop bar covered as a winter garden, serving a "Latasian" Latin American–Asian menu.
- Bierhuis (S:t Olofsgatan 23) — Belgian food beneath a painted ceiling fresco.
Dance Past Midnight, or Sleep Above the Celebration
If you want music and dancing, buy tickets ahead. Flustret (Flustergränd 5), an entertainment venue in the City Garden that is over a century old, throws a New Year's Eve party with music and dancing. Birgerjarl (Nedre Slottsgatan 3) holds a traditional celebration with fireworks and champagne. Plan2 (Fyristorg 8) is a dinner club above the tapas restaurant Iberico.
Several hotels bundle dinner, an overnight stay and a New Year's Day breakfast. Clarion Hotel Gillet (Dragarbrunnsgatan 23) offers a four-course dinner package in the city centre with a spa. Radisson Blu Hotel Uppsala (Stationsgatan 4), beside the central station, pairs a French-inspired brasserie dinner with extended breakfast hours. Grand Hotell Hörnan (Bangårdsgatan 1) is a historic hotel overlooking the Fyris River and the castle, with upper-floor suites. Further out, Krusenberg Herrgård (Krusenberg 436) is a manor house a short drive or bus ride from Uppsala, with a gourmet dinner, champagne at midnight, a spa and a lakeside sauna. Hotell Botanika (Skolgatan 45) is a modern budget city hotel, family- and group-friendly, with shuffleboard.
Fill the Daylight Hours Before the Evening
New Year's Eve daytime is for the outdoors, snow permitting. Sledding on the castle hill is a local standby — note that Fritidsbanken, which lends out gear, is closed on New Year's Eve, so bring your own. For skiing or sledding further afield, head to the nature reserves at Hammarskog and Sunnerstabacken, where many areas have fire pits for outdoor cooking. A cold dip is possible at Fjällnora, about 20 minutes from Uppsala, which has ice holes and a rentable wood-fired sauna.
Families with children can keep things indoors and end well before midnight: Fyrishov adventure pool has water slides, Latitude-59 offers bowling, laser tag, mini golf and shuffleboard, and indoor play centres including Leos Lekland, Turbo and Funplays are open almost year-round. For a small edible souvenir, gourmet chocolate sticks are sold at Chocolat in the central Svava Mall.
Getting Around on 31 December
Buses run a Sunday schedule during the day on 31 December and a Saturday night schedule in the evening, so plan your route in advance via ul.se for local buses, sl.se for commuter trains to Stockholm, and sj.se or malartag.se for long-distance travel. Book taxis ahead with Uppsala Taxi or TaxiKurir. Shops, restaurants and museums vary their opening hours on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day — check ahead before you set out.
Uppsala's New Year is a night built around a castle hill, a well-booked table and a champagne toast, with a cold morning after that rewards a sauna or a sled. Reserve your restaurant or hotel package early, check the holiday bus timetables, and plan your own midnight vantage point — then let the city's long-standing rituals carry you into 2026.