New Year’s Eve (Nochevieja) in Spain is built around one ritual: eating 12 grapes at midnight, one on each chime of the clock. In Alicante, the City Hall usually holds two New Year’s Eve parties on 31 December, one for families in the morning and one for adults at night, and entry to both is free.
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This guide covers both parties, where to eat the grapes, other events, and how to get home after midnight, because buses stop early that night.
The City Hall’s New Year’s Eve Party
The City Hall has not published its next Christmas programme yet, so places and times below are from the last one, for 31 December 2025.
The party for adults is held where the Rambla meets the Portal de Elche, from 23:00 to 04:00, with live music. Entry is free, and before midnight the City Hall hands out free bags of grapes (programme in Spanish).
At midnight, you can stay at the party, where the chimes are played over loudspeakers, or walk to the City Hall square (Plaza del Ayuntamiento) and eat the grapes under its clock tower.
On New Year’s Eve, the Christmas lights stay on until 04:30 on 1 January, so the centre is still lit on the way home.
Programme checked on 11 November 2026.
How to Eat the 12 Grapes at Midnight
At midnight the clock strikes 12 times and you eat one grape on each chime. On the TV broadcast from Madrid, do not start on the quarters (los cuartos), the double chimes that come just before the 12.
Most people in Spain follow the chimes live on TV, usually from the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. In Alicante you can also eat the grapes at the City Hall’s party.
Small grapes are easier to eat in time, and supermarkets sell packs of 12 peeled, seedless grapes in late December.
Once the 12th chime has gone, it is time to wish everyone ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! (Happy New Year).
New Year’s Eve in Alicante with Children
On the morning of 31 December, the City Hall holds a New Year’s Eve party for families with children (cotillón infantil), where the Rambla meets the Portal de Elche, from 10:30 to 13:30. There is a children’s show and a rehearsal of the 12 chimes at 12:00 (programme in Spanish).
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day Events
- Grand New Year's Concert: Fuoco European Orquesta1 January 2027, 19:00 · Teatro Principal, Alicante · All ages · From 22€
Events checked on 12 November 2026.
Getting Home After Midnight: TRAM, Buses and Taxis
Plan the way back before you go out: on New Year’s Eve city buses stop early, and only some TRAM lines run after midnight.
FGV and Vectalia have not published their notices for the next New Year’s Eve yet, so times below are from the last ones, for 31 December 2025.
TRAM
In recent years, TRAM d’Alacant has run a special New Year’s Eve service (Generalitat note in Spanish): extra trams on Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4 after the chimes, all to and from Luceros, until about 02:00 to 03:00 depending on the line (to Benidorm, Line 1 adds only one late train, soon after midnight). Check the exact times on the TRAM d’Alacant website before you go. Fares, lines and the next-tram tool are in our TRAM guide, and the other ways to get to Benidorm are in Alicante to Benidorm.
City buses
City buses: on 31 December the last buses leave every terminus at 21:00 and there are no night buses (Vectalia notice in Spanish). Lines and fares: Alicante buses.
Airport bus (C6)
For the C6 airport bus on New Year’s Eve, there is no night service: the last buses on 31 December leave at 21:04 from Puerta del Mar and at 20:58 from the airport, and on 1 January the first ones leave at 05:50 from Puerta del Mar and at 06:30 from the airport (Vectalia notice in Spanish). If you land on the evening of 31 December, see arriving at Alicante airport and airport transfers. The rest of the year, the C6 runs as in our C6 guide.
Taxis
For taxi fares in Alicante city, 31 December counts as a holiday, so the night and holiday tariff (Tariff 2) applies all day, and every trip from 21:00 on 31 December to 07:00 on 1 January adds a supplement of 3€ (official tariffs). Fares, taxi phone numbers and ride apps: taxis, Uber, Bolt and Cabify in Alicante.
Notices checked on 11 November 2026.
Dinner, Bars and Hotels
On New Year’s Eve, bars and clubs in the Valencian Community may close 90 minutes later than usual. Normally, pubs close at 03:30 (04:00 with an extension) and nightclubs at 07:30 (regional order in Spanish).
Many restaurants serve a set New Year’s Eve dinner menu, and the popular ones need booking well ahead.
For a drink with a view, see our rooftops in Alicante; for dancing, the Latin music nights.
Book your accommodation early: Alicante’s hotels were more than 90% full on New Year's Eve 2025 (source in Spanish).
New Year’s Eve Weather in Alicante
Nights at the end of December are cool: December averages a low of 7.4°C (45.3°F) and a high of 17.7°C (63.9°F). It is not usual, but on the coldest early mornings it can drop to 3°C (37°F) or even lower, so bring a warm layer for the party. More in Alicante weather in December.
1 January in Alicante
1 January is a public holiday in Spain, so the TRAM runs its holiday timetable: check the next tram with the tool in our TRAM guide.
The Christmas season goes on until the Three Kings Parade on 5 January: the nativity scenes, the funfair and the other events are in Alicante in December. For the weather in the new year, see Alicante in January.
New Year’s Eve in Alicante: FAQ
The City Hall holds its party on the night of 31 December where the Rambla meets the Portal de Elche, from 23:00 to 04:00, with live music and free bags of grapes for the 12 chimes. Entry is free.
At the City Hall party on the night of 31 December. At midnight, you can stay at the party, where the chimes are played over loudspeakers, or walk to the City Hall square (Plaza del Ayuntamiento) and eat the grapes under its clock tower.
Yes. On the morning of 31 December the City Hall holds a party for families with children where the Rambla meets the Portal de Elche, from 10:30 to 13:30, with a rehearsal of the 12 chimes at 12:00.
In recent years, the TRAM has run extra trams on Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4 after the chimes, all to and from Luceros, until about 02:00 to 03:00 depending on the line (to Benidorm, Line 1 adds only one late train, soon after midnight). City buses stop early: on 31 December the last buses leave every terminus at 21:00 and there are no night buses. Taxis add a supplement of 3€ per trip from 21:00 on 31 December to 07:00 on 1 January.
For the C6 airport bus, there is no night service: the last buses on 31 December leave at 21:04 from Puerta del Mar and at 20:58 from the airport, and on 1 January the first ones leave at 05:50 from Puerta del Mar and at 06:30 from the airport.
Yes. On New Year’s Eve, bars and clubs in the Valencian Community may close 90 minutes later than usual. Normally, pubs close at 03:30 (04:00 with an extension) and nightclubs at 07:30.
December averages a low of 7.4°C (45.3°F) and a high of 17.7°C (63.9°F), so nights are cool and a warm layer helps.