New Year's Eve in Bern 2026: fireworks rules, parties, getting home

In short

• Fireworks: banned in the Old Town, from the Hirschengraben to the Nydeggbrücke. This applies all year, so on New Year's Eve as well.
• Shopping: on Thursday, 31 December 2026, shops in the city centre are open until 5 pm. On 1 and 2 January they are closed.
• Market: the Altjahresmarkt (end-of-year market) on Waisenhausplatz from 28 to 31 December, 10 am to 5 pm each day.
• Parties: the Gurten has published its New Year's Eve programme, the party goes on until 3 am. Little else is known for 2026 yet.
• Getting home: whether extra night buses run on New Year's Eve has not been published yet.

Where fireworks are banned

Bern's Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In this area nobody may set off fireworks, on any day of the year. The city says so explicitly: on 1 August and on New Year's Eve too. Its reason is simple. The narrow streets have no room for it, and it is too dangerous.

According to the city, the area runs from the Hirschengraben in the west to the Nydeggbrücke at the end of the Aare peninsula. It covers the Lower and Upper Old Town with the Matte, as well as the bridges into the Old Town. The exact boundary is shown on the map of the City of Bern.

The legal basis is the city's fireworks regulation (Feuerwerkreglement), in force since 20 July 2021. It bans fireworks of categories 2 to 4 in this area. Anyone who ignores it can be fined.

And in the rest of the city?

Outside the Old Town the regulation does not ban fireworks. Two rules apply in the whole city of Bern, though. Nobody may set off fireworks in a crowd. And sky lanterns are banned everywhere, on New Year's Eve just as in summer.

According to the city, whoever lights fireworks is responsible for them. If something is damaged, the person who lit the fireworks is liable. The city advises reading the instructions and having a bucket of water ready. According to the city, fireworks do not belong near houses and cars. After a long dry spell, the Canton of Bern can issue a fire ban because of the risk of forest fires.

To buy fireworks you have to be old enough. Category 1 is sold from age 12, category 2 from 16, category 3 from 18. Category 4 is for professionals only.

In an emergency: fire brigade 118, ambulance 144, police 117.

What is open on 31 December

In 2026 New Year's Eve falls on a Thursday. BernCity, the association of shops in the city centre, recommends that shops stay open until 5 pm that day. On Friday, 1 January, and on Saturday, 2 January 2027 (Berchtoldstag), they stay closed. Each shop decides for itself, though. Which pharmacies, shops and petrol stations are open right now is shown in Open now in Bern.

On Waisenhausplatz the Altjahresmarkt follows Christmas, from 28 to 31 December 2026, according to the organiser every day from 10 am to 5 pm. From 1 to 3 January the square is closed. After that comes the Neujahresmarkt (New Year market) from 4 to 9 January 2027. The other Christmas markets are over by then, the Sternenmarkt as the last one on 27 December. Dates and hours are in the article Christmas markets in Bern 2026.

Where to celebrate?

Gurten: on Bern's local mountain the programme for 31 December is already online. From 5.30 pm there is mulled wine at the top station. Dinners start at 6 pm, the choice includes a set menu in the restaurant, a family buffet with a children's programme, fondue on the terrace or a buffet with a city view in the Pavillon. From 10 pm there is a party in the Schüür, until 3 am. The last Gurtenbahn goes down at 3.45 am. Places and prices are only available via the Gurten website.

Kursaal: the events calendar shows nothing for 31 December yet (as of 7 November). The Kursaal's year-end party is earlier, on Saturday, 19 December, from age 21.

In town: no fireworks display or celebration by the City of Bern is announced on bern.ch. Many programmes for New Year's Eve 2026 have not been published yet. We will check again in mid-December and update this article.

Getting home on New Year's Eve

The MOONLINER night buses normally run on Friday and Saturday nights. In 2026 New Year's Eve is a Thursday. Whether extra buses run in the night to 1 January had not been published by MOONLINER and Bernmobil as of 7 November. In December you will find the timetable at moonliner.ch, “Infos & Events” and in the öV Plus app. Passes such as GA, Halbtax or Libero are valid on MOONLINER too.

The night from 1 to 2 January is a Friday night. The night buses normally run on that night; any exceptions for 2027 will be on moonliner.ch in December.

On 1 January

Shops are closed. If you need a doctor, Doctor today in Bern helps. And if some of the New Year's Eve dinner is left over: the Resteküche has recipes that turn leftovers into a new meal.

Sources: City of Bern, “Feuerwerk”; City of Bern, “Sicherheitshinweise zum Umgang mit Feuerwerk”; Fireworks regulation of the City of Bern (SSSB 551.4); FOCBS (BAZG), guideline on explosives and pyrotechnics; BernCity, “Empfehlungen Ladenöffnungszeiten 2026/2027”; City of Bern, “Märkte in Bern”; Weihnachtsmarkt Waisenhausplatz; Gurten, “Silvester auf Berns Hausberg”; Kursaal Bern, events calendar; Bernmobil, “MOONLINER”; moonliner.ch. Read on 7 November 2026. The information of the city and the organisers always applies.