In principle I’m not a fan of resort bars whacking a massive entry fee on their New Year’s Eve offering. Some of the bars in Morzine that are usually free to enter (and very much fun once you’re in there), price their New Years entertainment at around €20 per person, and include ONE free drink. But why? Yes, it’s a busy night but there are no more punters in town than on many other nights of the year. And who wants to stay in just one bar anyway? So, determined not to spend a single euro on entry fees, here’s how my NYE went down in Morzine…
16:00 to 20:00 – Basscamp DJs at Le Tremplin
A bonus Basscamp après party (usually on Wednesdays and Fridays) to kick off the New Year celebrations, and the bottom of the Pleney was packed out. The music was halted temporarily for the ESF torch lit descent of the Pleney and some great fireworks. I’ve never seen so many families gathered at the bottom of the piste for the spectacle. The atmosphere was great, as were the Basscamp DJs, but then that’s pretty standard these days. DJ Kev Gitsham played a pretty epic rendition of Gangnam Style, accompanied by a conga, which he’s probably regretting this morning…
20:00 to 22:00 – Coup de Coeur
Always popular for après après drinks, ‘the Coup’ was packed but with a great crowd of happy holiday makers who’d enjoyed their day in the sun. There was table service for drinks on the heated terrace at the back of the bar and we managed to pull ourselves together before the carnage that was to follow…
22:00 - 02:00 – Chez Roger
Roger runs the smallest bar in Morzine. This must be a fact. Despite this, he books a four man DJ collective called DANG! to draw in the crowds. 20 people arrive, the bar is packed and everyone spills out into the street. No, I’m not complaining, it’s always a great crowd in Rogers and you’ll always see a load of familiar faces. DANG! mix up funk, nu-disco, latin, reggae, house and electro which everyone seems to love… it would just be great to have a bit more space to dance!
Café Chaud, another ridiculously popular Morzine venue was also free all night long and Chaud regular DJs Eveson, Magic Bowers and Piers twisted old school jungle, and drum and bass around dubstep and roots reggae. Which just goes to show… there’s no need to charge folk to enter a bar on New Year’s eve. Good music is enough to keep the drinkers coming!
A good night was had by all but despite my best intentions I didn’t manage to take advantage of the quiet pistes on New Year’s Day morning. There’s always next year… The recovery involved a €10 plat du jour at L’Etale restaurant in the centre of the resort, where the food was delicious, the food tasty and plentiful and the vin blanc flowed.
