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Plans for the millennium festivities include a nostalgic coastal voyage aboard a precise reproduction of a turn-of-the-century steamship. Says Sheryl Ozinksy, spokeswoman for Captour, Cape Town's tourist organization: "We want people to be telling their grandchildren they were in Cape Town for New Year 2000." By then, the city's hotel capacity will have nearly doubled, to around 15,000 beds, and prices will be in the $40-to-$150-a night range.
A CAPITAL FESTIVAL
On the last day of 1999, virtually everyone in Berlin is likely to head for the same place: the Brandenburg Gate. Once a symbol of the city's loathed division, it was triumphantly reopened in December 1989. A decade later, it is certain to be a particularly joyous gathering place to usher in 2000--with splendid music, wondrous fireworks and considerable jubilation.
For the entire month of December, the historic heart of the city, with its landmark Reichstag and Checkpoint Charlie, will be transformed into a gigantic open-air festival. Multimedia installations, laser animation, sound-and-light shows and an arts festival will honor the once and future German capital.
During the last week of 1999, much of the rejoicing in this vibrant metropolis will be expressed musically. Beethoven, Strauss (Richard and both Johanns) and Berlioz will be featured on classical programs around the city. At the tall Funkturm, the city's radio tower, swing, pop and disco musicians will entertain an expected 2,250 revelers. (The price tag, per person, is around $70.)
Alas, it is already too late to look for a night's stay at several of the city's grandest hotels. The elegant Hotel Adlon, for instance, which reopened last year, says it long ago finished taking bookings for 1999's New Year's Eve. Still, many leading hotels continue to have available gala packages that offer everything from champagne breakfasts and elegant banquets to candle-light dinners and late-night excursions around the city. The Hilton features a party for youths, with games, swimming, a kids' buffet and--most essential for guests who are celebrating with their children and grandchildren who are five or older--hotel-provided baby sitters.
JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
When the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica is opened for midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, 1999, it will usher in the Jubilee Year for Roman Catholics around the world. From that night until the feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, 2001, the Vatican has prepared a full calendar of solemn observances, including prayer vigils, ecumenical celebrations and several canonizations, over which the Pope will preside.
Starting in the summer of last year, the long-postponed restoration of many cherished landmarks inside the Eternal City--including the original entrance to the Pantheon and the front of St. Peter's--finally got under way. Parks and villas that are open to the public are undergoing extensive renovation, and work on new train lines should be completed next year.
Lodging is always expensive in Rome, and the approaching millennium will push prices still higher. A double room at the Eden Hotel, whose superb terrace restaurant has a breathtaking view of the city, will start at $685 a night, with a minimum of a week's stay required. The many nunneries and pensions in and around the city, however, still offer accommodations for less than $100 a night.