With Sydney's New Year's Eve spectacle comes a glittering round of extravagant parties - but where there is a harbour view and a magnum of Champagne, there is a ticket price to match.

At $1100 a person, the VIP package at the Opera Kitchen will buy you a private lounge at the Sydney Opera House, a butler, a tailored three-course meal, live entertainment and prime views of Sydney Harbour Bridge. The venue sells out every year,  with a few tickets still left for this year's event, a spokesman said.

Those who are lucky enough to have secured a $695 ticket to NYE at the Opera House's neighbouring Bennelong party will lay claim to much the same vantage point. It is catered by Matt Moran, the new man at the helm of the fine-dining stalwart.

Sydney Showboats' $950 New Year's Eve cruise promises to be the ticket to watch the fireworks from the water, with the seven-hour cruise including a four-course dinner, drinks, a Voyage of Love show and a DJ.

Be a part of the Harbour of Light Parade, an "illuminated flotilla" of more than 40 boats that sails across Sydney Harbour before the fireworks, with a $900 Magistic cruise ticket. The princely sum will also get you a five-course meal, drinks, a live band and a view of the fireworks from the water.

For $800 you can get into the Star's Marquee VIP area, a flute of Dom Perignon (upgraded to a bottle if you get a double pass for $1500) canapes and a view of the midnight fireworks from the Marquee's Pyrmont roof terrace.

A platinum VIP booth at the Argyle will get you and your 10 to 15 closest friends an exclusive performance, two bottles of vodka, a bottle of Champagne, a host, a waitress and a photographer for a price of $5000-$7500.

One of the most coveted events of the night comes with no entry price, other than friends in the right places. The invitation-only Lord Mayor's Ball, on the Opera House forecourt, attracts the great and the good, civil servants, politicians and media included.