Sweet Happenings Travel

Now is the perfect time to start planning all those Fall and Winter trips, and making the trip to New York City for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of those bucket list trips you have to do at least once! The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade that is presented in New York City every year by the chain department store “Macy’s”. This parade has been happening annually since 1924 and draws a crowd of close to 3.5 million people each year!

Making the trip to The Big Apple in November can seem like a stressful trip to make, but I am here to guide you through attending the Macy’s Day Parade for an unforgettable experience!

My “4 Days in New York City” Itinerary will be a huge help when planning this trip and narrowing down the specifics on where to stay, how to get around, what to do, and what to eat on this trip! I would absolutely plan on staying in New York City for multiple days around the parade so you’re able to take in all the city has to offer. Now lets get down to the specifics of the parade itself!

The day before the parade:

The parade will happen Thanksgiving Day at 9am-noon (for this year that is November 28, 2024). I would highly recommend that the day before the parade, you and your travel buddies utilize the parade map that Macy’s posts to help you both plan and scope out where you hope to be to watch the parade. The most popular places for spectators to watch the parade are the West side of Central Park where the parade commences, near Columbus Circle, 6th Ave, and Herald Square where the parade ends, keep this in mind when planning on where to watch the parade from, these areas will get filled up fast.

Subway routes and run times are heavily decreased on Thanksgiving so plan on walking from your hotel to where ever you plan on watching the parade. Figure out how long the walk will take from your hotel to your ideal parade watching spot so you’re ready for the morning. Tons of NYPD officers will be out starting to set up barricades for the parade so make sure to be respectful to them and their work!

If you want a cool sneak peak into the parade prep, the day before the parade between 1 and 8pm you can head up to West Central Park to see the Inflation Celebration. You can watch up close as they prep all the balloons for the parade!

Important to consider/where to watch the parade:

If you are anything like me, you will want to get as close to the Macy’s store in New York to watch the parade. The parade finishes in front of the Macy’s department store. As amazing as it is to try and get close to the front of Macy’s, access to watch the parade from the front of Macy’s is very restricted for badged personnel only and you will not be able to get in front of the store itself. The closest you will be able to get is about a block away. Then because Macy’s is where the finale of the parade is and is being broadcasted, several blocks around Macy’s where the parade runs is considered a “quiet zone”. What this means is that if you plan on watching the parade within 4 blocks of Macy’s you will not get to see the members of the parade perform because they are too close to the finale broadcast and cannot be loud. You will still get to see all the floats and famous people on the floats, but you will not get to hear them sing or see all the dancers and bands perform. The further you are from the start of the parade, the longer you also have to wait before seeing any floats.

Note: There is no public viewing at the kickoff location of the parade between West 77th Street and Central Park West (Letter “A” on the parade map). There is no public viewing on Central Park West between West 59th and West 60th Streets. There is no public viewing at the corner of Central Park where the parade turns onto Central Park South (Letter “C” on the parade map). Avoid watching on 6th Ave between West 34th and West 38th Street, national television broadcast limits viewing here and is a “quiet zone” (Letter “F” on the parade map). There is no public viewing in front of Macy’s in Herald Square (Letter “G” on the parade map).

There are tons of opportunities to watch the parade with great views between West 59th to West 38th Street on 6th Ave with no public viewing restrictions, along with the stretch between West 75th to West 61st Street along Central Park West (Letters “B”, “D”, and “E” on the parade map)!

The night before the parade:

The weather in New York in November can be very chilly! I would invest in a heated coat or simply a high quality winter coat before your trip so that you can stay warm the whole time! Both my husband, sister and I had heated coats and brought hand warmers to keep us comfortable while we waited for hours outside for the parade. Gloves, beanies, and multiple layers is a must. While you wait for the parade to start, it will be the coldest part of the day before the sun comes up, as it starts to warm up you can take layers off.

I would definitely recommend packing a backpack with snacks, games to keep you entertained, hand warmers, a blanket or chair to sit on, and water, although I would be careful not to drink too much water because you won’t have access to a bathroom for a while without losing your spot in the morning. Most surrounding businesses will also only let you use their restroom if you’re a paying customer.

The night before the parade is also a perfect chance to visit the Macy’s store in Herald Square to see all the hustle and bustle of parade preparation, get some pictures on the famous green street where performers are broadcasted, and take in all the holiday cheer. I would recommend going before 9pm as the street does eventually get closed off for the night.

The morning of the parade:

The exciting day is here! We planned on leaving our hotel at 4am to start heading towards our planned spot to watch the parade. We ended up wandering for about an hour navigating around all the barricades that are put in place and finally picked our spot to wait for the parade. It was time to hunker down for the 4 hours before the parade started (and because we were so far from the start of the parade, it was going to be even longer until we saw the parade). Remember not to drink too much water or coffee while you wait for the parade since access to bathrooms is limited, but feel free to break out any snacks or entertainment that you brought!

Plan on leaving your hotel between 4 and 6 am to start making your way to where you’re watching the parade from in hopes to get a good spot (the more popular places to watch the parade from will start to fill up first)! There will be very limited breaks in the barricades early in the morning on the street that the parade runs on so you have to be flexible to navigate around all of them. The crowd starts to build fast and then suddenly thousands of other parade watchers will be around you!

What I would do differently:

If I were to attend the Macy’s Day Parade again, here is what I would do differently! I would simply just pick a different spot to watch the parade from. As I mentioned earlier, I stood in the “quiet zone” of the parade so I did not get to see any of the performances that were in the parade. I would aim to watch the parade closer to West Central Park where the parade starts, or further up 6th Ave between West 59th and West 38th Street. Regardless of where you end up watching the parade from, you are bound to have a great time, there are just some more ideal locations to watch the parade from than others. Lastly I want to recommend that if you get the perfect spot to watch the parade from right against a barricade, respectfully stand your ground and hold your place because it is inevitable that latecomers will try to shove their way to the front, but you got up early for your perfect spot!

This truly is a once in a lifetime bucket list item that you have to cross off! The chances that you have grown up watching the parade from home since you were a little kid is so high and it is truly amazing to get to see it in person! I hope this post gives you the confidence to go indulge yourself in the craziness of Thanksgiving in New York! If you have any questions at all about going to the parade or if you want more details about it, leave me a comment and I’d be happy to share more!