New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade
Information about Where & When for the March 17th Event in Manhattan
Mar 15, 2009
Spending St. Patrick's Day in New York City? Before going out and celebrating the day with a good old-fashioned pub crawl in the city, check out the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade! A New York City tradition since 1762, 2009 marks the 248th parade celebration in Manhattan.
Parade Route & Time: Where to Go and When
The parade begins at 10:00 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) and runs late into the afternoon, until about 4:00 or 5:00 pm EST. Be sure to get there early, though! Space along Fifth Avenue, the location of the parade, will fill up quickly. The parade starts at 44th Street and continues forty-two blocks uptown to 86th Street, just past the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Best Places to Watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade
According to the parade's official website, the best places to watch the parade are above 59th Street (uptown and along Central Park). The spaces in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral at 51st Street, as well as in front of the Plaza Hotel at 59th Street and Central Park South, will be jam-packed with onlookers. There are also bleachers set up along the Central Park side of the street further uptown along Fifth Avenue.
How to Get to Parade Locations on Fifth Avenue
Getting into the city on St. Patrick's Day via car will be tricky, as finding parking in Manhattan is already a chore on any given day. Public transportation is the best bet:
- The yellow N-Q-R-W subway lines include a stop at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, on the southeast corner of Central Park.
- The orange B-D-F-V subway lines run along Sixth Avenue/Avenue of the Americas in Midtown and stops at 42nd Street, 47-50th Street, then splits, where the F and V trains run across the East Side and stop at various points near the parade route. (Be sure not to stay on a B or D train above the Rockefeller Center subway stop, as it will go along the West Side.)
- The green 4-5-6 subway lines run along the East Side under Lexington Avenue. Lexington Avenue is just three blocks east of Fifth Avenue, so it's fairly easy to walk to the parade.
For information about getting to different points on the parade route, check out some further information on New York City's public transportation system and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) website's map of the New York City subway system.
Where to Watch the Parade if You're Unable to Attend
Some of the local television stations will be broadcasting the parade, including NBC New York (channel four). Coverage begins at 11:00 am EST and runs until 3:00 pm EST. For those outside the New York City metro area, it's also possible to watch the parade via a live webcast on the official parade website.
To experience the oldest St. Patrick's Day parade celebration in the world, check out the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City, beginning 10:00 am EST at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street in Manhattan.
