Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Route: Plan A Trip

What is Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Route?

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Route is the most popular holiday parade route in America! It first started in 1924. Its rich history draws 3.5 million people each year to come to see what it’s all about in person. It’s publicized on NBC, a television network on Thanksgiving Day, and attracts another 50 million viewers. Thanksgiving Day in America is the 4th Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving Day Parade Returns

November 25th 2021 from 9a.m. to noon, will be a day of return for parade watchers. In 2020, people could not watch the parade in person due to the corononavirus. The city of New York has safety protocols in place for the prevention of coronavirus. All participants of the parade will be required to be masked and vaccinated. The public will be limited as to the locations where they can view the parade. Proof of vaccination will not be required for parade watchers.

Largest Store in the World

The Macy’s store which this popular Thanksgiving Day Parade starts at is the largest store in the world! The building itself is 2.5 million square feet. The actual retail space is 1.25 million square feet.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Route: Larger than Life Parade Floats

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Route: Signature Floats

They do add new ones each year which is really nice. This way you can return each year, and feel like you are watching a brand new parade!

The Parade also has marching bands from different high schools and colleges. Only the best of the best get an invitation to participate! The famous New York Police Department also participates! It is a great sight to see!

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Route: Best Places to Stay

The best place to stay for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Route is near the Macy’s store. If you plan to make it a 4 day weekend, this is a great location for Black Friday shopping as well as all the reasonably priced stores are nearby.

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving which is the biggest shopping day of the year. It’s nice to be able to put all your bags back into your room when all the shopping is right around the corner from you!

Staying by the Macy’s store is also cheaper since normal folks cannot watch from this area unless you are VIP. Because New York has an excellent subway system, you can rely on the subway to take you near the parade. The subway is conveniently located on 34 St.-Herald Square at the end of the street. You can take the subway to Columbus Circle. It takes 4 stops, about 7 minutes to get to Columbus Circle. And then you can walk over to the JW Marriott Essex House New York area. The walk is about 5 minutes.

The JW Marriott Essex House is another great place to stay if you have a higher budget, as all the action is right here. The JW Marriott is a 5-star hotel that runs about $378 a night! It is very close to Central Park which is a must place to visit when visiting New York City. And it’s also close to Carnegie Hall which is great for theatre and concerts.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Route: Where are the bathrooms?

So this is an interesting question. First of all, don’t drink too much. However, it will likely be very cold when you visit this time of year. So coffee or hot cocoa is a great thing to be drinking when you are out here for several hours. If you need to go to the bathroom, plan on going only once, and do it at least an hour before the parade starts. I left my husband at this spot and walked to this particular Starbucks. This was my saving grace, as it’s very difficult to find a bathroom in New York City. Most establishments will not let you go to the bathroom, as they are for employees only, or in restaurants for their customers only. Thankfully, this Starbucks had clean restrooms and they are open early. There was a line, but worth waiting for. It took me a very long time to walk to this Starbucks as you will travel in a herd of people to get here. And then, thankfully, I was able to find myself back to where my husband was waiting for me. This too was not an easy task, as people did not want to let you in, as they have been holding their spot for a long time as well. Once the parade is done though and the crowd clears, it’s much easier to find the bathroom so just plan ahead.

Overall the Parade was amazing. We got to see the famous singer/songwriter Mariah Carey and Andy Grammer. Each year the parade is filled with different famous artists. While we had a great view of them, unless you are in the VIP section near Herald Square, you can’t watch them sing.

The parade ends with Santa of course, which is your cue to figure out how you will get out of the area safely.

The Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade should be a bucket list item but it doesn’t take away from the experience you have at home where you can catch all the entertainment and commentary from your home television unit within the comforts of a warm place, snacks, and a bathroom whenever you need it.