Patrick’s New York City and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Vacation
New York City is a destination that you must visit at least once in your lifetime. Make it a long weekend or a 14 day vacation, you will never run out of things to see and do in this amazing city. I had the opportunity to spend 5 days in NYC leading up Thanksgiving November 2014 and even though the weather was cool, the pace kept things warm. Getting around the city is fairly easy and really comes down to what you want to see or how quickly you want to get there. The subways are the quickest, but as you travel underground, you miss many of the city icons. A double-decker hop on/hop off allows you to see/learn about the various landmarks but you need to allow for time as traffic dictates the pace. If you have a good pair of shoes, then walking is another great option, but allow for some rest time as you will be on your feet from morning until night.
Some of the top attractions that you need to include on your New York City trip would be Rockefeller Centre, Radio City Music Hall, the 9/11 Memorial, Times Square, Central Park (so much to see here), Broadway shows, the dozens of museums, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, Empire State Building and more. For the sports fan, it’s your choice of hockey, basketball, baseball and football depending on the time of year. Shopping…well let’s just say you won’t run short of options here.
Another famous event is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but you need to plan on arriving early as spots on the street fill up 2-3 hours prior to the start of the parade. There are tours that include guaranteed viewing areas, but sometimes mixing with the locals is just as fun. Also, the night before the parade you can tour the balloon setup area just off of the Central Park starting area. Depending on your feet, after touring the balloon setup area, if you can make it back to Macy’s you may catch a few stars rehearsing their performance on the street in front of the famous store.
Below are just a few pictures from my trip for you to enjoy. If you are thinking about a New York City “escape” then contact Patrick to discuss your plans!
Times Square (always feels like daytime)
