6 Things I learned from my first Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

Updated November 2025

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is a special time of year. As a NYC local, many people tend to get out of town or just avoid the parade in general due to the increase in tourists and overall congestion, but I think local or not, there is a way to make the parade work for you. If you are making a trip up to New York just for the parade then this guide is probably not for you, if you want to experience the parade but not get up at 3 am then read below:

1. Night Before Inflation.

The night before the parade you can see the balloons being blown up by the Natural History Museum, beware that this will be a VERY crowded event and you will have to wait in a long line of people. If you are going to go, the earlier you go, the better. Timing is usually 12-6PM but check in advance. Entrance tends to be at 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue and the viewing gallery at 77th Street, making a 3/4 circle of the museum, before ending at 81st Street and Central Park West. It is estimated it will take at least 45 minutes to complete the loop and see all the balloons.

2. Don’t Get Up Early.

You don’t have to go get a spot at 4 am to see the balloons, unless your goal is to be the first person in line behind the barricades, you might as well sleep in and get a spot a little farther back, so you can enjoy the rest of your day. Especially since there are no public restrooms anywhere around you don’t want to be stuck. We even have left our apartment after the parade has started and were still able to see the balloons just as well as getting there early and dealt with no subway traffic, you will just be a few rows back.

3. Location.

Don’t watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade where the Macy’s website suggests because that’s where everyone will be. Find an off-street in between the main watching points not the start of the parade, Columbus Circle, or Herald Square. If you are a local, find your friends that live in the 70s as they can escort you onto their street with ID for the best viewing spot.

4. Know before you go.

If you want to see a specific balloon know where it is in the lineup, you can find this on the Macys Website. The later you want to show up to the parade the farther south or down on the parade route you should plan to view so you don’t miss a majority of it.

5. Pictures.

During the parade pretty much everywhere around the parade route streetwise is shut down so many of the surrounding areas that usually have traffic don’t, so take advantage of this and take lots of fun NYC street and City pictures!

6. Directions.

Know which ways the balloons will be facing, in 2019 they were facing the east side of the streets not the west. That will determine which subways you need to use to get your viewing spot, and what side of the street you need to be on. Floats and other entertainment face both ways. As you can see the picture below was from the west side of the street.

For more detailed information on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, what the line up looks like, balloon details, and more – check out Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade site here.

If you are a first time visitor check out some of my NYC guides.