St. Patrick’s Day has been commemorated as a religious festival in Ireland for more than one thousand years to honor the patron saint of Ireland (you guessed it) St. Patrick, for bringing Christianity to Ireland.
Somewhere between then and now, St. Patrick’s Day turned into a massive celebration of Irish culture and heritage around the world, including right here in New York City.
And whether or not its residents have a drop of Irish blood in their veins, New York takes St. Patrick’s Day very seriously.
New Yorkers wear green and shamrocks with pride, eat Irish-style boiled dinners with potatoes aplenty, and drink Jameson and Guinness as if they hail from Ireland.
Of course, there are plenty of places around this city for New Yorkers to celebrate the day in true Irish spirit. Check out these 7 lucky spots below and make sure you join in on the festivities.
1. Saint Patrick's Day Parade (5th Avenue)
Millions of New Yorkers will watch with pride, as New York adds a spectacle of green-colored everything to March 17th with its traditional St. Patrick’s Day parade running along 5th Avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street.
Sponsored by Guinness, the parade will feature more than 150,000 marchers proudly moving down the streets, complete with bagpipes and kilts. If you want to grab a good viewing spot while avoiding the crowds, your best bet is to watch along the north end above 59th Street.
2. Turtle Bay NYC (987 2nd Avenue)
You won’t be fully prepared to take on St. Patrick’s Day in NYC without a little warm up, right? So you better get ready by making your way to Turtle Bay NYC on Saturday, March 14th for “St. Practice Day.”
All-day drink specials will commence at noon, and an open bar will run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. for $20. Just your luck, right?
If you prefer to celebrate on the actual day, how about getting green eggs and hammered at the open bar and Irish breakfast on March 17th? You can’t get more in the spirit than starting your day off with that meal, am I right?
3. St. Patrick’s Day Friday Night at the Gansevoort (420 Park Ave South)
Join in on a classy night celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on March 13th, at the stylish Gansevoort Park Avenue.
The event will feature a special guest DJ whipping out remixes of your favorite top 40 songs. If that sounds like your kind of night out, hurry and get your free admission pass before they're all gone.
4. NYC PubCrawls
As the old saying goes, good things come in threes-- and lucky for you, NYC will be hosting three different pub crawls in honor of St. Patrick’s Day: Happy Hour Saint Paddy’s PubCrawl on March 13, Luck of the Irish St. Patrick’s Day PubCrawl NYC on March 14, and of course, the Official St. Patrick’s Day PubCrawl NYC on March 17.
You really can’t get more Irish than hopping around from pub to pub with your friends on St. Patrick’s Day. You can register at one of the bars listed here.
5. McFadden’s Saloon (800 2nd Avenue)
Start off your St. Patrick’s Day Weekend at McFadden’s "Top O’ The Mornin’ Party,"where you’ll have plenty of kegs and eggs waiting for you.
For $25, you’ll get full access to a breakfast buffet of tasty comfort food (eggs, toast, bacon, and potatoes) and unlimited domestic drafts and mimosas, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
6. Porterhouse at Fraunces Tavern (54 Pearl Street)
Celebrate the momentous day at Fraunces Tavern, a historic downtown NYC bar that has been in business since 1762.
The bar was recently taken over by Ireland’s biggest independent brewing company, Porterhouse-- which means you’re bound to find some quality Irish beer and traditional live music here during St. Patrick’s Day Weekend.
7. Sky Room (330 W 40th Street)
Unwind after work on Thursday, March 12 at Sky Room’s St. Patrick’s Day After Work Happy Hour.
After all, it’s almost Friday and you could probably use a drink (or three) after your long week (plus you need to get pumped up for the upcoming weekend's festivities, of course)! The rooftop bar and lounge will include a happy hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will also feature $7 mojitos until 10 p.m.
Cheers!
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