The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is on Thursday, November 26, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Macy’s calls it the 100th parade. The first one ran in 1924. The route is 2.5 miles through Manhattan and ends at Macy’s Herald Square. Watching from the street is free.
Date and time
The parade starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at about noon. Plan to be in place well before the start. In past years, spectators began lining up around 6 a.m. If you watch from home, NBC and Peacock have carried the broadcast in recent years. Check your local listings.
Route
Macy’s confirms a 2.5-mile route that arrives at its Herald Square store. As of November 11, 2026, Macy’s had not posted the street-by-street details for this year. The route in recent years is:
- Start at West 77th Street and Central Park West
- South on Central Park West to Columbus Circle
- East on Central Park South
- South on Sixth Avenue from West 59th Street to West 34th Street
- West on West 34th Street to finish at Macy’s Herald Square
Where to watch
Macy’s says public viewing is available along designated parts of the route and that the NYPD manages it. In recent years, the public stretches were Central Park West in the West 60s and 70s, next to Central Park, and Sixth Avenue between West 59th and West 38th Streets. The blocks around Herald Square are used for the broadcast and have had no public viewing. Check before you go: Macy’s will post the viewing details on its parade site.
- Arrive early. The front rows fill first.
- Dress for several hours outdoors. Late November mornings are cold.
- Do not pay for seats. Macy’s says the grandstand seats are not open to the public and tickets are not for sale.
- Use the subway. Many streets near the route are closed to cars.
Accessible viewing
Macy’s works with AHRC NYC to provide accessible viewing along the route. Contact AHRC NYC in advance to ask about a place.
Balloon inflation on Wednesday, November 25
Macy’s says the giant balloons are prepared on Wednesday, November 25, on the Upper West Side. In past years this was on the streets next to the American Museum of Natural History, between West 77th and West 81st Streets. It was free, no ticket was needed, the public could view it from about 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., and the entry checkpoint was at West 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue. Macy’s had not posted the public access details for 2026 as of November 11. Check before you go.
The American Museum of Natural History is right next to the usual inflation area, so you can visit both on the same afternoon.
Quick answers
Is the parade free? Yes. Street viewing is free and needs no ticket.
How long is it? About 3.5 hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Can I buy grandstand tickets? No. Macy’s does not sell them.
Which balloons are in the parade? Macy’s publishes the balloon lineup on its parade site and can change it.
Other holiday plans that week
See our posts on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and Manhattan in December. For a view over Midtown after the parade, see Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building, which is one block from Herald Square.