St. Paddy’s Day is one of the best party times of the year.
There are plenty of beers, parades, beer, fun crowds and parties and the top places to party for it are Boston, Chicago and Savannah, Ga, Las Vegas, New Orleans and, surprisingly,Honolulu, where 300,000 people pack the streets for a mid-day parade, then head to River Street for a wild celebration.
But there’s more and here’s our Top 10 list of best destinations
1.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: Boston
In Boston, the parade runs down West Broadway, where most of it takes place. It then turns on P street and then goes down 4th Street and 5th St., behind Thomas Park and finished on Dorchester St. If you want to go to an Irish bar, head to Fanueil Hal at either The Black Rose or Dooley’s.
If you find a sober Irishman in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day then, well, don’t worry about it. You won’t find a sober Irishman in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day.
2.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: Chicago
In Chicago, the parade is always the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. The dye the river green and hundreds of thousands line the route. Before, during and after the parade, people then pack into the city’s many Irish bars. This is a huge party!
3.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: Savannah, GA.
In Savannah, a mid-sized Southern city, the first bar opens at 6 a.m., they dye the river and fountains green and the traditional t-shirt “event” takes place around 3 on River Street. There are more than 300,000 people for it and the build-up is for days leading up to the parade on St. Patrick’s Day.
However, unlike when PubClub.com resided in Savannah, there is now a cover charge to get onto River Street and covers at the pubs (most of the bars are pretty small). It’s fun and you’ll want to do it year after year after year. But bring cash, to the tune of $50 in addition to what you’ll spend on your green suds. Tip: If you want to go, get a hotel room NOW! You want to be downtown.
4.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: New York City
New York City specializes in parades and it has a big one. It’s on March 17 every year except when St. Patrick’s Day is on a Sunday. That means in 2014 it’s on Monday. It starts at 11 a.m., and goes down Fifth Avenue (past St. Patrick’s Cathedral) to 86th Street, where it finishes at approximately 5 p.m. That’s a long parade!
5.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: New Orleans
You know New Orleans more for Mardi Gras, but if you think for one second those fun and crazy Cajuns will let St. Patrick’s Day go without a party, well then you don’t know those crazy Cajuns! There’s a parade here, too, but with a New Orleans twist to it – it pauses to allow people to run into the bars along the route!
It starts downtown on the corner of Burgundy and Piety and goes through the French Quarter (Royal, the Esplanade and Decatur and Bienville streets) before finally spilling onto Bourbon Street.
6.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: Honolulu (Don’t laugh, there’s a block party)
Yes, a block party! The entire city – well, all the singles anyway – turn out for this as this beach paradise goes from Waikiki to wild!
7.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destinations: Las Vegas
Vegas has several Irish bars, and the best of these on Nine Fine Irishmen in New York/New York. It spills out from beyond the bar to the Brooklyn Bridge in a huge block party. There is a cover charge for this of course. Hey it’s Vegas!
8.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: Los Angeles
There’s no big parade through the city or central party in Los Angeles, but there are tons of Irish bars and pockets of parties in cities throughout the area. Molly Malone’s is centrally located in L.A., (575 South Fairfax) and would be the top authentic bar to party in, if you could only get in it.
Main Street in Santa Monica is a huge party place, the Auld Dubliner in downtown Long Beach is another great spot, there’s a block party in Hollywood and in party-hearty Hermosa Beach there’s a silly little parade (Saturday, March 15 in 2014) and several bars on the Pier that are truly “Irish for a day.”
9.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: San Diego
San Diego has a giant parade in Balboa Park on Saturday, and follows that up with a block party in the Gaslamp. If one party is fun, then two is even more fun, right!?
Now you might not think of Savannah, Ga., for St. Patrick’s Day. Unless you’ve lived there or experienced it. And if you did, you would be plotting to get back each and every year.
10.) Top St. Patrick’s Day Destination: Austin, Texas
St. Paddy’s Day falls right in the heart of the huge music festival/party, South by Southwest. That takes place March 15-20.
It’s a combo party in a big-time party town.
Just a heads up, they no longer dye the river in Savannah.
Good to know thanks! What about the fountains!?
Thanks for the Louisiana props! Always appreciated. Please know that New Orleans isn’t really Cajun. The city is more Creole. We’ll take the positive publicity though. Thank you again for the great words about our city!
Thank for the comments and insight. PubClub.com has Southern roots and loves New Orleans!