Everything you need to know about Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade: Route, street closings, and more

The city will soon be looking very green as 150,000 marchers and two million spectators come together for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Bagpipers, marching bands and more will make their way from Midtown to the Upper East Side, as the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the world celebrates its 257th year. This year’s parade will take place on Saturday, the day before St. Patrick’s Day, because March 17 falls on a Sunday. Read on for more details, how to avoid traffic, and how public transit will be affected.

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. on 44th Street, and go straight up north on Fifth Avenue, passing St. Patrick’s Cathedral before coming to an end at the American Irish Historical Society on 80th Street around 5 p.m. Spectators who want to get a spot as close as possible to Fifth Avenue are urged to arrive early.

Call it the luck of the Irish, but as of right now the weather prognosis is looking good, with a high of 51 degrees and sunny skies—though the parade will go on, rain or shine.

The Department of Transportation has noted the following street closures from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Formation

• Vanderbilt Avenue between 43rd Street and 46th Street
• 43rd Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 44th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 45th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 46th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 47th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 48th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 5th Avenue between 42nd Street and 43rd Street

Route

• 5th Avenue between 79th Street and 43rd Street

Dispersal

• 5th Avenue between 86th Street and 79th Street
• 79th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 80th Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 81st Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 82nd Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 83rd Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 84th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 85th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

Miscellaneous

• 49th Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza
• 50th Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza
• 51st Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza
• 58th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 60th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 62nd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 63rd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 64th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 65th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 71st Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 72nd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 78th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue
• Madison Avenue between 42nd Street and 86th Street

Transportation

To get to the parade, you’ll want to take the D or F trains to 42nd Street/Bryant Park, the 4, 6, or 7 to Grand Central, the E to Lexington Avenue/53rd Street, or the N to 5th Avenue and 59th Street.

To prevent crowding on stairways and platforms, some subway entrances at the 5 Avenue-59 Street N and R station will be closed. In addition, some exits and entrances at the 77 Street 6 station may be designated as entry/exit only, on both the uptown and downtown platforms.

L trains will not run between Brooklyn & Manhattan this weekend due to critical ongoing maintenance work. Special weekend M trains will provide additional service into Manhattan, running between Metropolitan Avenue and 47-50 Streets, then via the F between 47-50 Streets and Lexington Avenue/63 Street, and via the Q between Lexington Avenue/63 Street and 96 Street.

Revelers should note that alcohol will be banned on Metro-North and LIRR from 12 a.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Sunday.

The LIRR will operate 38 additional trains to/from Penn Station throughout the course of the day on Saturday to help customers get to the parade. Metro-North will be running 18 additional trains. Timetables for March 16 can be accessed on the MTA’s website or through the MYmta app.