NYC Columbus Day Parade - best place to watch?
 

We will be in NYC on Oct. 13 and are going to see the Columbus Day Parade - 1 million spectators! There aren't 1 million people in our entire state! (Montana) So, NYC specialists, can you give us any hot insider tips about the best place to watch the parade? Do we need to get there at the crack of dawn? Any info appreciated.

You don't need to get there at the crack of dawn. It starts around 11 am at 44th st. & 5th ave. and goes up 5th to 86 st. I like watching from the steps of the Metropolitan museum which is near the end of the route.

Thanks for responding. This is our 5th annual trip to NYC - I have gotten so much good info on this site and have used it to plan all our trips. Last year my husband got hit by a bike on the Brooklyn Bridge - a long night at the Long Island College Hospital after he was carried off the bridge, what a story - but that experience was an anomaly. We love NYC!

Holy smokes! That sounds awful. Hope this is a problem free trip.

The crowds are usually pretty sparse north of 60th St. I used to live on 61st St. and always liked watching from there.

If you watch from there or the Met, you can arrive around 11:30 and see the whole parade.

FYI, the grandstand is around 69th St. and sometimes the dignitaries, and some marchers too, drop out at that point and the parade thins out.