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Seasonal guide

Thanksgiving in New York 2026: crowds day by day

2026 brings the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and with it one of the busiest long weekends of the year in Manhattan. This guide estimates how crowded 13 of the city's top sights get each day from Wednesday, November 25 to Sunday, November 29, compared with a normal November Wednesday, and the calmest time to go. It's an estimate from typical visitor patterns, opening hours and the holiday calendar, not a headcount.

At a glance

• Closed · Thursday, November 26: Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA New York, Statue of Liberty, Statue of Liberty Ferry Tour

Day by day: crowds and best time

Change in visitors vs a normal November weekday (estimate), and the calmest hour to go.

Day by day

Wednesday, Nov 25: the calm before

In our estimate, sightseeing on Wednesday is about as busy as on a normal November Wednesday, which makes it the best day of the week for the places that close on Thursday: the Met, MoMA and the Statue of Liberty. In the afternoon the parade balloons are inflated around the American Museum of Natural History (West 77th to 81st Street); it gets very crowded from late afternoon, and Macy's publishes the exact hours shortly before.

Thursday, Nov 26: parade day

The 100th parade runs from about 8:30 AM to noon, from West 77th Street and Central Park West down to Macy's Herald Square on 34th Street. To see it, arrive by 6 or 7 AM along Central Park West or Sixth Avenue; the stretch at Herald Square is reserved for the TV broadcast. The Met, MoMA and Liberty and Ellis islands are closed all day, and streets near the route stay closed until early afternoon. Elsewhere the city runs like a Saturday.

Friday, Nov 27: Black Friday

Shoppers fill Fifth Avenue, Herald Square and Times Square from the morning. The museums reopen and get busy from late morning with everyone who couldn't go on Thursday: go at opening. It's still calmer than Saturday, so it's a good day for the Statue of Liberty ferry if you book an early slot.

Saturday, Nov 28: the busiest day

In our estimate, Saturday is the most crowded day of the long weekend at almost every sight, with more than twice the visitors of a normal November Wednesday. Book timed tickets ahead, start at opening and keep the middle of the day for walking neighborhoods rather than queuing.

Sunday, Nov 29: the getaway day

Sunday is still very busy, above all from late morning to mid-afternoon. Many visitors head home in the afternoon, so the observation decks and museums calm down a little toward closing; on the decks the busiest hour is around sunset (about 4:30 PM).

Tips for the long weekend

• Book timed tickets for the observation decks, MoMA and the Statue of Liberty ferry ahead for Friday to Sunday: the good slots sell out first.
• Do the museums on Wednesday or Friday at opening. On Thursday they're closed and on Saturday they're at their fullest.
• Take the subway on Thursday morning: Central Park West, Sixth Avenue and the cross streets near the route are closed until early afternoon.
• Sunrise is around 6:50 AM and sunset around 4:30 PM: walk the Brooklyn Bridge and the High Line early, before the crowds and while it's light.
• Late November is cold and can be rainy. Our planner adjusts the estimate with the weather forecast within 7 days of your date.

Frequently asked questions

Estimate based on typical visitor patterns, opening hours, holidays and known events. Not a headcount: confirm hours and closures with each venue. Updated: 2026-11-09.