Craving a St. Patrick’s Day celebration that goes beyond shamrocks and green beer? I am here to take you on a whirlwind tour of 12 electrifying parades around the world, each bursting with unique flavor and Irish cheer.
In case you aren’t well-versed with the unspoken rules,🤫 let me tell you some! Pile up your green clothes🟢 because if Chicago’s river or Savannah’s fountain can be turned green, so can you! Carry your warm clothes because some parades never cancel despite the weather conditions! And lastly, the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day don’t just last for a few hours, so don’t miss out on the absolute fun time at St. Patrick’s Day Celebration in the USA and other parts of the world.
1) St. Patrick’s Festival 2025
In any case, if you are unaware of the birthplace of this special occasion, I will put some context for you! St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with respect to the foremost patron saint of Ireland. (Here’s a chocolate for you🍫 if you knew that!) As the seed of parades and celebrations was sown in Ireland, I will not go on boasting about how amazing the parades are there! Every nook and cranny is green, but the capital of Ireland, Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day Parade, wins the crown for grabbing the world’s attention.
With over 4000 performers and half a million people attending the festivities, you can flex for life in front of everyone if you attend it! The list of activities in the parade is so long that it’s a task to make bullet points, but I’ll name some of them for you!😚 The day and night are full of family-friendly carnivals, concerts on open stages, street theatres, and (the stressful fun with) a treasure hunt. I can easily keep on going up, but what’s the fun without a surprise?👀
Highlights: A stunning parade of pompous floats, cascading dancers, performers dressed flamboyantly, and a thunderous show of music and pageantry weave through Dublin’s old streets.
Theme: ‘Eachtraí,’ the Irish word for Adventures, represents the unique essence of Ireland and of Irish people.
📍Parnell Square W, Dublin, Ireland
🗓️ March 15 to 17, 2025
2) 264rd Annual NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade
New York City (the city that never sleeps) apparently takes celebrating St. Patrick’s Day very seriously! Back in the 1700s, Irish immigrants flooded the Big Apple. Naturally, they wanted to celebrate their culture and heritage, so in 1762, bam!🔥 The first parade marched down the streets, making it the oldest and largest parade in the world. Fast forward 200+ years and NYC’s parade just keeps breaking records for being the biggest and baddest.😎 The Irish spirit has woven itself so tightly into the city’s fabric that even non-Irish folks find themselves jigging along to the beats.
Coming to the grand celebration, with 150,000 marchers on Fifth Avenue, including brave firefighters, military groups, bands, social and cultural clubs, and so many more, take the lead in the 264rd Annual NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Become one of two million people, but always arrive early to get the best seats (you know the rule)! The only requirement is to grab your greenest attire!🍀
Highlights: Bar Crawls, special offers in pubs and restaurants, and after-party scenes with green flashing all over the city
📍5th Avenue, New York, United States
🗓️ March 17, 2025
3) 70th Annual Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Living in Chicago is such a blessing, especially when St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. The second-largest parade in the USA feels like a movie, and you are one of the most important characters in it.😏 When Shannon Rovers’ Irish Pipe Band lead the performance (as a ritual for years), the goosebumps would become your bestie! This 70th Annual Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade simultaneously waves Irish flags high, with the loud and approaching bagpipes followed by marching band troops!
I just said it’s Chicago, so the colors of green are not limited to just streets! Chicago does everything with style! Wake up early and reach early to see Chicago Plumbers turning the River a vibrant green color because WHY NOT?💚 Do a little bit more work to get the absolute best view from Upper Wacker Drive. There will be more than a million people,🧑🤝🧑 so don’t you dare be late. I would hate to see my reader missing the second-best parade of the USA.
Highlights: Watch the River turn Green, Marching band troops
Theme: Trades, Technology, and Education
📍Balbo Drive, Chicago, United States
🗓️ March 15, 2025
4) St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Savannah
Returning to the hub of parades, America truly knows how to throw the top three parades of St. Patrick’s Day!🎈 The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Savannah made it to the list as the third largest in America, right in the queue after New York and Chicago! Everyone in the city puts their elbows and knees strength into making this the Largest Event in Savannah!
The 201st Anniversary of the St. Paddy Day parade begins with a Mass at Basilica Cathedral⛪, where everyone is invited! Later, the marching bands, traditional Irish dance, and elaborate floats make the street feel like Ireland in no time! Don’t miss out on seeing the fountain turning green.⛲ Since 1824, the Irish Catholic community has carried the tradition, and now it has become everyone’s favorite festival in Savannah! A tip: getting just the right point to have the best view of the parade is difficult, so you can either arrive early or camp out along the route as many people do!
Highlights: Greening the fountain at Forsyth Park and Seargent Jasper Green ceremony at Madison Square
📍Gwinnett and Abercorn Street, Savannah, United States
🗓️ March 17, 2025
5) 174th Annual San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade
San Francisco may be known for its cable cars and Carnaval San Francisco, but when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day, this city goes full-on Emerald Isle! The strong Irish-American community has led to the 174rd Annual San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade to celebrate gloriously!
Over a century and a half ago, Irish immigrants rolled up their sleeves and helped build this very city.🌆 And what better way to bond than with a parade, right? It’s a giant bubble of Irish music, poetry, dance performances, more than 100 colorful floats,🥳 and (obviously) lots and lots of green! You don’t have to be Irish from blood if you are one with heart!💚 This St. Patrick’s Day in San Francisco, you’ll feel more Irish than a pot of stew – guaranteed!
Highlights: Dazzling procession of floats, marching bands, Irish dancers, and cultural groups, a special tribute to the pivotal role of Irish immigrants in San Francisco’s early history and celebration of immigrant resilience through music, dance, and visual art!
Theme: The Immigrant’s Story
📍Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco, United States
🗓️ March 15, 2025
🌐 Website
6) 200th Montreal’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade
The Great White North (despite its extreme cold) doesn’t back down from parades. Montreal St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes the front seat to become the oldest parade in Canada. Started in 1824, it will celebrate its 200th edition of the parade. Let me tell you something that will impress you the most! This parade has never been canceled despite extreme weather conditions in the city.⛈️ You should see the parade just to respect the dedication (and it’s a guarantee that it ain’t canceling!)
The parade route is flooded with hundreds of floats, marching bands, and a massive replica of St. Patrick. To blend in with the joy of the Irish community,🫂 500,000 spectators relish the hundreds (or thousands!) of participants. Freeze or sneeze, at the end of the day, parades cannot be sacrificed at Montreal!
Highlights: Replica of St. Patrick, 3-hour procession, street party performances, and Irish community happenings!
📍Downtown Montreal, Montreal, Canada
🗓️ March 16, 2025
🌐 Website
7) South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade
The celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in Boston is a story of twists and tweaks over decades! The first procession took place more than 110 years ago, in 1902! Twist? It is considered to have started almost 200 years ago, in 1737😱, as a symbol of unity among the city’s new Irish immigrants! Eventually, the parade moved to South Boston.
Ready for the tweak? The South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a two-in-one celebration with Evacuation Day when freedom lovers of Boston threw out colonials. So, assume that every emotion and celebration is doubled in the parade.🥂 The three-mile-long route is filled with half a million people with heightened happiness and a sense of celebration of not one but two celebrations!
Highlights: Two-in-one celebration with marching bands, police, and military units wearing costumes and novelty automobiles
📍Broadway MBTA Stop to Farragut Road, Boston, United States
🗓️ March 16, 2025
8) Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Whenever you mention parades and parties, New Orleans is complimentary to add to that!➕1️⃣ Learning how to party from New Orleans should actually be a workshop; that’s how amazing it is. St. Patrick’s Day celebration is no exception here. For a week and a half, the Big Easy switches its party mode on (like every other day) with festivities, parties, and parades all around the city! Out of so many parades, The Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the one that grabs attention. The neighborhood was named after immigrants from Ireland who concentrated here and made it their home!
There are some rituals that you should know about before you jump out there.👆First, Wear Green (obviously). ✌️Second, anything can be thrown at you, right from attractive beads to potatoes, onions, or carrots (so beware and catch it all!!) 👌Third, don’t miss the pre-parade mass and post-parade Magazine Street with men dressed formally! The attendees will be hundreds of thousands, so be safe (and catch all the beads)!
Highlights: Pre and Post-parade rituals, goodies, and treaties falling from the sky!
📍Irish Channel, New Orleans, United States
🗓️ March 15, 2025
9) St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Buenos Aires
Now, it wouldn’t be obvious to see Buenos Aires in the list of biggest parades of the Feast of Saint Patrick, but here is where you need some facts!📃 More than 500,000 Irish people have their homes in Argentina, making it one of the largest populations of Irish people outside Ireland. Obviously, there’s a huge parade coming your way in Buenos Aires!🤷♀️ Even the whole setup of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Buenos Aires is a combined effort of the Argentina-Ireland Association, the Buenos Aires city government, and the Irish Embassy!
The Big Street Party is a fest for the Irish with its cultural music and performances all along Reconquista Street. What to do after the parade? Buenos Aires has it all sorted! The food and beer stand with dance and live music performances or pub celebrations go on till the next morning.🎉 No need to go home because it’s St. Patrick’s Day!
Highlights: Irish-flavored rock and folk groups, U2 tribute band, along with performances by the Irish dance troupes
📍Avenida de Mayo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
🗓️ March 17, 2025
🌐 Website
10) London St Patrick’s Day Festival 2025
If London doesn’t throw a grand celebration and parade, it will simply feel left out! Hosted at Trafalgar Square, London makes the parade right on point and swiftly in style! Every year, the London St Patrick’s Day Festival adopts a new theme,🎭 but the only things that stay the same are the grand celebration and the color green! Irish marching bands from the US, UK, and Ireland land on the streets of London with dance troupes and pageantry. It’s not just the parade; it is the beauty of London on St. Paddy Day! There are plenty of activities throughout the week around the city.
Around 50000 people join every year and relish the parade, which starts at Hyde Park Corner, travels through Piccadilly, St. James’s Street, Whitehall, and ends at Trafalgar Square, where the extensive celebration takes place right from concerts and performances to choirs and dance troupes! Let me just say if London celebrates St. Paddy Day, you are left with no option but to celebrate with the city.
Highlights: Family concerts, children’s films, and youth performances, as well as community choirs, school dance troupes, and a singalong finale.
📍Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom
🗓️ March 16, 2025
🌐 Website
11) St. Patrick’s Parade of Toronto 2025
The most populous city in Canada never backs down from celebrating the best days of the year in every community! Since 1988, Irish-Canadian culture has been celebrated by the mega fest of Toronto’s St. Patrick’s Parade! The iconic marches, performances, and floats make the parade marvelous, plus the green color just brings the vibe that St. Patrick’s Day is known for!
You might find Members of the Toronto Professional Firefighters Association on the route for collecting cash and canned goods.🥫 You can play your part in supporting Daily Break Food Bank if you can! In the end, you can always end up at McVeigh’s Irish Pub, a 50-year-old family-run drinking hole, after the parade,🍸 for perfectly poured pints of Guinness for your toasts.
Highlights: Restaurants, pubs, and bars with St. Patrick’s Day-themed costumes and after-party after parade!
📍Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto, Canada
🗓️ March 16, 2025
12) Waterford St. Patrick’s Day Festival 2025
It is seamless to say that no one can match Ireland’s enthusiasm for St. Patrick’s Day parades. The annual Waterford St. Patrick’s Day Festival is adding to Dublin’s exciting parade. It is a delight to see how amazingly the Irish community gathers around yearly to celebrate with a series of events and parades!
For four fun-filled days showcasing the city’s vibrant spirit, its tight-knit communities, and a culture that’ll make you jig like a leprechaun on a sugar rush! I am here to provide you with the best bets on where the parade will become a delight to watch. The viewing platform outside City Hall puts you right in the thick of the action, perfect for catching all the floats and dancers.😃 William Vincent Wallace Plaza is best for a panoramic view of the parade snaking through the city.🤫 But honestly, mates, the best spot is wherever you feel the rhythm pull you in.
Highlights: Watch the city’s iconic places turn green, events, and activities throughout the festival
📍Waterford, Ireland
🗓️ March 14, 2025
Our Show Ends Here, Not Yours!
The month of March is defined by the mushy green color because of the love people have for St. Patrick’s Day!🍀 It is such a joyous time of the year that as the celebration starts, nobody wishes to stop the extravaganza!
Don’t be forced to choose between Chicago’s Emerald River spectacle and Dublin’s historical grandeur; both are amazing in their own way! Dive into New Orleans’ week-long party, soak up the Bostonian spirit of two celebrations in one, or jig along with San Francisco’s vibrant floats. Feeling adventurous?😏 Montreal’s parade defies even blizzards, and read about surprising facts about Buenos Aires; these are enough to keep your thrill alive!
These parades are the ones that raise people’s curiosity and make them eagerly wait for the celebrations (with an extra sprinkle) of St. Patrick’s Day! 🥺
If you wish to explore any further events of St. Patrick’s Day in the UK, click below to get transported to the best events!
