Experience well-known Thanksgiving parades and festivals like the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York City and McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago. Travel to the Big Apple and see the parade's giant floats and balloons. Watch musical performances, marching bands and celebrity appearances. The parade spans a six-mile track from Central Park West to Herald Square.
The McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade begins at State Street from Congress to Randolph. See lively and colorful parade floats, marching bands, balloons and entertainers along with more than 400,000 spectators that line the streets from 8 am to 11 am each year on Thanksgiving Day.
Celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday by traveling to historical sites that pay homage to the pilgrims. Visit Plymouth, Massachusetts to learn about the pilgrim voyage and see the outdoor exhibits of Plymouth Plantation including the 17th-Century English Village, Mayflower II and Wampanoag Homesite. Go back in 1627 and walk through the re-creation of a farming and maritime 17th-century English village along the shore of Plymouth Harbor. Expect to see costumed townspeople, timber-framed houses and heritage breeds livestock.
Heading to the beach may be non-traditional, but a tropical destination still makes for a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving vacation. Escape the winter cold and travel to destinations like Miami and Honolulu for warm weather and to sample some special Thanksgiving menu offerings from various restaurants. Island Queen Cruises in Miami offers a Thanksgiving day dinner cruise aboard the Biscayne Lady Yacht. The cruise features a Thanksgiving buffet with traditional dishes along with an open beer and wine bar.
If your like winter sports, take your vacation to the mountains of Denver, Colorado and visit well-known resorts like Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain. Bring your skiing or snowboarding gear to the slopes of Aspen Mountain Resort and ride the Silver Queen Gondola to the 11,212-foot summit of the mountain. Enjoy special Thanksgiving dinners at the resort restaurants or local establishments in Aspen like Montagna at The Little Nell Hotel and Plato's Restaurant at Aspen Meadows Resort. Montagna's Thanksgiving menu features dishes like butternut squashed soup, roasted organic turkey with chestnut stuffing and pumpkin creme brulee for dessert.
