On St. Patrick's Day, Chicago is the Greenest City of All

March 4, 2009 at 8:56 AM | by BS | Comments (6)

Where's the best place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Many would argue New York, with its two-million-person parade, and seemingly a pub with Guinness on tap for every one of them. Boston's got its share of stout-fueled rowdiness as well, but both of these cities are so Irish-fied already that St. Patrick's Day never really feels like that much of a change�just the same pubs with longer lines. Of course you can always go to Dublin for the genuine option, but that's always dimmed by the realization that the streets are filled almost exclusively with drunk Americans--not so genuine after all.

So for the city that puts on the greenest face for St. Patrick's Day, we nominate Chicago.

First off there's the dyed green river�one of the most unsettling/amazing holiday celebrations we've ever seen. Word is the town is going to dye the river on Saturday, March 14. For those who want to get all up in those Shamrock waters, Shoreline Sightseeing offers St. Patrick's Day cruises down the river�a surprisingly fair deal at $29 including a corned beef and cabbage feast. For landlubbers, there's the parade along Michigan Avenue, or you can just get right to the point and head to the Irish Oak in Wrigleyville, tops among many treasured pubs throughout town.

And the best part about St. Patrick's Day in Chi-town? It comes early! Unlike NYC, which insists on celebrating March 17, whatever day of the week that falls (Tuesday this year), Chicago has the decency to move the party to the Saturday before�so you can fit in a weekend trip there before heading back to your hometown for the day itself. Check out HotelChatter for some St. Paddy's Day Hotel Picks.

Related Stories:
· Chicago travel coverage [Jaunted]
· St. Patrick's Day travel coverage [Jaunted]

Photo: [incendierymind]

Comments (6)

Return to » On St. Patrick's Day, Chicago is the Greenest City of All

If you can believe it - one of the largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the US is in Scranton, PA (yes, also home of "The Office"). Scranton's St. Patrick's Day Parade has more than 10,000 participants and an estimated 100,000 spectators. Takes place on March 14 this year. www.stpatparade.com Across PA - there are also great parades in Philly (one of the oldest), Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and other cities. Lots of Scots-Irish settlers came here, so we definitely know how to celebrate!

Don't forget that after NYC, Savannah, Georgia has the largest celebration in the country. The celebration is also always held on St. Patrick's day and with the city allowing open containers on the streets probably the wildest celebration.

VintageCotton.com is running a special where you get a free Drunk Leprechaun St. Patrick's Day T-shirt when you buy another Irish t-shirt! http://www.VintageCotton.com

I heard about this when I was in Savannah a few weeks after St. Patty's last year! It sure is a pleasant time to be in the city; we'll have to check it out sometime.

I have to admit I had no idea about St. Patrick's in Savannah - nice find! will have to check it out one day and see how it compares.

Chicago's St. Patrick's Day celebration is incredible! Every year about 40,000 people line the river the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day to see the entire river turned green. Then they walk to grant park where at least double the amount of people watch the Parade. However.... There are actually TWO parades for St. Patrick's Day in Chicago. There's the equally, if not more, popular South Side Irish Parade. It's always on a different day than the other one and attracts even more viewers. The big celebration is always the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day (this year March 14th), but there are big celebrations for the South Side Irish Parade, as well as on St. Patrick's Day. Altough Boston and New York are the cities most associated with big Irish-American populations, I'd contend that Chicago has an equally large contigent (including myself). After the Parades the whole city (and many bagpipers, drummers, and dancers from the parades) hit the bars for the rest of the day. The entire city is quite a spectacle. I highly reccommend everyone partakes once in their lifetime.

Jaunted

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