Visiting New York City during Thanksgiving

New Yorkers in the know say the best place to watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day  Parade is their couch, in front of the TV. While this strategy gives you a front-row view of the floats, the clowns, the marching bands and the professional entertainers, it misses out totally on the atmosphere. However, old hands suggest the best place to see the parade is Central Park West, in the 60s and 70s,  a few blocks south of the line-up on the west side of the avenue. Get there early, some suggest 6.30am at the very latest if you want to get a place with a view of ground level, otherwise you might just be seeing the giant inflated balloon figures, although they are spectacular. On the day before Thanksgiving, the balloons are inflated starting from about 3 pm at the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West and this is an event in itself, although it is crowded with families.

If you're going to be in NYC alone your best bet for a Thanksgiving meal  might be a hotel dining room.  Thanksgiving is very much a time for families to get together and since most of the city's restaurants will be hosting family celebrations, a solo traveller might feel slightly out of place. In a hotel you won't feel quite so solitary.

The other option is casual bistro-style or cafe dining, and Lexington Brass emmgrp.com/restaurants/lexington-brass/  , The Breslin thebreslin.com, David Burke Kitchen in Soho's James Hotel davidburkekitchen.com/ and Katz's Delicatessen katzsdelicatessen.com, made famous by the I'll-have-what-she's-having scene in the movie Where Harry Met Sally, are potential candidates.