You could get lucky, but the weather is more likely to be wintry/40s/cold winds than crisp fall strolling-around weather.

No foliage and it will most likely be FREEZING.

I love NYC, just trying to give you realistic expectations.

Anonymous wrote:What's BTDT stand for?

Prices for Hotels spike at that time of year, but I think it would be fun. A lot of people leave the city for Thanksgiving, so might not be too bad.

A lot of people leave but a lot of tourists come. Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year. 5th Ave is swamped.

What's BTDT stand for?

Prices for Hotels spike at that time of year, but I think it would be fun. A lot of people leave the city for Thanksgiving, so might not be too bad.

Anonymous wrote:Where to eat??0

It's NYC! There are more restaurants than you could ever try.
Without more info that's an impossible question to answer.

Where to eat??0

The city is going downhill really fast. See it while you can.

Oh, and I forget if the big department storefront displays open that weekend, but those are fun to see.

New York City really empties out on Thanksgiving (I used to live there), because all the transplants go home and there are fewer American tourists, so it's a great time to go. Except on Thanksgiving Day, most places should be open, and even on the holiday itself, there are plenty of mom-and-pop shops open, plus you can just enjoy Central Park.

The only potential issue is the weather, but I think last few years it's bee pretty warm.

My husband's family lives in NYC so we do Thanksgiving there every year, but never for the parade. It's a great time to go, especially for getting into the holiday spirit.

BTDT - but we went for the parade a couple of times. The first year we were there it was unusually cold (in the 30s until late morning.) Dining prices were insane (hello, $80 prefix and $40 for my 6 year old) even at not so great places. The second time, it was in the 50s and beautiful.

We stayed in the Financial District, which was much more affordable, less crowded, and an easy train ride uptown.

Aside from the parade, we did the Macys windows, times square (more crowded than usual), and 9/11 memorial/museum (crowded, but manageable - you have to get advanced tickets.)

Have fun!

Are you taking the train?

Have also BTDT.
It was a ball and I'd do it again.
The year we went was unusually warm and we covered a lot of ground.
On Thanksgiving morning we went to the top of the Empire State Buidling. There were well less than 100 people there so it was a great experience. We saw the Parade come down 5th Ave from the top, which was very cool.
The night before the parade we had dinner and then walked around the Upper West Side and saw them staging and inflating the balloons, also very cool and worth doing.
The parade is not overwhelming to a city as big as NY so don't worry about it.
Go and have fun. It's a great time to be there.

Anonymous wrote:We're thinking about changing it up this year and spending Thanksgiving in NYC. Mostly, we're interested in just hanging out in Central Park, enjoying the foliage and crisp air, maybe seeing a show. We're not interested AT ALL in the Macy's parade - but will that be the entire focus of the city at that time? And will there be any foliage left? Anyone BTDT?

BTDT and doing it again this year. No foliage. Long past. Weather is unpredictable - can be very cold. Parade is fun but not the only game in town. City is mostly ready for the holidays. Not surprisingly it's an expensive time.

We're thinking about changing it up this year and spending Thanksgiving in NYC. Mostly, we're interested in just hanging out in Central Park, enjoying the foliage and crisp air, maybe seeing a show. We're not interested AT ALL in the Macy's parade - but will that be the entire focus of the city at that time? And will there be any foliage left? Anyone BTDT?