If you’re Irish or not – St. Patrick’s Day is really just a fun excuse to get dressed in all green, praise a leprechaun and drink green beer. Americans love themed holidays and these five U.S. cities take the prize for best St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the country. 

San Francisco, California
San Francisco is a party city in itself – but when in comes to St. Patrick’s Day, you can expect them to go all out. A traditional parade that dates back to 1852 is just the beginning. Visitors and locals can pick basically any bar in the city for a good time.

Savannah, Georgia
St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah may be one of the more unexpected picks for a S
t. Patrick’s Day city to celebrate in. Be surprised – up to 400,000 guests head to Savannah for their green dyed fountains and endless events and celebrations around town. Plus, historic Savannah is one of our must-see spots on the East Coast!

New York City, New York
This probably won’t come as a shock to many. New York City is famous for many holiday celebrations around the year – but the Empire State has the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade with about two millions attendees every year. Locals and visitors can head to pretty much any Irish pub for a good time.

Chicago, Illinois
Chicago hosts one of the largest St. Patrick’s celebrations in the country – you might have even seen the surreal images of the Chicago River dyed green for the occasion. It starts at noon at the corner of Columbus and Balbo Drives, but it’s highly recommended that you get there early.

Boston, Massachusetts
Beantown comes out ahead for historic significance alone. Its South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade is the world’s first recorded parade for the holiday, first hosted by the Irish Society of Boston in 1737 (actually beating Dublin, Ireland by almost two centuries). The parade is exciting – with floats, bagpipers, marching bands and more than 850,000 attendees. The event is held a few days after St. Patrick’s Day, on Sunday. Did you know? Boston is on our list of Top 10 College Towns!

Photo courtesy of brokelyn.com.