It’s a touch late for booking that trip to Dublin or Galway (or anywhere else in Ireland) for St. Patrick’s Day. On the other hand, there are great locations right here in North America to go green come Monday.
I can’t think of many better places than St. John’s, Newfoundland, which seems more Irish to me than parts of Ireland. They’ll be having a grand old time in town on Monday, for sure. Also awesome would be Cape Breton or Halifax in Nova Scotia, where you’ll find a serious Irish influence and great dancing and music.
Of course, you could always try New York City or Boston, where they go pretty nutso on St. Patty’s Day. Or, here’s a thought, a quick trip to Dublin, Ohio (a suburb of Columbus, a nice city) or to Dublin, California, where I used to work at a newspaper, the Tri-Valley Herald. It’s not an amazing destination but the surrounding East Bay Hills are beautiful this time of year and there are tons of great restaurants and wineries a short drive away in Pleasanton and Livermore. Dublin also is home to one of the outlets in the Casper’s hot dog chain, by far THE BEST HOT DOGS ON THE PLANET.
Here are some good ideas for Canadian destinations for St. Patrick’s Day, thanks to the folks at Travelocity.ca.
#1 VANCOUVER
About: The parade started in 2004 and is a five-day Celtic Fest – Western Canada’s greatest annual Celtic Festival. Annually over 2,500 performers, civic bands, Celtic warriors, horses and Irish wolfhounds proudly march to an Irish beat.
Location: Begins at Howe & Davie Street, proceeding north along Howe to Georgia Street, and ends at Georgia & Granville Street.
Attendance: 250,000+
Best Irish Pub: Ceili’s, Vancouver’s biggest Irish Pub
#2 TORONTO
About: The parade has been a Toronto tradition since 1987 and is one of the largest in the world, kicking off every year at Noon on the Sunday prior to St. Patrick’s Day.
Location: Bloor Street – down Yonge and Queen street ending at Nathan Phillips Square.
Attendance: 300,000+
Best Irish Pub: Dora Keogh Traditional Irish Pub
#3 MONTREAL
About: The parade is the longest-standing in Canada. The first parade was in 1824 and has been become an annual festival. There are more than 40 marching bands, floats and thousands of green-clad participants.
Location: Corner of Fort and Ste. Catherine – proceeds along the main thoroughfare until the corner of Phillips Square and Ste. Catherine.
Attendance: 600,000+
Best Irish Pub: McKibbin’s Irish Pub
For more information on these travel destinations and more,, visit Travelocity.ca.
