It’s Ireland’s greatest festival (and export) and celebrated the world over.
From Texas to Tipperary revellers will fill bars and pubs this weekend to toast the patron saint of the emerald isle and enjoy a pint of the black stuff.
While St Patrick’s Day is one of the liveliest events of the year there is certainly more to the celebration than the inevitable pub-crawl including street parades, festivals and loads more fun activities.
Here’s our pick of the 5 best places to celebrate St Patrick’s Day around the world.
1. Get jiggy in Dublin
Re-enactments of Celtic battles, platoons of Irish jiggers and a giant green snake slithering through the streets; Dublin truly goes to town to celebrate the occasion. Visitors to the Irish capital city can enjoy parades, lively pubs and so much entertainment. Thousands of people from around the world flock here every March and the are festivities throughout the country. Browse Ireland tours to book a trip today.
2. Get Irish Fever in Vancouver
Running for five days, Celtic Fest Vancouver is a celebration of all things Gaellic. The streets of downtown Vancouver are filled with fiddle players, medieval fencing demonstrations and pageantry as the city is gripped with Irish fever. For something a little different enter the annual Lucky Charms Poker tournament or watch poets engage in a lyrical ‘smackdown’ at the Battle of the Bards. Browse options for taking a gap year in Canada.
3. Watch Street Parades in London
The annual city centre parade usually attracts more than 100,000 people to watch the marching bands and floats (representing all 32 Irish counties) make their way from Green Park en route to Trafalgar Square. Where you are travelling, or doing an internship in London, join London’s Irish community and peruse the street stalls, listen to live music or even take part in a merry jig.
4. Be Charitable in Sydney
As the annual charity event, every year is a different theme. Previous years have seen The World’s Greatest Shave, fundraising folk being persuaded to dye their hair a shade of luminous green to mark the occasion before shaving off their locks. If you don’t feel brave enough to take part, head to the city centre to watch the events in action! Enjoy St Patricks Day on a working holiday in Australia.
5. Dance in Buenos Aires
This weekend the streets of the Argentine capital will be transformed into a scene from a Brothers Grimm fairytale as leprechauns, elves and Irish dancers, accompanied by whistles and bagpipes, make their way through the districts of Arroya and Suipacha. Over in Reconquista meanwhile, street parties will continue until the wee hours. You might like to teach English in Argentina and actually experience living in the country!
If all else fails and you do end up on the black stuff, check out some hangover cures online to make sure you’re feeling right as rain the next day. Enjoy the craic!