I went holiday shopping at Macy's Herald Square, the largest department store in the US. It was overwhelming to say the least.

Macy's Herald Square.

Gabbi Shaw/Insider

• I traveled to Macy's Herald Square, the brand's flagship store, at the height of the holiday season.
• While the first couple of floors were very crowded, the higher I went, the more space I found.
• There are also multiple restaurants, a Toys 'R' Us, and Santaland.

Macy's Herald Square is the largest department store in the US, with 1.25 million square feet of retail space across 12 floors.

Shoppers and pedestrians cross 34th Street outside Macy's Herald Square.

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The department store moved to this location, which is an entire city block, in 1902. In 1924, the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ended at the store, ushering in the holiday season, which it has done almost every year since.

Around 20 million people visit Macy's Herald Square every year, the department store reported in 2013.

During the holiday season, Macy's decorates the entire store and, famously, decorates the windows out front.

The Macy's holiday decorations.

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Approximately 7,000 people visit the Macy's holiday windows every hour, the New York Daily News reported in 2022.

I decided to see what the flagship Macy's store is actually like during the holidays.

Macy's Herald Square.

Gabbi Shaw/Insider

I traveled to Macy's in December, at the peak of the holiday season in December 2022.

Midtown Manhattan, where the store is located, is famously one of the most crowded areas of the city, teeming with locals, tourists, and commuters trying to get to Penn Station, which is also on 34th Street.

Macy's famously had a large "Believe" sign on the side of the building but changed it to "Give Love" in recent years.

The sign.

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"Give Love" can also be seen across the department store this year. This switch was to reflect the theme of the windows, which is also Give Love, according to CBS.

The change from The change did not go over well with everyone, according to some users on X, formerly known as Twitter.

I wanted to get a good look at the windows, but the crowds prevented me from getting close.

The windows.

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I also felt kind of awkward when I got close, knowing that I'd be in dozens of tourists' photos for the rest of time.

So I decided to go inside. I was almost immediately swept away by the crowds of people.

The crowds inside of Macy's.

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It felt overwhelming to be around this many people, even after three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

But eventually I was able to get a better look at the store and the festive decorations.

The Macy's decorations.

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Throughout the first floor, there were garlands, lights, and crystal-encrusted balls hanging from the ceiling.

The first section I visited sold fragrances and makeup.

The first floor of Macy's.

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Everywhere I turned, there was a different counter for a luxury makeup brand, like Dior, Chanel, or Estée Lauder. More than one employee offered me a spritz of new perfume.

As Christmas music played through the speakers, I noticed a mezzanine floor ahead of me and another "Give Love" display.

The mezzanine wrapped around.

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The first floor had exceptionally high ceilings, so there's essentially a half-floor above the makeup section that has more shopping and a Starbucks. In the photo above, you can see the mezzanine on either side of the escalators.

One of the biggest attractions of Macy's during the holiday season is the Toys 'R' Us on the seventh floor.

Toys 'R' Us.

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Last holiday season, Macy's partnered with the defunct toy store to bring it back at 400 Macy's locations across the country, according to Business Insider. The pop-up is back again in 2023.

Famously, children can visit Santa at Macy's Santaland, but before I found it, I saw Toys 'R' Us had its own mini version.

Santa's workshop.

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Kids couldn't meet Santa at this installation, but they could peer through clear windows at animatronic tools "building" toys and other fun things.

The toy selection is very different to what I remember as a kid.

A new Barbie.

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That's a Barbie Eco-Leadership Team set, with dolls made from recycled plastic.

Barbie's actually had dozens of jobs since her introduction in the '50s, but this was still surprising to me — the coolest thing I remember my Barbie doing was having bendable knees so she could ride a bike.

I went up another floor to Santaland — around 170,000 people visit each year to meet Santa in Toyland.

Santaland.

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When I was there, there was a long line to meet the big guy, even though you have to reserve a time slot online just to make it through the doors to actual Santaland.

While I couldn't get in without a ticket, I could look at the holiday train that's out front.

The Santaland train.

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Most of the decorations are inside the ticketed area, but Macy's also made the outer waiting area festive for passersby. This train was surprisingly large, and it was decorated with candy canes, tinsel, a wreath, and lights.

I also looked at the display windows at Santaland. They depicted scenes from the movie "Miracle on 34th Street."

The display windows.

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Just like the real windows on the street, this mini Macy's had display windows, though these showed scenes from the 1947 film "Miracle on 34th Street."

In the movie, a Macy's Santa convinces a court of law that he's the real Santa.

The Macy's has multiple restaurants and food establishments throughout.

Au Bon Pain.

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I wanted a quick bite — thankfully, there was an Au Bon Pain across the floor from Santaland.

I ordered a chicken Caesar wrap and took a break from exploring to do some people-watching.

After my snack, and still feeling overwhelmed by the crowds, I went down to the sixth floor. It was much less crowded.

The sixth floor.

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The sixth floor is mainly dedicated to homes, including bedding, pillows, rugs, decor, furniture, and kitchen gadgets.

I also came across a beautiful Godiva display that had no shoppers.

Godiva.

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The large Godiva display was filled with chocolates and gift boxes. I was surprised there wasn't a soul to be seen, besides the cashier.

Behind the Godiva display was the Italian restaurant in Macy's, Stella 34 Trattoria.

Stella 34 Trattoria.

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Stella 34 is an Italian restaurant that serves lunch, dinner, and drinks. It also serves a weekday $32 prix-fixe menu, with a choice of chicken pagnottella, meatball pagnottella, paccheri pasta, and margherita pizza for the main course.

You can also eat breakfast with Santa.

When I walked by, the place was busy. The restaurant also has a beautiful view of Herald Square and the bright lights of the city.

Since I didn't grab a bite here, I can't speak to the quality of the food, but the restaurant has 3.6 stars on Yelp.

I went down to the second floor to check out the shoe selection, but I left empty-handed.

The second floor.

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The shoe section of any department store is my favorite — there's often a good sales section. While the Macy's shoe section had a lot of variety, I asked for a few different pairs to try on, only to find out that they were out of my size.

So, I decided to call it an evening and leave the store.

I went out a different door than the one I came in, and I noticed different decorations.

Some of Macy's' decorations.

Gabbi Shaw/Insider

At this entrance, the doors were flanked by artificial tree trunks and animatronic woodland creatures, like this squirrel that was wagging its tail and looking around at the thousands of shoppers.

As I left, I was able to get a better look at the windows, as well, and they were beautiful.

Windows at Macy's.

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I would've liked to get a better look at the windows before I was tired from hours of exploring, but since it was so crowded, I couldn't. Now that it was almost closing time, I was able to get a closer look. 

Then I finally hopped on the subway, ready to head home and decompress from all the people I had been surrounded by inside the store.

Despite the crowds, I would definitely go shopping at Macy's Herald Square again, though maybe not during the holiday season. If anything, just walking by the display windows will be enough to put me in the holiday spirit.

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