Macy's Union Square in San Francisco Visitor Center

Macy’s Visitor Centers

With over 600 stores around the country selling both stylish fashion and home goods, Macy’s is one of the premier retail destinations in America. But a visit to Macy’s offers up many kinds of opportunities that extend far beyond shopping.

Macy’s stores located in 10 of the nation’s largest and most visited cities serve as one-stop tourist destinations offering fabulous dining, engaging group tours and an in-store visitor center that caters to a wide range of traveler needs. These centers provide everything from discount passes to city attractions and itinerary planning assistance to multi-lingual maps and directions, tickets to hot attractions and Macy’s tours, and free 10%-off Visitors Shopping Passes to use in Macy’s stores.

Though visitor center offerings vary from city to city, all of the centers are staffed by highly trained specialists who provide concierge-level service to visitors from the U.S. and abroad. The types of tickets they sell are geared to the location city’s main attractions, for example unique tours and shows attractions in New York and wine country or Yosemite day trips in San Francisco. The passes include Explorer Passes, Go Cards and CityPASS booklets that offer discounted admission to multiple tourist attractions. Bus passes and individual attraction tickets are also sold. Explorer Pass is available in the Macy’s Herald Square visitor center in New York City or Macy’s Union Square visitor information center in San Francisco.

The Visitor Savings Pass

One savings opportunity that any Macy’s store visitor can take advantage of is the free Visitor Savings Pass. It’s available in all Macy’s stores across the U.S., good for savings off thousands of items (with limited exclusions). Domestic visitors can enjoy the pass for a three-day period while international visitors can use it for 30 days.

Group Tours at Macy’s Stores

The visitor centers in the New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia stores sell tickets for special guided group tours that highlight the store’s historical architecture and other unique attributes.The most popular tours take place in the New York, Chicago and Philadelphia stores where a deep sense of history and unrivalled craftsmanship infuse the structures. The New York City building that Macy’s Herald Square occupies is a National Historic Landmark and the fun, fact-filled Macy’s Historic Tour covers its illustrious history (you’ll see wooden escalators!), marketing concepts, merchandising and visual techniques.

Macy’s State Street in Chicago is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Macy’s History Tour, which can be booked through the store’s visitor center, focuses on the distinctive Walnut Room restaurant (opened in 1907) with its beautiful Circassian Walnut paneling; the colorful, iridescent Tiffany vaulted ceiling; and the flowing Burnham Fountain.

In Philadelphia’s Macy’s Center City store, the Macy’s History Tour can be customized to emphasize architecture, merchandising, marketing or fashion. However, no participant can help but notice the grand features of the 1911 Wanamaker Building, like the bronze Grand Court Eagle statue and the 28,500-pipe Wannamaker Grand Court Organ.

The intriguing knowledge gained through guided tours greatly enhances the shopping experience in these stores.

Dining Options at Macy’s

There are few things that delight tourists more than great food. The array of fine and casual dining options available in Macy’s visitor center stores makes it easy for guests to make a delicious day of their shopping forays, whether they sit down to a gourmet meal in Macy’s on State Street’s iconic The Walnut Room or Macy’s Herald Square’s Stella 34 Trattoria, or just grab a quick lunch or snack at an in-store Starbucks.

Store visitor centers can provide information about the various dining destinations available in the store and also let visitors know about special Macy’s events.

Macy’s Shopping Packages

Some Macy's visitor centers offer enticing Shopping Packages - which make ideal gifts for you or someone else. Typical packages include a $25 Macy's Gift Card, a Visitor Savings Pass, a chocolate sampler, an assortment of special offers and discounts from local restaurants and attractions, a gift voucher and an exclusive Macy's tote bag. Prices start at $50 with inclusions varying by store. Custom packages are also available for conventions, group meetings or even individuals.

Special Attraction Tickets at Macy’s Herald Square, State Street and Union Square

The visitor centers in New York City’s flagship Herald Square store, Chicago's State Street and San Francisco's Union Square are official city information centers by virtue of their partnership with their city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (NYC & Company in New York, Choose Chicago in Chicago and SF Travel in San Francisco).

At these centers, visitors can purchase tickets to a host of exciting city attractions, from museum, shows and Circle Line tickets in Manhattan and dance performances, art exhibits and architectural river tours in Chicago and a variety of tours (including Wine Country), museums and MUNI passes in San Francisco. City Concierges in these centers can help plan customized itineraries that guide first-time visitors to classic attractions or steer repeat visitors to off-the beaten-track neighborhoods and restaurants.

Touch-screen information kiosks in these locations enable a complete self-service experience by allowing visitors to research various attractions, buy tickets to them and print out both Google map directions and the Visitor Savings Pass.

With the kind of support Macy’s visitor centers offer, it’s easy to make the most of your trip. Once you’ve selected a city to visit, we hope you’ll head to a Macy’s visitor center to plan and arrange things to see and do both in the store and the surrounding city. We’ll give you all the tools you need to explore and enjoy your destination.

The Macy’s Visitor Savings Pass

This savings pass allows domestic and international visitors to purchase products at a discount at any Macy’s store nationwide.