Celebrate Bastille Day in Paris
Bastille Day is a big deal in Paris - each year on the 14th July the city grinds to a halt to celebrate France’s National Holiday. Known in France as the ‘Fete de la Bastille’, or more colloquially as ‘quatorze juillet‘ (the fourteenth of July), the event comemorates the destruction of King Louis XVI’s grand Bastille prison in the early days of the French Revolution - an event that came to hold great symbolic signficance to the revolutionaries of 1789.
Bastille Day celebrations begin on the evening of the 13th of July. On that night parties take place throughout the city’s twenty arrondissement (and the bars are full to bursting) but Paris’ officially organised event takes place, unsurprisingly, at Place de la Bastille in the 11th arrondissement. Here, the Bal du Quatorze Juillet sees Parisians dance the night away to live music laid on in the square - certainly worth experiencing, though it can be a busy, cramped affair. Better, perhaps, to find one of the more laid back events in the city’s central districts; by tradition, the city’s firemen open the doors of fire stations throughout Paris for smaller, more laid back local parties.
During Bastille day itself, on the 14 July, all eyes are on the famous Champs Elysees boulevard, in the 8th arrondissement, for the annual military parade (defile militaire). In the presence of the French President, and featuring marching units from all parts of the French forces, including tanks, heavy artillery and even fly-overs from various military aircraft, it’s an exciting, if somewhat dated patriotic event. Traditionally the parades start around 10am: needless to say, if you want to actually see anything you’ll need to really want to see it - unless you’re prepared to take your place by the road very early indeed you’ll find by far the best views are on TV.
The traditional end to Bastille Day in Paris are the grand fireworks displays, and by far the best is that set on and around the Eiffel Tower. Forget the cliches - Eiffel Tower fireworks are almost always magnificent, and well worth the hassle required to get close enough to witness them. The best spot to watch, of course, is from high up the terrace of the Palais De Chaillot, across the river in the 16th arondissement, but you’ll need nerves of steel (or very tall friends) to bag a suitable spot to stand anywhere near here. You can see the fireworks from anywhere you can see the tower, so in fact a little imagination goes a long way in finding a decent (available) viewing point.
