Bastille Day In Paris

Hi, just going over my honeymoon plans for this summer and realized that it will be coinciding with Bastille Day. Is this something I really should see or is it something I should avoid. I%26#39;m not a huge fan of crowds, but I was wondering if everything shuts down for the day, or are there still some things to do?

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Most museums will still be open and it is a fun festive time to be in Paris, even if you do want to avoid the crowds around the Eiffel Tower area.

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It%26#39;s been more than a few years since I spent a Bastille Day in Paris and if things have changed I%26#39;m sure someone will correct me. These were some of the best days I spent in that city.

On the night before Bastille Day, there were street parties, with food sellers and music, all over the city. (Someone told me that there were street parties in every town, but I never left Paris). On Bastille day itself there was a military parade up the Champs. At night, there is a grand fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower.

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Bastille Day is an absolutely wonderful time to be in Paris. I had so much fun last year, I%26#39;m doing it again this year.

The parade is spectacular, if you want to see it get there EARLY. But yes, it will be crowded.

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Here is a copy of a message I sent to another forum member about being in Paris on Bastille Day :

The stores are closed at 99% on Bastille Day, the only one that open on this day are aimed at the tourist industry (souvenirs and such), or superstores like Virgin or Fnac. So I���d suggest that you���d go for shopping as soon as you arrive on July 13th, for example go the Galeries Lafayette or Printemps, where you can have a lunch inside the store between two shopping frenzy sessions.

The museums are open, as well as almost all the cultural places (theatre, opera, etc), I even think that the entrance to le Louvre is free but I���m not sure about that. I know that there is a free show in the Opera Garnier.

The center of the festivities on Bastille Day���s eve (that means on July 13th!) changes from a year to another. Usually it���s on Place de la Republique or occasionally on Bastille. There is usually a big concert.

In fact, the most ���French��� place to be, and the funniest too, is the ���Bal des Pompiers��� (firemen dance ball), that occurs in almost all the Firemen stations. It���s a place where everybody gather, nothing commercial at all, just fun, music, dance and food for everybody. And something really typical, I���d say. It starts at around 10 pm and ends.. well almost early in the morning the day after : ) It is not touristic at all, and really something enjoyable to live.

For july 14th :

The whole Champs-Elysees, Etoile and Louvre area will be not of an easy access on the morning : after walking down the champs elysees, the army has to cross Paris to go back to their camps and this makes a LOT of traffic problems. This would occur from 10 to 12 am. It is wise to consider only to walk on this area, not to take a car or even the metro.

To watch the parade : be there EARLY, around 8 max, as there is a huge crowd, and the security controls are really really tight (avoid to walk close to the US Embassy on Place de la Concorde, as the whole area is strictly forbidden to the public for security reasons).

The troops stay static on the first half of the Champs Elysees (means : between Place de l���Etoile and Place Roosevelt). So if you want to watch them on parade, you must stay on the second half of the Champs (between Place Roosevelt and Place de la Concorde). There is no restaurant on this section from wich you can see the Parade (Le Doyen and PAvillon Le N��tre are a little hidden behind the trees). I���d rather suggest this: take a good American breakfast at your hotel, walk from your hotel to the Champs Elysees around Le Grand Palais and reach it before 8. There you will find some place to stand and wait for the parade. The only way to be seated would be to be on the official tribune, but if you���re not close to the US ambassador or French government it���s not easy to get an invitation :-)

To see the Fireworks : It is better to be on the Champs de Mars as it is launched from the Trocadero. The best place would be the Jules Vernes restaurant in the Tour Eiffel, but I���m afraid that it is booked for the next 10 years! The crowd is usually really huge, you can try to have a dinner at the Hilton Suffren that is close to there, and as far I remember they have a restaurant on the roof from where you can see the firework (not sure about this, you must check!) A cruise is not the best way, as you will not be close to the fireworks, for security reasons the boats can���t stay close to there.