Bastille Day

What:  The nation­al day of France – Bastille day offi­cial­ly com­mem­o­rates the storm­ing of the Bastille prison in Paris, which turned into a major turn­ing point in the French Rev­o­lu­tion of and led to uni­ty of the French peo­ple in 1790. Today Bastille day is France’s great­est nation­al hol­i­day and host to the largest and old­est mil­i­tary parade in Europe – with Paris the com­ing alive not just for a spec­tac­u­lar mil­i­tary parade along the champs ely­sees but also a series of fireman’s balls and a grand­stand finale of a half hour fire­work and light show on the Eif­fel Tow­er.

Along­side this, cel­e­bra­tions are held in the rest of France, with con­certs, fire­works, dances, balls and per­haps most impor­tant­ly the cel­e­bra­tion of local French food and wine across the coun­try. 

When: Bastille Day takes place annu­al­ly on July 14^th – regard­less of the weath­er.

Where:  Bastille day is best cel­e­brat­ed in Paris, with the parade tak­ing place down the champs ely­sees, run­ning from the arc de tri­umph to the Place de la Con­corde, with the best van­tage points being after the Avenue George the fifth. For the light show and fire­works on the Eif­fel Tow­er the best view­ing points are Champ de Mars or the Georges Pom­pi­dou, with the Champ de Mars offer­ing bet­ter van­tage points but being more crowd­ed.

Dura­tion: Bastille day lasts for all of the 14^th July, with the parade last­ing for around an hour begin­ning at 11am and the fire­works and light show last­ing for half an hour from 11pm.

Tick­ets: Bastille day is free to attend, with view­ing spots along the champs ely­sees and van­tage points

Need to Know: Expect crowds for both the parade and fire­work show. It’s also good to know that the icon­ic Lou­vre muse­um offers free entry for the whole of bastille day if look­ing to take in some French cul­ture.