Paris on bastille Day
we will be in Paris with Tauck on July 14. Half day so far is a bus tour, since we have been to Paris before we will not be doing that. We will be near the festivities in Le Meurice Hotel. It is also a Monday and some sights are closed. we are hoping to get to Louis vuitton which is opened MOnday but want to figure out the time for tickets. Does anyone have experience with Paris on Bastille Day and how crazy it is?
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Yes but in the French countruside many years ago. It’s one of our family’s fun memories. There were crowds waiting on a bridge for the best view. The children were very young so it was late for them as it does not go dark until almost 11pm in midsummer in France. The fireworks were even more delayed than usual because the chief of the fireworks brigade was very late and they could not be started until he arrived. They were of course spectacular. I just love the word for firemen in French the Pompiers! Not much help for you but fun memories of France for me,
I love Bastille Day in Paris! We have purposefully been in Paris several times in order to be there for it. The military parade down the Champs Elysee is absolutely magnificent with all the pomp and circumstance and French flair that can be imagined. The parade starts with an aerial parade. The parade route starts at the Arc de Triomphe and ends at the grandstands at the Place de la Concorde. My favorite are the horse riders! All of the participants are staged off of the Boulevard. I always look for the street with the horses so I can get close-up pictures.
The sidewalks along the parade route are sectioned off for crowd/security control. A gendarme will wand everyone before they get in the section. The parade route is elbow to elbow with French spectators and people from all over the world. (A couple was standing next to us and overheard us speaking English. They introduced themselves. They graduated from college in the same year! Talk about a small world.)
Later that evening, spectacular fireworks are set off behind the Eiffel Tower. Thousands of people pack picnics and bring blankets to enjoy the show. We love it!!! Each fire department hosts a ball after the fireworks. There are also late dinner cruises on the Seine that provide great views of the fireworks.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind. If you use the subway, many of the subway stops are closed in the morning for security reasons. One must arrive very early to get in the front of the cordoned off sections. We prefer the sections that are closest to the McDonalds - the only available bathrooms.
At the conclusion of the parade, it is a rush of humanity to exit. We find a cafe on a side street and wait for the crowd to disperse.
If memory serves me correctly, the stores open after the parade.
Typically, I am neither a parade nor crushing crowd fan but, this is truly an exception. The sense of pride and patriotism is incredible. This is truly something that can only be experienced.
Sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing your fabulous experiences.
I was lucky enough on my first trip to Europe (one week in London, one week in Paris) to be in Paris on Bastille Day. And even though this was 40+ years ago (yikes), I remember the fireworks were wonderful. That visit taught me never to rush itineraries, a most valuable lesson. And even though I now shy away from summer in busy European capitals, so glad I was there..
I'm going to visit one of those dead Americans in June -- an uncle who died in WWI (actually, 11/18/18, a week after the Armistice was signed), long before I was born -- who is buried in St. Mihiel American Cemetery in Thiaucourt.
@mcd - I'm sorry about your uncle. What did he die of? Disease?
I don't know. Could have been from a war injury or could have been from disease -- pneumonia or Spanish flu. I know that he was an Army corporal, and the cemetery has given me the location of his gravesite.