By Sarah–

Hello again.  Welcome to the second of what I hope will be many articles about Paris as I am going to be living in France for a couple of years.

Bastille Day is the celebration of the French independence from royal rule. To be honest, I am not a history buff so I am going to simply report the great time that I had at the 219th edition of Fete Nationale. It was difficult to find much information about the events for the weekend but the tips at the end of this article should be a good start.

My Bastille celebrations started at the Bastille at around 8:00 pm.  I arrived a bit early, as per my usual habit, so I found a cafe that had a great happy hour special of 5 euro for cocktails (more about Parisian Happy Hours another time).  In the square many of the cafes will have specials. I am not recommending the one that I went to as I think they forgot the alcohol in both of my drinks.  At 8:00 the music started and the square started to fill up.  TIP: I saw many people with their own drinks in hand so feel free to bring your own beverages! A few bands were scheduled for the evening… but this was not my final stop for the night so around 8:30 I moved on to the Fire Station on Rue de Sevigne.

The Fete de Pompier that I attended started at 9:00 pm and from the sign outside it looked like it ended around 4:00 am.  When I showed up around 8:45 pm there was already a line outside - so if you are thinking about attending I would show up at least 20-30 minutes early to ensure yourself a spot inside. The cover charge was 6 euro which include a free bevvy at one of the numerous bars inside. Inside the fire station there were 4 different venues. The first was a large outdoor space with tables set up.  The second space was an indoor area that had a DJ playing music and tons of space for dancing - which within 15 minutes of entry they were already at it! The third room was a small indoor space called the ‘Champagne lounge;. The last and largest space in this firehouse was another outdoor space with a large stages set up. In all of the areas there were multiple bars. Some of them serve drinks and others food.  One of the major draws appeared to be the many men in uniform. I stayed for only a short while and the party appeared to only be starting when I left!  I had committed to an early night so that I could attend the parade on Monday.

Monday morning rolled around and I was out the door by 8:00 am. I departed the metro at Place de Concorde and ended up having to walk for about 45 minutes until I was able to reach Champs Elysees. Most metro stations and roads in the area were closed so I walked with hundreds of other tourists and French to find a place to connect with the parade route. By the time that I did it was 9:15 and all of the good places were taken. I found out from other participants in the area that tickets can be purchased to sit in some bleachers and have a good view to the parade. A few suggestions from my time watching the parade- if you like the crowds go for it and head to the area but prepared for a lot people! Before you go pick up the itinerary from a local tourist information counter or buy the local paper to have a good understanding of what you are looking at. If seeing it in person is not all that important to you - I have another recommendation: find a great cafe and watch the parade on TV. I found this view to be better to than the one that I had in person! Also as I was sitting near the area where Concord meets the start of Rue de Saint Germain I was able to see the tanks and uniformed men/women that had finished their time in the parade… it was more intimate than the large view on Champs Elysees.

The last event for the celebration is the fireworks that happen around the Eiffel Tour. Unfortunately as I have work the next day and given my not desirable experience with the crowds at the parade I elected to watch these on TV as well.

Overall it was a fun weekend and one that I recommend attending if you have the chance!

To make your experience more smooth keep these tips in mind:

• Arrive early to the events
• BYOB is perfectly fine for the Bastille concerts
• Be prepared to walk as the Metro and buses do not run
• The parades are also on T.V. so if you are not a fan of crowds find a cafe and watch the festivities on the tele
• Check with the tourist office to purchase tickets to sit in the bleachers for the main parade

Happy Travels,

Sarah

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