Bastille Day 2015
 

We will be arriving in Paris on Bastille Day (didn't plan it that way, but that's how the dates worked out). It will be our first time in Paris, so we will be trying to get the lay of the land on day 1. We will be staying around the 5/6 arr. area. Do you have any recommendations about where to go or what to do to take in the essence of the holiday? We don't want to be in the crush of crowds.....but I'm wondering if there are recommendations on how to best enjoy the afternoon/evening. Thank you!

If you go to the top of the page and "search the forum" and plug in Bastille Day, it will pull up about a dozen posts that will give you some ideas.

The only way to avoid crowds is to avoid the military "parade" in the morning (starts 10 am) on the champs-Elysees and that immediate area (Etoile to the place COncorde) and avoid any museum that is free for that day, if there are some, as they will be very crowded. And of course, you'd avoid the Champ de Mars and area around Eiffel Tower later in the day as that is where they put off fireworks and have an open air concert beginning around 9 pm. There might be something going on at the Pantheon, I think there was last year (music or something), so you could avoid that. It's very similar to Washington DC, if you want to avoid crowds, you avoid the Mall and Capitol area that night.

Other than that, it's just a holiday or Sunday-like day.

There isn't any way to take in the essence of the holiday while avoiding crowds.

Are you American? The Quatorze Juillet (as Bastille Day is known in France) is not celebrated as the 4th of July is in the US. So, you won't see people walking around wearing French flag t-shirts or berets or cockades, or stores draped in bunting or any other patriotic stuff. You will see lots of military personnel on the streets and Parisians enjoying the day in cafés and restaurants, as the Quatorze Juillet is a holiday.

I was in Paris two years ago for the 14th and we did go to the Champs de Mars and it was WONDERFUL! However, it is very crowded, so if you want to avoid crowds you'll want to avoid that area. The fireworks are spectacular, though, so if you can find a relatively uncrowded spot to watch then, I'd advise doing so. Perhaps some other Fodorites might have recommendations on a suitable vantage point that is relatively crowd-free.

The essence of the holiday was for me being in the Champs de Mars in the midst of thousands of Parisians singing the Marseillaise before the beginning of the fireworks. Still gives me chills!

Thanks everyone. Yes, I was wondering if Bastille day would be like the 4th of July in the U.S. We can deal with some crowds but didn't want to be putting ourselves in something too crazy where we can't easily get transportation back to our hotel, etc. Im coming off of a Disney World trip over NY Eve and still haven't quite recovered from the crowds. Ha!

The only two crowded areas are the military parade area in the morning and the fireworks area in the evening.

So if you avoid the Champs Elysées and the Eiffel Tower, you won't even notice that there is anything out of the ordinary except for the fact that all of the municipal buses will have flags on them.