Bastille Day - What's closed?
 

We are planning a day trip (via Eurostar) to Paris around July 13 or 15. Can anyone give me an idea if anything is closed because of the holiday? Are the crowds really large? Would we have a chance of seeing anything or would we be standing in line for hours? I will be traveiling with 2 kids (11 & 15) who would like to see the "basics" - Eiffel Tower and Louvre. Any recommendation of the 13th or 15th? We could possibly go on the 16th if that would be easier travel. Thanks.

Hi VT,

Why not go for the Bastille Day celebrations?

Many things will be closed on the 14th. I'd suggest going before or after.

I've been there several times on that date, and would not say most things were closed -- most major things, or "basic"s are open, as they are major tourist attractions. That's on the holiday itself, but the two days around it are nothing unusual that they would be closed -- except, of course, for whatever normal daily closings might be on that day.

The Louvre has been open more on Bastille Day, I know it was when I was there a couple years ago.

However -- yes, of course things are really crowded because of the holiday, including all of these sights. The Louvre was wall-to-wall and unbreathable. I took one look and left. Added to the general holiday crowds is the fact that it was free that day (the govt. made a lot of the monuments free on that holiday). I went to the Pantheon instead, and it was fine. I also went to the Pompidou and it was a bit crowded, but not that bad.

In short, I would never recommend you go on that day just in order to do regular sightseeing you can do another time. YOu will be standing in line for hours or suffocating (in the Louvre). So, if you want to go around that date, either the 15th or 16th would be better.

The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower will both be open on the 14th. However, some of the Metro stations on the No. 1 line will be closed during the Bastille Day parade, and as Christina said, the crowds will be dense, dense, dense. My hunch is that the crowds may be a bit less before Bastille Day, mid-week, than after. You can avoid museum ticet lines by purchasing a pass but that would not make sense if you were going to just one museum.